Summer, 2014

Good News from Vermont

We received good news from Lydia Smith from Vermont who had purchased a ewe lamb and a yearling ewe from us in early May. At the North East Youth Sheep Show,  the yearling won Reserve Champion, best fleece, and best head.  Lydia is a natural, as you can see in these pictures!

Sheep Lead-In

Who knew we would ever be involved in the sheep lead-in competition again?!

At the Madison and Fayette County fairs and the Ohio State Fair, we were well-represented by four-year-old Alli Knecht in the lead-ins. Alli's parents, Angie and Matt Knecht, bought two of our lambs so that Alli could participate in the lead-ins. I knitted a dress and hat from our wool for Alli. She named her sheep Katie and Sparkles, and she quickly became friends with them. Above is a picture of Alli modeling her outfit. As you can see, she's knows what she's doing! Alli and her cousin showed both lambs in pairs, winning first place at the state fair.

Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan

ZNK Border Leicesters had a successful weekend in Michigan. First of all, we took the white ewe lamb that failed to sell at Wooster. She won Champion White Long Wool Ewe and found a new home in Virginia with Cathy Shiff.

In the Natural Colored Long Wool division, our ram lamb was champion.

 And our ewe lamb beat our first place yearling for champion Natural Colored Long Wool Ewe.

In all, we had 9 first place ribbons, 2 second, one third and 1 fourth. We also were awarded Premiere Breeder for Natural Colored Long Wools. Not bad!

Workshops

I also had a chance to take a couple of workshops during the week. I attempted to weave again, this time on a rectangular continuous strand loom from Hillcreek Fiber Studio using yarn that I spun. I wove a divided work basket in a workshop with Bev Larson, The Basket Lady.

A week in SW Michigan with friends, new and old, is something we look forward to every August. 

May, 2014

We took a quick trip to the Maryland Wool Festival to deliver 2 ewes to Lydia Smith from Vermont. We just happened to arrive in time to see the natural colored Border Leicester show. The champion ram and ewe were purchased from us at the Wooster sale last year. The ram was shown by the Sands family and the champion ewe was shown by the Bilyeu family, both from Pennsylvania. 

Wooster was pretty successful. We had the top selling natural colored ewe, and our ram was the reserve champion. It was great to see old friends and meet new ones interested in the Border Leicester breed.

We feel lucky to have sold quite a few sheep in the past month. We hope the sheep will do well for their new owners.

Now we look forward to the Michigan Fiber Festival in August. Hope to see you there!

Flock For Sale

We've finally decided to sell our flock of white and natural colored Border Leicesters. Travel and family will be our focus now. Raising and showing the sheep have been an enjoyable and worthwhile experience that we've been able to share. The people we've met along the way are wonderful, and hopefully some of the travel plans will include sheep shows to visit with friends!

Our plans are to sell the flock as one unit. In the meantime, we'll sell at Wooster - The Great Lakes Fiber Show over Memorial weekend and possibly Rhinebeck - New York State Sheep and Wool Festival in October. 

Please contact Jerry at znkborderleicesters@gmail.com if interested.

We have had a lot of success and fun along the way!

NAILE 2013

Success in Louisville!

Our luck in the show ring this year continued at the NAILE in Louisville. In the Natural Color Border Leicester ewe show we had the first place yearling ewe, first place senior ewe lamb, and second place junior ewe lamb. The senior ewe lamb was also Champion Ewe and Best Fleece. 

We also won all three pair classes and flock, which was undefeated this year.

We have had a lot of help showing the sheep throughout the year . We'd like to thank Brian Larson, Emma Hopkins, Colin and Artie Siegmund, Don Drummond, Jill Morton, David Freds, Tyler Myers, and Alisun Watson.

 We'd like to wish ewe Happy Holidays!

The Big E, 2013

Jerry soloed at the Big E this year with much success. He took seven sheep and came home with a lot of ribbons and smiles. In all he had eight firsts, two seconds, one fourth, one sixth, and a tenth.

The ram lambs had a perfect day. They won the senior ram lamb, junior ram lamb, and pair of ram lamb classes. The senior ram lamb was picked champion ram, while the junior ram lamb was reserve. The first place yearling ram was one that we sold to Barbara Thompson last year. He also sired the reserve champion ewe lamb.

The yearling ewes didn't do as well, placing sixth and tenth. However, they did place second in pairs (you figure that one out). The senior ewe lambs were first and second in their class and paired up to win the pair class. The final ewe lamb placed fourth in its class.

Jerry also came home winning Exhibitor's Flock and Breeder's Flock. The champion ram lamb also won Best Fleece. Just before leaving the show, Jerry was awarded The Big E Shepherd award, topping off a great week.

See you all in Louisville!

Michigan Fiber Festival, 2013

The Michigan Fiber Festival Workshop Experience

For the past eight (or maybe more) years in mid-August, I’ve been going to the Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, Michigan, for several days of workshops. Each year I come home with a new or renewed passion for a craft. Over the years, I’ve improved my spinning and knitting skills, learned to make baskets, rugs, and paint yarns. I especially enjoy the workshops when I come home with a finished project. This year was special. I signed up for the Continuous Strand Weaving workshop, led by Carol Leigh from the Hillcreek Fiber Studio in Columbia, Missouri. The workshop lasted two days, although it took me three and a half to finish, and I came home with a beautiful shawl. What really made it special is that I used all natural yarns from our Border Leicester fleeces, white and natural colored.

The Michigan Fiber Festival Sheep Show Experience

Jerry arrived in Allegan on Friday with a trailer full of sheep and fleeces. This year he brought a yearling ram, 2 ram lambs, 2 yearling ewes and 2 ewe lambs, all natural colored. The sheep show was on Saturday morning (btw, the weather was perfect...cool and sunny). The judge was Sam Wiford from Ohio. One yearling ewe won her class; we won pair of yearling ewes and pair of ram lambs; and we won first in flock. The yearling ewe also was champion natural colored ewe. This all added up to winning Premier Breeder in the natural colored show. We were pretty happy with the results. Even better, we came home with no fleeces, having sold them all. We also came home with one less ram. We  found a new home for Emmit at Clearwater Farms in Coldwater, Michigan, where he will be well-taken care of. 

We highly recommend the Michigan Fiber Festival  - we haven’t been disappointed yet!

Great Lakes Fiber Show and Sale - Wooster - 2013

As Memorial Day approached, it was time for our annual trip to The Great Lakes Fiber Show in Wooster. We loaded up the camper for its first trip of the year along with five lambs in the back of the truck and headed north. Unlike last year when it was in the 90's, it was a chilly day barely in the 50's.

Once we arrived, it was time for settling in and trimming, while catching up with everyone. On Friday night we gathered at the Great Western for a potluck with the other border leicester breeders. Thanks to the Fogles for organizing and furnishing delicious lamb.

On Saturday it was time to get ready for the show. Judge Judy Moore placed two of the lambs in second and one in first in their classes.

That night we met for our annual Border Leicester Breeders dinner at the Olde Jaol Restaurant in downtown Wooster. We had excellent company and food along with a silent auction featuring wines, foods, photographs, and a quilt.

On Sunday we were pleased to have a good turnout of buyers at the sale. All of our lambs sold at good prices and went to homes in Indiana and Pennsylvania. One even went home in the back seat of a car!

The ram lamb and one of the ewes found their way to Pennsylvania.

What's next? We'll be shearing in July and will have fleeces for the Michigan Fiber Festival, which is the third weekend in August in Allegan. Don't miss it!