Well, that “teaser” at the end of the last post was some Merino x Australian Bonds! I was lucky enough to be able to make arrangements to visit Shirley’s place near Corowa where she has these sheep. She and John and Sue comprise Karoa Fibers who really focus on providing high quality wool for hand spinners.
They were kind enough to let me visit and we met at Shirley’s place, John and Sue living a distance from there. They had set Shirley’s shed up with a typical stall display, as well as many of the fleeces from this year’s shearing. They had some other visitors coming soon so I was able to take advantage of that and see their products.
And, yes, some of this wool is finding its way to my farm! Here is John skirting a fleece. I chose half of two contrasting color fleeces ( no surprise to anyone who knows me!) for a total of 4.5 kilos (about 10 pounds).
Isn’t this beautiful? I chose fleeces that weren’t quite as fine, to better suit my spinning style, but, if my notes are correct, this breed’s wool runs in the 19-22 micron range.
Shirley has a number of these sheep at her place and John and Sue have about 600 more at their place. Here, Shirley had tossed them some tortillas (I think) which they came up to eat!
We left Shirley’s farm (and her sweet little Kelpie)
And went to the Shire offices for lunch and a quick look at a quilt show there. Two memorable quilts were one showcasing Australian wildlife and, of course, one with sheep!
We made our way to the local gallery where I had a chance to shop ( they have some of their creations there) and meet the artist who created a mat I bought showing some historical sites in Corowa which is famous for the place where Australia came together as one country.
Next, on to Everton Upper and….
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