• Address: Miles City, MT 59301 (map)
• Date Posted: 10/24/09

TRAMP FAMILY FARM
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Shetland and Icelandic Wool/Products
We raise Shetland and Icelandic sheep on our small family farm in Eastern Montana. The Shetlands are from the Shetland Isles of Scotland and are closely related to the Icelandics from Iceland. Both were brought to these islands by the Vikings.
I meticulously skirt the best of my lamb fleeces to sell. These primitive breeds have dual-coated, lower lanolin-content fleeces than most modern breeds, so they tend to shed debris and vegetative matter for cleaner raw fleeces, especially in the fall. Their coats can be used together or separated to make anything from underwear(undercoat) to rugs(outercoat).
Shetland and Icelandic fleeces are very similar, but yet these primitive animals have lots of variation in their genetics that leads to a great deal of variation in the fleeces of both breeds as well. Overall, Shetland fleeces tend to have less outercoat and are more fine and airy, so they need little or no tip-flicking, ie spin right off the animal. The finest Shetland fleeces are historically known for making super fine yarn for lace shawls that will fit through a wedding ring. On the other hand, Icelandics tend to have more outercoat, so they need more flicking of their ringleted tips as you spin the fiber. Because of the strong outercoat holding the fiber together, the Icelandic fleeces tend to be more ideal for making felted items, and it is easier to separate out enough coarser fiber for ruq-weaving.
Much of the wool we raise is used to make entirely handmade knit/crocheted/woven/felted wool items . Our specialty is handspinning in-the-grease and in-the-lock for a totally unique, one-of-a-kind yarn ONLY obtained by handspinning. Spinning in-the-grease preserves the weather, water, and bacteria-resistant lanolin, and spinning in-the-lock yields a subtle, variegated yarn that displays the natural color variations of our Shetland fleeces. This is the point when I wash the fleece most of the time, the yarn stage.
Taking wool from sheep to finished product is a slow process, ie no mass production. Our supply is very limited, and what we don't sell locally might be advertised on ebay.
Our girls, Sarah and Audrey who graduate from high school 2008 and 2010, have enjoyed photographing our animals and have sold animal photo (blank inside) note cards. They do not enjoy the idea of selling their lambs, but we have been told by a Palestinian lady, who is an expert, that our all-natural, chemical/antibiotic/vaccine-free, grass-fed lamb meat is the "best she has ever eaten."
Scottish Highland Cattle
Our small herd of Highlanders are naturally raised, slow grown, and grassfed. They are free of hormones, steroids, antibiotics, pesticides, or other chemicals. Their meat is known for high omega 3 fatty acids/CLA, low back fat, low cholesterol, and good marbling.
We do sell animals--registered and non-registered, and we have a few skulls available for sale. We have worked on pelts/hides but have not mastered this task well enough to sell them.
Favorites
Visit these on the web:
gumbohighlands
vikingsheepart
TongueRiverFarm--A wealth of information on washing, spinning, knitting, felting, etc, these types of fleeces. Some of the items I have made, and pictures of my family helping with shearing are on this site, since my beginnings with this type of wool were at Tongue River Farm when it started on the Tongue River here in Miles City, MT.

Vikingsheepart Fleeces: $11/LB + Shipping

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