This handspun yarn was harvested from Shetland sheep that are sustainably and ethically raised in the United States from farms that are members of the Livestock Conservancy. Note that I am not a valid Shave Em to Savem seller/distributor, so if you wish to get stamps, I'm not the right person. I am simply supporting farmers in my own way. Shetland sheep are currently in the Recovering list. They can be single or double coated and they offer a wide range of colors compared to other sheep breeds. The official micron count for the inner coat is 12-20 and the outer coat at 30-40 meaning this wool can range from silky smooth to weaving wool rough and scratcy. To learn more about this particular sheep breed, please check out this link.
Each shade of Shetland wool has an official name! Who would have thought. But for my personal series, I am naming them after coffee drinks. I currently have 5 color variations, but I might introduce 2 more later on to complete the set: Irish, Cafe Au Lait, Latte Macchiato, Caramel and Affogato.
I believe that the wool dictates the outcome. I cannot reproduce each skein as exactly the same, so some colors might not have the yarn weight that you are looking for. I narrow down the number of farms I purchase roving yarn from to ensure quality does not fluctuate at an extreme variance.
Handspun: Café Shetland - Natural
Handspun yarns are not as easily affordable because of the time and effort it takes to spin. The breed of sheep also come into play and the packaging. To lower the costs, the wool will come in a compostable, ecofriendly mailer with a tag.
This yarn is spun with an Electric Eel Wheel Nano 1.1 (once you see this mini electric spinning wheel, you will see how small it actually is and be able to gauge the capacity). This might change in the future. I will release a dyed version but dyeing increases costs, so expect prices to increase should you choose to purchase the dyed version. Depending on the wool and environment, it takes me a day to spin and ply one skein, but my goal is to make my handspuns affordable and accessible for folks who want to try rare wools or support small farmers.
If the deviation between the yardage and weight is significantly lesser than the average, the skein will be sold at a discounted price (in dollar amount, not percentage). And the same goes for the opposite.
The yarn will have varying wpi (wraps per inch-thickness), yardage, and weight (g/oz). I use a yardage counter instead of a niddy noddy or Mcmorran balance to get my length measurement. Also, I update my yarn availability every week. Since I'm sourcing yarn from small farms, the stock will be low. Once I declare a product out of stock, it might not be replenished until the next year when sheep have been newly shorn, likely in spring (April-May).