Full fleece from one of our very special Gotland - Lleyn sheep. We have four ewes like this - their mothers were pedigree Lleyn and their father was a full Gotland ram. Their fleeces have the bounce of the Lleyn and the crimp - and sometimes curl - of the Gotland.  This fleece is from Cocoa, one of our sweetest-natured sheep. The fleece is full of bounce and this photo does not do it justice. The fleeces are lighter than the 100% Gotlands, but they feel fuller. 1.9Kgs
 
Winter shearing of Gotlands - and in this case our Gotland crosses -  is good practice as when the fleece is left to grow for a full year it becomes felted on the sheep is matted and difficult to shear.. Shearing in Winter means that the ewes, as they come into the shed to lamb later in the Spring, will be cleaner and more comfortable. Winter-sheared wool is also the best of the year as the ewes have had the summer outside and have not had the heavy work of lambing and raising lambs. 
We shear with a 'cover comb', so that they are left with a small amount of wool, and they also quickly put on fat under the skin after shearing. We will keep them in the barn until we are convinced they will not feel the wet or cold - and if this weather continues they can stay in! 
Henry has sheared every sheep as carefully as possible to avoid second cuts. We skirt every fleece but please note that these are raw or greasy fleeces and must be handled with care. There will be vegetative matter (vm) and occasional bits of dirt but overall we hope that you will find them in very good condition. Each sack contains a main fleece and the belly wool has been put first at the bottom of the bag. The belly wool is not good for spinning - it is short and of poor quality - but it is excellent in the garden as fertiliser or slug protector. We know many like it so we are including it here.