<![CDATA[Anderson Sheep Farm

<![CDATA[Anderson Sheep Farm - Blog]]>Fri, 26 Sep 2025 22:54:39 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[The Making of a T-Rex Dinosaur by Needle Felting]]>Wed, 01 Jun 2016 23:36:28 GMThttps://www.andersonsheepfarm.com/blog/the-making-of-a-t-rex-dinosaurStep one: Come up with a plan and possible design. Get a model, make some really bad sketches, and take measurements to keep proportions

Step two: I had figure out to make him stand up! I didn't have anything else on hand and I wanted to get started. I used 22 gauge wire that we use for our electric fencing.

Step three: I wrapped core roving around the aperture .

I want my Mummy! In step four, a felting needle was used to anchor in the edges in preparation for the covering.

He needed to look somewhat like a realistic dinosaur, so I blended natural dark roving with some hand dyed green roving on my Brother drum carder. I wanted to have plenty so I didn't run out. He has been slimed. End of step five.

Step six: More blending was done to get the underbelly coloring. Natural gray roving was mixed with hand dyed yellow roving.

Step seven: Hand carders were used to get the red color blend that was used for the inside of the mouth.

Step eight: He needs upper AND lower teeth! Points will be shaped on each individual tooth.

Step nine: Choppers!

Step ten: Yes, that is a cherry pit. I was sizing for the eyes and getting ready to needle in the lower dentures.

Trying to escape. He heard there was chocolate upstairs.

Eyes, nose, toes, and claws were needled in to give him more character in step eleven.

Posing for a finished shot. He stands about 13 inches tall and is 23 inches long from nose to tail tip. He took about 24 hours to complete.

The big T-Rex was the 3-D model. The felted T-Rex is roughly 1/2 the size and will be a "desk buddy" for my son at work. Of course artistic license was taken ....

ROAR!

]]><![CDATA[New Baby Lambs!]]>Tue, 24 May 2016 19:42:16 GMThttps://www.andersonsheepfarm.com/blog/new-baby-lambsIt can get a little hectic when the new lambs and their mothers go out into the pasture for the first time. There is lots of crying out to each other and muffled replies as the older (by a week or two) mothers try to call out to their babies with their mouths full of grass. The newest moms have a panicky tone to their call as the babies get mixed up or stay in one place while the older mothers move to another spot in search of a delightful bite full. The baaaing went on for most of the day. Check out the video below.

Violet tries to imitate her mom, Ana, by sampling grass too. Lamb names this year came from the British TV show Downton Abbey which could be watched on channel 45. Sadly, the season and the series ended after eight years.

Here is Mr. Bates taking a nap after a romp in the grass.

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]]><![CDATA[Wool Fact Sheet]]>Tue, 17 May 2016 17:27:31 GMThttps://www.andersonsheepfarm.com/blog/wool-fact-sheetWhy wool do you ask? Well here are some facts from American Wool, Division of American Sheep Industry Association, Inc.

CHARACTERISTICS OF WOOL- Adapted from American Wool
BENEFITS

Resists wrinkles because wool springs back quickly
Resists soiling because the fiber is complex
Is durable because multi-part fiber resists wear
Repels moisture because fiber sheds water
Retains shape because resilient fibers return to size
Resists flames because fibers will not support combustion
Is comfortable in all seasons because it keeps layer of air next to skin

DURABILITY AND RESILIENCE
Each wool fiber is a molecular coil-
spring making the fiber remarkably elastic. Nature has folded the chemical
polypeptide chains back upon themselves in such a way that they act like a
coiled spring which elongates when it is extended and retracts when it is
released. This molecular crimp, along with the 3-dimensional fiber, allows wool
fibers to be stretched up to 50% when wet and 30% when dry, and still bounce
back to their original shape when stress is released. But be careful: When wool
is wet the fibers are weaker. Recovery from stress takes place faster when the
fiber is in a humid environment; that’s why steaming a wool garment will
freshen the fabric and why a steam iron is recommended for pressing wool.
The flexibility of the wool fiber also makes it more durable. A wool fiber
can be bent back on itself more than 20,000 times without breaking, compared
to about 3,000 times for cotton and 2,000 times for silk. The natural elasticity
of wool also makes woolen fabrics resistant to tearing. In addition, the outer
skin of the wool fiber acts as a protective film, giving wool cloth improved
resistance to abrasion.

FIBER ABSORBENCY
Wool is a hygroscopic fiber; it takes up moisture
in vapor form. Tiny pores in the epicuticle make the fiber semi-permeable,
allowing vapor to pass through to the heart of the fiber. Wool can easily absorb
up to 30% of its weight in moisture without feeling damp or clammy.
The capacity to absorb makes wool a “temperature regulator” because it
can protect the body in both cold and warm conditions. Wool always absorbs
moisture from the atmosphere of greater humidity and releases it to the drier
environment as it creates a balance in moisture conditions. This characteristic
makes wool a versatile all-season fabric.
Wool absorbs perspiration; thus it keeps a layer of dry air next to the skin
which, in turn, helps to hold in body heat. As wool absorbs atmospheric
moisture, the hydrogen bond of water is broken and chemically reacts with
molecules of the wool to generate heat.
Wool garments are therefore regarded as good protection against hypo-
thermia... a condition that occurs when sudden drastic lowering of body
temperature causes the body to lose heat faster than it can be produced.
The same principle of moisture contact on the skin acts to protect against
hot weather as well. The body cools itself naturally with the evaporation of per-
spiration. Wool expedites this process by absorbing perspiration and keeping
the same dry air next to the skin. This is why wool clothing is worn throughout
the desert regions of the world where it’s hot during the day and cool at night.

FELTS NATURALLY
The physical structure of the outer scaly layer of
the wool fiber contributes to wool’s unique property of felting. Under the
mechanical action of agitation, friction and pressure in the presence of heat
and moisture, the scales on the edges of the wool fibers interlock, preventing
the fiber from returning to its original position. Felting shrinkage is irreversible.
The felting property of wool is both an advantage and disadvantage. In a con-
trolled situation the felting quality is called fulling or milling and creates a softer
finish for woven wool fabric. Felting is also an advantage because it provides for
a wide variety of non-woven felt fabrics for hats and for industrial uses. Felting is
a disadvantage because it makes the washing of untreated wool fabrics difficult.
Treatments have been developed to prevent felting shrinkage, allowing wool
garments to be machine-washed. The SUPERWASH ®mark certifies that fabrics
have been treated for machine-washability and dryability under strict standards
set by The Wool Bureau, Inc. Technically, the process involves a mild chemical
treatment applied to the fiber to form a microscopic film of resin that spreads
evenly over the fiber surface. The film reduces friction and thus eliminates
entanglement. The resin can’t be washed or worn off; it is held in place perma-
nently by chemical adhesive bonds.

TAKES DYE BEAUTIFULLY
Wool absorbs many different dyes deeply,
uniformly and directly without the use of combining chemicals. Wool is an
amphoteric, which means it reacts with both acids and bases; thus it accepts
both acid and basic dyestuffs. Dyes penetrate into the inner medulla core of the
fiber where a chemical reaction occurs making the color change permanent
except under extreme and prolonged fading conditions.

RESISTANCE TO FLAME
Because wool contains moisture in each fiber,
it resists flame without chemical treatment. Instead of burning freely when
touched by flame, wool chars and stops burning when it is removed from the
source of fire. Wool is self-extinguishing. It will not support combustion; this is
why wool blankets are recommended for use in extinguishing small fires.

CHEMICAL STRUCTURE
Wool is a natural protein fiber that grows from
the follicles of the sheep’s skin. It is like human hair in that it is composed of
keratin-type protein. Chemically these proteins contain 5 elements: carbon,
hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur. These 5 elements are combined into 19
amino acids linked together in ladder-like polypeptide chains.

RESISTANCE TO COMPRESSION
Resistance-to-compression values
are useful in assessing the suitability of wool for specific end uses. Resistance to
compression (R to C) is the force per unit area required to compress a fixed
mass of wool to a fixed volume. Resistance to compression is related to fiber
diameter and the form and frequency of crimp.
For instance, low and medium R to C wools tend to be softer, more lustrous,
more susceptible to felting, easier to process and produce strong fabrics. On the
other hand, high R to C wools have a harsher handle, are resistant to felting and
are bulkier.
Two resistance-to-compression studies conducted by Texas A&M University
prove American wool is well-suited to produce the finest of fabrics as well as
wool batting for the production of futons and other bedding materials. These
studies confirmed that there is a good variety of wools available in the U.S. with
low, medium and high resistance to compression. The majority of the wool finer
than 28 micron in this test was analyzed as being in the middle resistance-to-
compression range (53%). On the other hand, some 73 percent of the wool
coarser than 28 micron was evaluated to be highly resistant to compression.

American Wool
Division of American Sheep Industry Association, Inc.
6911 South Yosemite Street
Centennial, CO 80112-1414
(303) 771-3500 • Fax (303) 771-8200
www.sheepusa.org

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