On the wheel
Sletto makes
homemade yarn
By Rae Lanzrath
STAFF WRITER
GARFIELD — The fiber-bearing animals at Shepherds Bay Farm have helped Terry and Kathy Sletto fulfill their dreams of spinning yarn. Using a wheel from the 1800s, the Slettos spin wool from their animals.
The farm is home to sheep, llamas, rabbits and a few friendly barn cats that all serve a special purpose.
The sheep herd is made up of 40 Shetland sheep who produce high-quality wool, Kathy said. The farm is home to 30 Angora rabbits, which grow hair long enough to be spun into yarn. Kathy waits until the hair is around 8 inches in length before she trims it off the animals.
“Once it reaches a certain length, it begins to fall out on its own,” Kathy said. “But then, you have to come out here every day to pick just a few pieces off each animal.”
Kathy uses a wheel to spin the wool from her rabbits to make yarn. She said the sheep produce way too much wool for her to spin it all herself, so she sends it off to a mill to get spun.
Kathy has two wheels to make yarn. One of them was made by her great-great-grandfather when he arrived in America from Norway. The other is a newer version that she purchased to reduce wear and tear on her original.
“It was made in the 1800s, so there are no screws or anything in it,” Kathy said. “The glue that holds it together is from (an) ox, and that’s about it, so obviously it falls apart after a while.”
Kathy keeps the wheel safely at home when she is travelling or teaching classes, but it is still fully functioning.
The newer wheel has the same design as the other. Kathy said they make wheels that are different designs, but she wanted one that looked like her original.
The wheel works by snagging wool and twisting, or spinning, it into tightly-wound yarn. The operator pushes a foot pedal on the bottom of the wheel, making it turn.
Kathy makes mittens, hats, clothing and dryer balls using the wool from her animals. The items made using yarn from the rabbits are softer, whereas the sheep wool tends to be stiffer, Kathy said. Some sheep have very coarse wool, and that is what is used to make dryer balls. The balls are designed to roll around in a clothes dryer and collect lint, reduce static and fluff the clothes.
Each product is made by hand in the Sletto home. When rabbit wool is used to make a product, a tag is added with a photo of the rabbit it came from.
“It just adds a little personal touch,” Kathy said.
All the products Kathy makes are sold at trade shows, usually in the Twin Cities. She also sells yarn at the shows, so people can create their own products. Kathy used to sell “raw” wool but no longer does, as it is harder to transport than yarn.
As soon as the wool has been removed from the animals, it is considered “raw,” Kathy said. Some producers sell the raw wool as is, before being washed.
“It’s full of dirt and straw and whatever else comes from the animal,” Kathy said. “Some people want it like that because it’s greasy, too, from the animal.”
Kathy said they used to bring unwashed wool to vendor shows to sell it. They also washed some wool but still brought it to the shows raw.
“It takes up so much space when it’s raw, so now we just sell yarn,” Kathy said. “We needed a whole truck just to bring it.”
When the wool was raw, the Slettos had to load up several garbage bags full of wool.
When it is spun into yarn, it is much smaller and easier to transport.
While the sheep and rabbits supply plenty of wool for the Slettos, they are not the only animals providing for the farm. Three llamas — Frances, Phineas and Flanagan — serve as protectors to the sheep herd.
“Llamas are protection animals,” Kathy said. “When there is danger, sheep run away, but llamas run directly at predators.”
If their herd is in danger, llamas will let out a sort of scream to let the sheep know. Predators try to get their prey to run because they will catch them. Llamas run head-on at predators, and it intimidates them, Kathy said.
“The llamas protect the sheep,” Kathy said. “The sheep and rabbits give us really good wool.”
homemade yarn
By Rae Lanzrath
STAFF WRITER
GARFIELD — The fiber-bearing animals at Shepherds Bay Farm have helped Terry and Kathy Sletto fulfill their dreams of spinning yarn. Using a wheel from the 1800s, the Slettos spin wool from their animals.
The farm is home to sheep, llamas, rabbits and a few friendly barn cats that all serve a special purpose.
The sheep herd is made up of 40 Shetland sheep who produce high-quality wool, Kathy said. The farm is home to 30 Angora rabbits, which grow hair long enough to be spun into yarn. Kathy waits until the hair is around 8 inches in length before she trims it off the animals.
“Once it reaches a certain length, it begins to fall out on its own,” Kathy said. “But then, you have to come out here every day to pick just a few pieces off each animal.”
Kathy uses a wheel to spin the wool from her rabbits to make yarn. She said the sheep produce way too much wool for her to spin it all herself, so she sends it off to a mill to get spun.
Kathy has two wheels to make yarn. One of them was made by her great-great-grandfather when he arrived in America from Norway. The other is a newer version that she purchased to reduce wear and tear on her original.
“It was made in the 1800s, so there are no screws or anything in it,” Kathy said. “The glue that holds it together is from (an) ox, and that’s about it, so obviously it falls apart after a while.”
Kathy keeps the wheel safely at home when she is travelling or teaching classes, but it is still fully functioning.
The newer wheel has the same design as the other. Kathy said they make wheels that are different designs, but she wanted one that looked like her original.
The wheel works by snagging wool and twisting, or spinning, it into tightly-wound yarn. The operator pushes a foot pedal on the bottom of the wheel, making it turn.
Kathy makes mittens, hats, clothing and dryer balls using the wool from her animals. The items made using yarn from the rabbits are softer, whereas the sheep wool tends to be stiffer, Kathy said. Some sheep have very coarse wool, and that is what is used to make dryer balls. The balls are designed to roll around in a clothes dryer and collect lint, reduce static and fluff the clothes.
Each product is made by hand in the Sletto home. When rabbit wool is used to make a product, a tag is added with a photo of the rabbit it came from.
“It just adds a little personal touch,” Kathy said.
All the products Kathy makes are sold at trade shows, usually in the Twin Cities. She also sells yarn at the shows, so people can create their own products. Kathy used to sell “raw” wool but no longer does, as it is harder to transport than yarn.
As soon as the wool has been removed from the animals, it is considered “raw,” Kathy said. Some producers sell the raw wool as is, before being washed.
“It’s full of dirt and straw and whatever else comes from the animal,” Kathy said. “Some people want it like that because it’s greasy, too, from the animal.”
Kathy said they used to bring unwashed wool to vendor shows to sell it. They also washed some wool but still brought it to the shows raw.
“It takes up so much space when it’s raw, so now we just sell yarn,” Kathy said. “We needed a whole truck just to bring it.”
When the wool was raw, the Slettos had to load up several garbage bags full of wool.
When it is spun into yarn, it is much smaller and easier to transport.
While the sheep and rabbits supply plenty of wool for the Slettos, they are not the only animals providing for the farm. Three llamas — Frances, Phineas and Flanagan — serve as protectors to the sheep herd.
“Llamas are protection animals,” Kathy said. “When there is danger, sheep run away, but llamas run directly at predators.”
If their herd is in danger, llamas will let out a sort of scream to let the sheep know. Predators try to get their prey to run because they will catch them. Llamas run head-on at predators, and it intimidates them, Kathy said.
“The llamas protect the sheep,” Kathy said. “The sheep and rabbits give us really good wool.”
