Bittersweet’s Sheep Maine is home to many breeds of wonderful sheep that yield incredible wools. Whether you’re a spinner, a weaver, a knitter/crocheter, love felting or just plain love wool, there is a fleece out there for you. Bittersweet has chosen to start the flock with four gorgeous girls who are Romney crosses with some Merino in them and selected the girls specifically for their gorgeous wool. These sheep come from hardy stock including some from Moms who were native Island sheep. As photographer Peter Ralston’s wonderful shot entitled “Pentecost” displays, sheep are as much a part of Maine as the lobsters everyone has come to enjoy. A wonderful girl I’ve named Colleen is descended from the sheep who survive on the islands year round with only seaweed for food when the cold snowy winters blow hard. She’s a sturdy girl whose island Mom was a wild one, unable to be handled at all. Today, after being lovingly cared for, Mom comes straight up to you and interacts well with the flock. Her fleece is wonderfully full and lofty, spins beautifully and I’m hoping for the same from her daughter whom I’ve chosen to name Colleen. She’s turning into quite the wooly booly and her freckled face reminds me of the sheep running free in the Northwest of Ireland. Each girl was chosen intentionally for the quality of their wool but also for their temperament. How can you resist the sweetness of these moments and little exchanges between barnyard buddies. The Royal Palm turkeys and this one little chick have decided that sleeping atop a nice warm soft sheep girl is not too shabby. My dark girl was added to the mix as naturally dark wool is hard to come by. This girl has unbelievable coloring in her fleece with a rich espresso on top and a silvery lining under. In Ireland, a farmer has one black sheep for every 100 white ones as a sign of prosperity. You can count the black sheep in a field and you know how rich in wool the farmer is by the number of black faces. I’ve named her Maeve. Her Mom Coco has this same amazing fleece. This fiber spins up wool as haunting and beautiful as the dark lasses of Ireland and makes incredible knitted pieces with just it’s own natural coloring. No need to dye or blend just knit along and watch the magic unfold. I can’t wait to get fiber from this girl. Watch for shearing news in spring 2012. 207 629 7002 info@bittersweetheritagefarm.com mailto:info@bittersweetheritagefarm.comshapeimage_3_link_0

Warm, soft, natural colored wool from...