Shearing Day 2008
Saturday, October 18th
Misty Meadow Farm
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Join us on our Shearing Day! This is a great time to find out more about Icelandic sheep, purchase some fiber, learn about skirting (cleaning) fleeces and processing the fiber, and just spend a few hours with other sheep and wool enthusiasts. For more information and to reserve a fleece in advance.





We started our small flock of purebred Icelandic sheep in 1994.

Three years after the breed was introduced into the United States. Our goal is to produce sheep that are the very best in terms of fleece quality and body conformation. Keeping the flock manageable is very important to us. We practice intensive rotational grazing and take great care to protect our pasture resource. Having a small flock allows us to be more responsive to ensure optimum nutrition, health care, and security although this hardy breed needs no pampering!

Selecting for improved fleece is our highest priority.

Although excellent body type is an important part of our breeding program, we strive to produce animals that will make handspinners happy. The Icelandics’ ancient heritage allows for significant differences in fleece quality from animal to animal. We are working to maximize the potential for fleece improvement through judicious selective breeding. We offer clean fleeces in a variety of natural colors, as well as processed clouds, roving and yarn.

While some breeders are selecting to eliminate horns, we believe that this trait is an important part of the breed’s character and are working to optimize the appearance of horns in a portion of our flock.

We are members of the OPP-Concerned Sheep Breeders Society, the National Voluntary Scrapie Eradication Program and incorporate a vigilant health monitoring program into our flock management. Our flock has been enrolled in the Natural Voluntary Scrapie Eradication Program since 2000 and will achieve certified status in 2005. We test annually for OPP and the flock is foot-rot free.






The Icelandic sheep is perhaps the oldest and purest domesticated sheep breed in the world. Brought to the remote island of Iceland by Viking settlers in the 8th and 9th century, Icelandic sheep have not been crossbred with other breeds and are therefore genetically the same as they were over a thousand years ago. Icelandic sheep were brought from Iceland to Canada in 1985 and have been in the United States since 1991.

Icelandic sheep are the largest of the "northern short-tailed " group of sheep which also includes Finn, Shetland, Gotland, Spelsau, and Romanov. Mature rams may weigh as much as 200 lbs. and ewes will reach 120-150 lbs.. Both rams and ewes may have prominent horns, although polled animals are also common. Due to its ancient heritae, the breed has strong natural instincts in terms of alertness, mothering, and foraging ability. Having developed on the rocky terrain and sparse vegetation of Iceland, they are extremely efficient grazing animals and do well under conditions that would not support other, less hardy breeds.

One of the most attractive features of the Icelandic breed is the variation that occurs in the fleeces. The naturally occurring colors and patterns have not been eliminated through selective breeding. As a result there is an incredible range of colors. In addition to the expected black and white, there is a wide variety of grays, charcoals, and silvers, as well as moorits(brown) ranging from dark coffee to cinnamon and fawn. The appearance really gets interesting when these colors are distributed among the various patterns that Icelandics display. "Badgerface", "mouflon", and "gray" are three patterns that exist in between the dominant "white" pattern (actually lack of pattern) and the recessive "solid color". For a final bit of confusion, Icelandic sheep can be spotted in combination with any of these colors and patterns. The end result of these ancient genetics is a beautifully colored flock.













Exciting News for the 2008 Lambing Season!
Misty Meadow Icelandics is at the forefront of a new artificial insemination technique. While artificial insemination (AI) has been a common management practice with many types of livestock, it has not been an economical alternative for sheep breeders. AI in sheep has consisted of laparoscopy, an invasive surgical technique used to deposit semen in the oviduct. Attempts to use the more conventional vaginal AI method have not been successful. Recently Dr. Thorsteinn Olaffson, veterinarian and researcher at Southhagri in Selfoss, Iceland developed an tested a vaginal AI method that has the potential to revolutionize sheep management by accelerating the rate of breed improvement.

In November 2003, Tom was one of twelve Icelandic breeders who traveled to Iceland to learn the new technique. Upon returning, our farm became one of four Icelandics flocks in the country to use vaginal AI with frozen semen from the best rams in Iceland. Five of our ewes were serviced by means of the new technique and an ultrasounding in January confirmed that four of them are pregnant. We are hopeful that our spring lambs will confirm an 80% AI success rate.

Visit the Southram website (www.bssl.is/english/content.asp) for more information on the AI sires. The following rams were sires for our 2004 lambs:Horvi, Rektor and Abel.




In Iceland, sheep are bred primarily for meat, however it is the long-stapled wool for which the Icelandic sheep are known worldwide. Icelandic sheep are a dual-coated breed which means that the fleece is composed of two distinctly different fibers; "thel” and "tog". The thel is composed of fine, soft fibers approximately 3"- 4" long, with a spinning count of 65-70 (20-22 microns). Once separated from the tog, the thel is soft and springy and makes a yarn suitable for wearing next to the skin. The tog is the outer coat which can grow to 12"-14", with a spinning count of 55-60 (26-30 microns). The tog is wavy or corkscrewed and it behaves in a manner similar to mohair. It lends itself to worsted spinning.

There are many ways to process the Icelandic fiber. Many handspinners spin the fibers together which produces a yarn very similar to the commercial "lopi" yarn associated with Iceland. Knitters have discovered that this blend produces mohair-like results due to the presence of the tog fibers. It is also possible to separate the fibers in the Icelandic tradition and use each for a different purpose; the tog for outer garments, blankets or rugs and the thel for soft, close to the skin garments.

In terms of yield, the typical twelve month fleece will weigh 6-7 pounds with very little grease. This low grease content allows spinners to spin the raw wool before washing if they desire. At Misty Meadow we shear twice a year which results in fleeces with a 6"-8" staple, producing a more manageable fiber for most handspinners. Icelandic fleece comes in a wide variety of natural colors including many shades of moorit (brown), gray, black, and white. In addition, Icelandic sheep display "patterns" and "spotting" so there is almost endless variation to the fleeces. We have bloodlines that represent the variety of patterns and colors for which this breed is noted.





We sell our Misty Meadow Icelandic fiber as raw fleece, cleaned and carded clouds, roving, and specialty yarns. We work with various mills around the country to produce the high quality processed fiber and yarns that we sell. As we have limited supplies of both raw fiber and yarns, we suggest that you contact us when you see something that you like.

If we don’t have it for you right away, we can reserve a fleece for you from our next shearing or put you on our list to receive our yarns once they are available.

In addition, we are currently working to expand our wool and yarn sales by providing books that relate to Icelandic sheep and fiber and original patterns designed specifically for our yarn.


Fleeces

At Misty Meadow, we schedule two shearings each year. Our spring shearing occurs in late March/early April. The wool at this time of the year is shorter and has a bit more hay and vegetation in it (due to sheep being in the barn most of the winter). Because of this, we take great care to clean it well and send it off to the mill to be made into felting batts. These batts are used throughout the year to be made into our pillows and rugs and is also sold by the _ pound to feltmakers for their projects.

Our fall shearing is usually scheduled for the second Saturday in October. The sheep have been on pasture all summer and their fleeces are long, clean and beautiful. All of our fall clip is sold directly to handspinners with most of our sales taking place on Shearing Day. Fleeces are also sold through our website and have been shipped all over the country and to Japan as well! Reservations are taken well in advance (some have been reserved a year in advance), so please call or e-mail if you are interested. Even if you don’t know exactly what you want, give a call and we can help you make your selection.

Raw Fleeces -- $10/pound
Our fleeces come in a variety of colors and are very clean and well-skirted. We sell all of our raw wool by the fleece. Average fleece weight is 3 – 4 pounds per fleece for a 6-month adult fleece. Lamb fleeces are approximately 2 pounds.

Reserve a Fleece
If you are interested in purchasing a fleece, we strongly encourage you to reserve your selection in advance. Check the chart below, choose your fleece and give us a call or send an e-mail. We will hold the fleece for you -- you can pick up the fleece on Shearing Day or we will send it to you soon after the event. We can also recommend mills for scouring, carding, and spinning. Ask us!


Processed Wool
Our spring clip is sent to the mill to be processed into batts that are perfect to use for felting. In addition, any fleeces not sold on Shearing Day are sent to the mill to be turned into clouds and roving.

Clouds -- $16/pound
Our clouds are washed, carded and ready to spin. Clouds are packaged in 8 oz. bags that are priced at $8 each.
Colors include:
Natural White – a beautiful natural white perfect for dyeing or using as is
Light Gray -- a nice blend of a wide variety of gray fleeces, great for overdyeing
Gray Moorit -- a heathery mix of light gray and brown
Natural Black -- a very dark brown with strands of gray and white here and there

Felting Webs -- $16/pound
Our felting webs come from our shorter spring shearing. These small batts are ideal for small projects such as placemats and purses, but can also be combined for larger projects such as rugs. For examples, see Felted Pillows and Rugs.
Colors include:
Natural White
Gray Moorit
Natural Black

Handspinner’s Roving -- $24/pound
This roving virtually spins itself! Produced by Taos Valley Wool in New Mexico, this quality roving is a thinner than usual, providing the optimum in spinning ease. It is processed at the mill through their pin drafter that pulls the fibers into a parallel orientation. This type of processing perfectly suits the long stapled fiber of the Icelandic sheep. Handspinner’s Roving is sold in 4 oz bags for $6 each.
Colors include:
Natural White
Light Moorit
Natural Black


Misty Meadow Icelandics
Judy, Tom, Emily and Zack McDowell
6725 West Branch Road
Minnetrista, MN 55364
952/472-0883

tom@mistymeadowicelandics.com
judy@mistymeadowicelandics.com


























judy@mistymeadowicelandics.com or by phone at 952/472-0883