Sheep Week - Giveaway Winner!

Goodbye, Los Manantiales -- it was good to explore your grassy pastures, stone steps and walkways, and fruit trees! We had a wonderful time!

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And now, the two great rams will choose the giveaway winner! The winner will receive, by mail:

1 skein of Silky Merino in Celeste

1 skein of Silky Merino in Helechos

2 skeins of Silky Merino in Tatami

1 skein of Worsted Merino in Natural

2 skeins of Rios in Coco

1 skein of Gruesa in Natural (Gruesa is Corriedale! We felt we needed to represent the other sheep here in Uruguay a little, too!)

Congratulations to Glockeroo for winning this great prize! Thank you for your sweet comments, everyone -- it has been a great Sheep Week! Glockeroo, we'll contact you for your mailing address.

Chau, Hannah

Sheep Week - The Rumble of Hooves

This herd is the largest breeding herd of ewes (3,200) in all of Uruguay. Many farms may have a few more ewes, but these ewes are all breeding stock. A few of them even have lambs, and it was a real treat to see the gauchos round them up so we could see them in a group.

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Stay tuned. Tomorrow is the last day of Sheep Week and the winner (and prize) of the Sheep Week giveaway will be announced!

Chau, Hannah

Sheep Week Color Feature - Paysandu

photo by Hannah Thiessen

Feeling inspired? Try Malabrigo in these colorways!

Sock in Natural, Chunky in Pearl, Silky in Tatami, Rasta in Natural, Silky in Helechos, Rios in Coco, Twist in Zinc, Worsted in Jewel Blue

Chau, Hannah

Sheep Week - Fun Factoids

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They tell you not to look a gift horse in the mouth, but does the same go for a Malabrigo sheep? No way! You can tell how old a sheep is by looking at how many teeth have grown in on the front of the bottom jaw. The sheep to the left is a very young sheep - only one year old. When lambs are born, they have a small set of milk teeth and an upper dental pad.

Sheep are marked with a plastic earring that is put in very carefully - the sheep's ears are extremely delicate and the farmers are very concerned about risking pain or infection. Every sheep is pierced with great care. Some farmers even make sure that their sheep can be identified if their tag comes off by tattooing the inside of the ear with the same number.  All the numbers are often entered into a computerized data system with information on the micron count, age, and health of each sheep.

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Contrary to what you may think, sheep aren't only judged on micron or luminosity (the whiteness of the fleece), but also their general health and structure. If a sheep has a lopsided gait or his legs are too short, even with a perfect fleece, he will score lower in competitions than a sheep that has a good build.

Chau, Hannah

Sheep Week - Wool Marking

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The sheep we use for Malabrigo are only the finest merino sheep in Uruguay. This means that the farms have to meet our high standards too, especially in areas like animal treatment, cleanliness, and herd management. SUL, which monitors regulations of wool breeding and herd management, keeps very high quality standards as well. For instance, the Uruguayan wool farmers are not allowed to use mulesing methods to deal with flystrike -- instead, they are trying to breed out the excess folds, and keep their herds small enough to deal with infection and disease.

The herd I visited is located in Paysandu, which is one of the Uruguyan states that contains the most wool farming. The ground there is rocky, which makes it perfect for sheep, who are best left to nibble at what grows up through the rocky ground. If they have too much food, the micron and fineness of the wool is compromised -- too little, and the sheep are unhealthy and produce brittle fleeces and fibers. The balance between the two is crucial, and herders pay attention.

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When shearing season comes around, the herds are marked for quality. Sheep marked with one blue dot (the paint is a chalky substance which washes out when the fleece is cleaned) are fine -- those marked with two blue dots are the superfine sheep that win competitions. The finest wool at this farm is some of the finest in all of Uruguay. Malabrigo purchases  the wool that this farm produces, so you are, for sure, going to be knitting with wool from these sheep!

Chau, Hannah

Sheep Week Kickoff!

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What are these sheep doing? Oh! They're competing to be on SHEEP WEEK!

After going on a really enlightening trip to one of our biggest suppliers of merino in Paysandu, we thought it would be really fun to give you guys a knitter's version of 'Shark Week'! This week will be Sheep Week on the blog, culminating in a giveaway at the end! Updates every day -- stay tuned to learn everything you can about the Malabrigo Sheep and the process of selection for your favorite wool!

Chau, Hannah

Howling Winds Cowl - New Pattern!

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The Howling Winds Cowl has finally been released! Start looking for it at your local yarn stores next month, as copies can be obtained through their rep and are free with a purchase of a skein of Rasta. The pattern is made in exactly one skein of Rasta in Solis, but would look good in any of Rasta's colorways. It knits up quickly and is a great gift for yourself, or anyone who lives in colder climates!

If you have already purchased a skein of Rasta, but still want to knit the cowl, the pattern is available!