Corriedale (and Corriedale crosses) is the breed of the week
These Corriedales are a small flock at Bay Haven Farm, one of my near neighbors. Bay Haven breeds Cleveland Bay horses, Berkshire pigs and other heritage breeds and does the Hillsborough farmers market in Loudoun County. I am really sorry to say they have decided not to raise Corriedales anymore. We want more Corriedale if you know any farms in the Chesapeake watershed that need a market for their wool.
Are they not wooley? Corridales were developed in Australia in the late 1800′s from crossing Merino (fine, dense fleece) with Lincoln (long strong fleece). And I just read that they were first imported to the US in 1914, a centennial! how cool.
The sheep are pretty big, and produce a big fleece every year, 10-17 pounds. The average of all sheep is probably about 8 pounds per year, so that is impressive. The wool is a good length, 4 or 5 inches and a Medium type. It has great crimp and is pretty soft.
6% discount on Corriedale at markets this weekend
Decided to up the discount at market to 6%, so it covers tax. Those of you not in DC or Virginia don’t have to pay tax on web orders (never I hope, oh the headaches even thinking about it causes! Dealing with multiple states is very very very very hard).
I will bring: a pure Corriedale roving that is carded. Lovely to spin!
and…
our Corriedale/Corriedale cross yarn. The Corrie cross part of the blend are from Waterford Wool (you can see those sheep behind the Waterford store in Waterford, Virginia). The cross breed is Lincoln, one of the original breeds contributing to the Corriedale. Some of the sheep in this flock are natural colored and the addition of a little brown and gray creates a heathery light oatmeal color that is fabulous for cables or other textural knits.
The yarn is woolen spun and just perfect for fall. Warm, cushy and a pleasure to knit with. We have the undyed yarn in two skein sizes, solid dyed colors in small skeins and some also in large skeins and handpainted colors in large skeins. Great for vests (I’ll be wearing mine, made specially for the farmers market, designed by Andrea Price, author of Knit Speak), hats, scarves, and would be really really great for a throw to wrap up in on the couch this winter.
Got to go.
Hope to see you at the markets this chilly weekend. And to those of you in the snowy north or windy west…I am so thinking about you! Wow, if this is any indication, we all need to have several knitting projects lined up. We would just love to have one of them be with Solitude Wool!
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my experience growing and using weld for natural dye. One of the best and most light fast of the local yellows, it's easy to grow if you can get seed and plant at the right time. Following is how I harvested and dyed yarn and roving.
Gretchen Frederick
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