The 2001 Wool Gathering at Young's Dairy in September was definitely a success! We were under a very big tent, with animals on one end, demonstrators on the other and vendors in between. For pictures, see our web site at www.awoolgathering.com. The Midwest Festival committee was aided by the Weavers' Guild of Miami Valley, the Dayton Knitters' Guild, and the Society for Creative Anachronism, along with many indi-viduals who contributed their skills and their patience to teach about fiber animals. We also wish to thank the Ohio State University Exten-sion, the Ohio Sheep Improvement Ass'n, Mid-States Wool Growers Co-op, Ohio Valley Natural Fibers, and Young's Dairy for their help and support. JoAnn Molk wove the two throws for our raffle from handspun yarns, and she has her loom already warped for this year. Eugene Haudenschield returned to shear the sheep, and Mike Blair contributed a demonstra-tion on fitting sheep for show. Several breeds of wool sheep were on display, along with llamas and alpacas. Marge Finnegan again brought the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy material, and the Pulfer family brought Border Collies. We hope to have all of these features, plus more, for our 4th Wool Gathering at Young's Dairy, on September 21 and 22, 2002. Please plan to join us for an entertaining and educational weekend. The 4th Annual Wool Gathering will be held at Young's Dairy Saturday and Sunday September 21 and 22, 2002! For complete and updated information, log onto our web site, www.awoolgathering.com. We want to thank the following individuals for bringing their fiber animals to the 2001 Wool Gathering. The animals who grow our product are essential to our show! Back to top of page Taking the dirty, greasy fleece of a sheep, scouring and spinning it into 12 ounces of a clean and slender strand of yarn, then mani-pulating it into something beautiful, warm, and useful is surely a magical transformation. Materials: 130 grams worsted weight yarn for adult. 1 pr. #8 needles, or needles for gauge 4 st. = 1 inch. Pattern: Procedure: Cast on 72 inches (for a smaller head cast on 66 stitches, or use smaller yarn and needles. Work 1st row of pattern. On next row, k 1, k 2 tog, work to last 2 st. of pattern, increase 1 st in next st, k 1. (Please note that all increases and decreases are made in the 2nd st from the edge, NOT the edge stitch.) Continue in pattern, increasing on one edge and decreasing at the other edge every other row until piece measures 19-20 inches (or desired length) extended slightly. Finishing: There are two methods of finishing. With a needle threaded with yarn pick up the sts at one end of the tube and pull up tightly together. Cast-off stitches Face edge Top of Hat Cast-on stitches I roll up the face edge to make a cuff and have a warm, well-fitting hat to wear when I check for lambing ewes. Back to top of page Fleece Fair will be held April 13, 2002, at the Putnam County Fairgrounds, Greencastle, IN. This event features sales and demos and the following workshops (preregistration): Felting a Stylish Rolled Brim Hat, Needle Felting a Picture, Homemade Paper, Create a Father Christmas, The Infinite Pot–Dyeing, Spinning a Novelty Yarn, and Spinning One on One. There are fleece and skein competitions. The show is held in conjunction with a shearing school. For more information, contact Pat Fender, Poland IN, (812) 829-4501, or visit the web site at www.fleecefair.com. The Great Lakes Fiber Show and the Great Lakes Sheep Show and Sale will be held May 25 and 26, 2002, at the Wayne County Fairgrounds, Wooster, Ohio. There will be sales, demos, and the following workshops (preregistration required): Aran Pullovers from the Neck Down, Wearable Masterpiece: Felt Hat, Fuzzy Yarns, Fancy Flashy Yarn, Gansey Techniques, Painting with Yarn-Tapestry, Knitting and Felting Roving, Filigree Bookmark, and "True" Continental Knitting. Also look for a fleece show and a skein contest. For more information contact Linda Reichert (fiber show), Wooster, (330) 264-9665 or Joan Hess (sheep show), Cable (937) 652-3438. Back to top of page On Nov. 19, 2001, new rules published in the Federal Register concerning the identification of sheep and goats involved in interstate commerce and concerning changes in the rules for the regulation of scrapie became effective. These new regulations are the first steps being taken toward the goal of eradication of scrapie from sheep and goats in the United States. Nearly all classes of sheep and goats will be affected by the new rules, but most of the changes for non-infected flocks center around how animals that enter interstate commerce will need to be identified. Animals in exhibitions, and sponsors of exhibitions and sales, will also have to comply with some new regulations for 2002. As the program progresses, it is likely that we will see additional changes in future years. In most cases, fairs and exhibitions in Ohio where sheep and goats are sold or shown will fall under the definition of interstate commerce. Most of the sheep and goats exhibited will have to have "official identification." What is official identification? Official identification can be one of several styles of USDA-approved ear tags or USDA-approved tattoos. There are styles of tags that are available free from the USDA and others that can be purchased by an owner from the ear tag company. ...call the USDA Veterinary Services at Pickerington at 1-866-873-2824. Information about tag styles and suppliers as well as other information about the effort to eradicate scrapie is also available at these Web sites: For the 2002 show season, the following identification requirements for sheep and goats that originate in Ohio apply:
b) If the animal was born after Jan. 1, 2002, it must have official USDA identification and be identified to the flock of birth either by a tag or tattoo inserted by the owner of the flock of birth, or by tag or tattoo placed by the purchaser. c) The identification requirements for flocks enrolled in the voluntary Scrapie Flock Certification Program qualify as official USDA identification for exhibition and interstate movement and no other special identification is needed. All sheep and goats that enter Ohio from outside the state for purposes of exhibition or sale must be officially identified and accompanied by a Certificate of Veterinary Inspection (health certificate) issued by a licensed, accredited veterinarian. To meet Ohio's importation rules the statement, "The sheep in this shipment are not known to be undeer any movement restric- tions because of scrapie," must be included on the certificate. A few important considerations need to be emphasized regarding tags and record keeping. Under no circumstances should official USDA tags be removed from an animal's ear. (This includes all other species in addition to sheep and goats.) If a second tag is to be placed in the animal's ear for identification for the exhibition or upon change of ownership, the USDA-approved tags must be left in place. Sheep or goats can have more than one official ear tag. Whenever a change of ownership occurs, the buyer and the seller must make a record of the sale. The record must be kept for a period of five years. Examples of when a change of ownership occurs include: purchase directly from a farm, purchase through a consignment sale and purchase at a sale of exhibition animals. These record keeping requirements apply to 4-H and FFA members (as well as anyone else) buying and selling sheep and goats. In addition, exhibitions that also sponsor a sale or auction, and any other individual or group that sponsors a sale of animals for exhibition, must keep records of the sales for a period of five years. These records must include:
2) the date of the sale, 3) the name, address, and telephone number of the seller and the buyer, or person who acquires the animal(s), and 4) the official identification on the animals. This article was taken from a handout prepared by William Shulaw, OSU Extension veterinarian; Susan Skorupski, USDA/APHIS area epidemiologist; Lilith Tatham, USDA/APHIS veterinarian; David Glauer, ODA veterinarian; and Roger High, OSU Extension sheep specialist. Back to top of page All Sheep and Goats brought to the September, 2002, Wool Gathering must have official USDA-approved tags or tattoos. Llamas and alpacas are related. They are members of the camelid family, along with two wild members of the species, the guanaco and the vicuna. All four camelids are native to the Andes Mountains in South America. They are primarily found in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile. They were domesticated about 6,000 years ago, with llamas used as a beast of burden, alpacas raised for their wool, and both used for meat in South America. In the 1800's and early 1900's zoos and private animal collectors brought llamas into the United States. Breeders in all parts of the U.S. raise llamas and alpacas successfully. In 1998 there were about 120,000 llamas and 12,300 alpacas in the U.S. Llamas come in many different color schemes. Several shades of brown, black and white are common, as are appaloosa and paint llamas. Normal weight range for llamas in the U.S. is between 240 and 440 pounds, with 290-350 pound llamas the most common. A two-year growth of llama wool can vary from 2 to 10 inches; in the U.S. most vary from 3 to 6 inches. Guard hair can be almost non-existent, like the alpaca, or can make up to 20% of the fleece. Alpacas are about 100 pounds smaller than a llama. There are two distinct breeds, the suri and the huacaya. The suri, with straight wool, has an average yearly growth of nearly 15 inches. The huacaya wool is highly crimped and looks something like that of a Romney sheep. The average yearly wool growth is 11 ½ inches. Alpaca wool is incredibly soft. Virgin fleece from crias can measure as fine as 16 microns (a micron is 1/1000 of a millimeter). Normal range for adult alpaca wool is 226.6 microns, placing it in the same category as the finest sheep wool. Taken from Chris Switzer, "Spinning Llama and Alpaca," and Andy Tillman, "Speechless Brothers." Back to top of page |