British summer time ended two days ago that brings on colder, darker and longer evenings but always the positive side … ‘tis the season to knit something snuggly!  Time to really enjoy our craft - with your choice of tea and a great big slice of chocolate cake!

We’re kicking off something new this season - our Super-Buys.  And this November we’re starting with a great offer for you - introducing our 5 skeins of amazing naturally coloured 4 Ply wool from the stunning black Wensleydale.  There are so many gorgeous colours in this natural undyed wool.  It’s a sock/sport/fingering weight,  2/8 Nm.

Just after Christmas we’ll have an offer for our new Aran collection in soft colours as well as natural from the black Wensleydale.  Spun with mostly lambs wool this aran will be our best yet!   As soon as it arrives we’ll pop it on our wall pronto - make sure you follow us on @homefarmwensleydales for updates!

And if you know any rug makers, we should be receiving our white/black Lincoln Longwool Combed top in the next couple of weeks.  This will be perfect for rugging - a very traditional product but with the luxury of combing!

Have a wonderful November - please be considerate of pets & livestock on fireworks nights - and remember Christmas is quickly approaching, so letters to Santa need to be sent off soon!

For an awful year, thankfully at Home Farm it seems to have gone quite quickly and we are already set up and waiting for our new lambs for the 2021 season.

Always making improvements both with the quality of our wool and the health and welfare of our sheep are what keeps us very busy at the farm.  Our lambs, born March 2020 are the best we have ever seen on our farm and although I always do say this, they really are!  

Our barn is full with pregnant ewes - 80 of them - and we hope to have a successful lambing season again this year - with the first of the lambs due tomorrow! 
The barn is warm and cosy, the ewes are looking very round and happily munching away on the fine hay and good food we provide.  Their beds are changed every day and the water is always cold and fresh.  Individual lambing pens are waiting for them and their new lambs as soon as they want!  Not a bad life.

I'm hoping the weather improves a little, then we can turn the new lambs out quicker.  We always keep some good pasture for the new lambs and never turn them out onto pasture where lambs have grazed the previous year.  This cuts down any disease and also gives them a lovely fresh field to graze.  

Hope to have time to make a new blog during lambing but I always update instagram if you would like to follow us  #homefarmwensleydales

pic below - some of our rams after working in 2020

Here we are in November and I cannot believe where the year has gone!

Here at Home Farm Wensleydales our feet haven't touched the ground since lambing, it has been an exceptionally busy year and we would like to thank all of our customers for their ongoing support.  

Following a very successful lambing in March we have joined a Premium Flock Health Scheme and are currently undergoing blood screening tests to rule out MV (nasty disease) in our flock.  Last week our blood tests came back clear so we are absolutely delighted and now move on to the next stage.

A few of the whites on blood testing day.  The big lad in the middle (without a fringe) is our Wensleydale x Bluefaced Leicester wether - He is 3 and weighs 150 kg!!

Our tups are in.  Happy boys.  Small groups this year, having used a couple of Teaser rams first we hope to lamb a little quicker than normal and will post as soon when the party tent is busy.  

We sheared our lambs in August and I am delighted to say that we 'sold out' of lambs fleece within 3 weeks.  Amazing and thank you.

We are now sorting our longer locks - some beautiful fleeces coming up for sale.  The weather last year gave us amazing quality fleece but the heat took a couple of inches away from the extreme lengths.  Our fleeces are averaging 7-9 inches and, of course, we are delighted with the quality.  If you would like an entire fleece, please message me and I will get sorting!

Our wool is as popular as ever, especially the naturally coloured 4 ply.  This is pure Wensleydale - absolutely stunning.  It takes a long time to collect enough raw fleece from my flock of blacks and, of course I am always delighted with the quality and colours that these sheep produce.  

Products are not quite up to date on my website but we are working on this.  
Some gorgeous dyed lambs locks and some natural coloured Lincoln Longwool will be up for sale very soon along with exciting new crochet patterns and a few more knitting ideas.   

I'm off to Compton Verney craft fair for the rest of the weekend and hope to see many of you there.  
Best wishes as always - jx

Lambing 2019 - March and April.  Best time of the year for a woolly farm

2/3rds of this year has already passed and I can't believe it!  We seem to have moved from lambing, to shearing, to hay making and woolly shows so quickly!

Its been such bizarre weather for us here in the UK, and our farm has suffered for the lack of grass but we couldn't let our livestock suffer, so - of course - we have been buying food for them!  I didn't want to use the hay and haylage that we have stored for winter. 

This photo shows the extreme temperature and the lack of grass for my sheep. 

I understand today is the first day of Autumn - and so I guess our grass won't recover this year but we shall make the most of whatever happens now.

 .. But despite this dry and hot summer - our lambs are fabulous!  We sheared last week and their fleeces are beautiful.  Some I will have spun into lambswool and some I will sell for spinning and crafts.  The black is such a deep lustrous colour.

Our Kelpie Stan had his second birthday and now we feel it is a good time to push him a little harder on the farm and start work.  He's fit, intelligent and a good instinct - I am sure he will do well as our farm dog even though Wensleydales will only move for a dog if they are in the mood to!

Planning tupping groups for the end of September is our next important job.  Being so very rare, it is important that we get our bloodlines varied as well as making sure we continue to breed good healthy stock.  And talking of tupping - we have had two of our Lincoln Longwool ram lambs castrated so that they now have a lifelong job here as teasers (used to bring the ewes into season - before the real guys get to work).   

And the rest of the year now for me will be many wool shows around the UK.  Our 'Shows' page lists where we are and if you are nearby then it would be great to say Hi.  Do come along and see us.
jx