So when you hear the word Shetland do you think of small ponies and dogs that look like mini-Collies?  Windswept islands? Lace?  I think of lace first (because I love knitting lace) and then I think of sheep.  Like the miniaturized version of horses and dogs that inhabit the Shetland Islands, the sheep are also smaller too, topping out at 125 pounds.  For comparison, my friend’s St. Bernard dog weighs more at 140 pounds. 

The breed is old, and retains many other historical characteristics besides size, most notably color.  Where many sheep breeds have been bred to be large flocks of white to be sold to the textile industry, Shetland sheep still come in a rainbow of earthy colors- from creams, browns, grays, blacks, and all color in-between.  Traditional names like emsket, shaela, mioget, and moorit are still regularly used.  Shetland sheep came in single or double coat, or a wavy coat.  It is soft.  Staple length of the fleeces I have spun have ranged from 3-7 inches long.  Below is some pictures of fleeces I have worked with throughout the years and I never have got a coarse fleece.   I’ve also worked with all three types-  I don’t prefer one over another.  I don’t separate the double coat fleece, I just combine the two either just by fluffing by hand or carding, and spin.

You can also get Shetland roving in several colors from a variety of sellers such as the Woolery, Paradise Fibers, and Bountiful Spin and Weave.  Roving is prepared fibers.  It is combed into a ropelike.. well.. rope and ready to spin.  I find it easier to spin if I separate the rope into several strips, about ½ inch wide.  The roving comes in brown, gray, and white. 

I love spinning Shetland wool, hence the “Favorite Fibers” title.  I love the range of colors and it is always reliably soft.  I mentioned above where I get roving.  I have got fleeces from sellers on Ebay and Etsy.  There are also farms whose info is in the classifieds section of Spin Off Magazine.  I have an oatmeal Shetland fleece that I am washing right now and will be spinning soon, so update to come!

Below is a sampling of the Shetland handspun yarns I have created through the years.

Yes, it does.  Cotton can come in a rainbow of muted natural colors including shades of tan, green, brown, and russet. 

Cotton, like sheep wool, was bred to be white for the same reason as wool- to be able to reliably dye the fiber a rainbow of colors in textile production.   It is also bred to be long stapled.  Cottons such as Pima and Acala have long fiber lengths of around 1 ½- 2 inches.  Natural color cotton fiber length is shorter than it’s commercially bred cousins.  The darker the natural color, the shorter the fiber length.   Where Pima and Acala are shiny and slick, colorgrown cottons are incredibly soft and billowy and range from medium to matte shine.  It does not fade.  With repeated washings in hot water, the color deepens. 

So how is it to spin?  If you asked me today I would say an utter pain.  I haven’t spun cotton in awhile so I’m not used to the short draw I have to use to spin it.  I also have to keep my hands closer to the orifice (the round part the yarn goes through to the bobbin).  After a skein or two, I’m fine.  Cotton takes practice.  If you’re a beginning cotton spinner, it will take time to get the hang of it- it’s a completely different feel and technique than wool.  Colorgrown cotton roving is a good place to start because the fiber is fluffy and sticks together better than slick Pima.  Start with a lighter color such as tan or khaki.  The red brown has really short staple length, so much that I won’t spin that color anymore. 

My only regular qualm about spinning cotton is the lint gets everywhere.  The fibers get stuck on my hands, clothes, whatever furniture is near the carpet.   Be prepared not to touch your nose when you're sneezing, otherwise cotton lint will get in your nose.  

Below is a sampling of my handspun colorgrown cottons yarns.