2025 Fleece Auction - What you need to know

Shearing and rooing are done, and it's almost time for the 2025 Fleece Auction to begin! I wanted to share a look behind the scenes of how I prepare our Shetland wool for sale — from skirting and sorting to the auction process and what makes each fleece special.

Whether you've purchased from us before or are just discovering our flock, I hope this preview gives you a sense of how much care goes into each fleece — and why I’m so proud of the wool our sheep produce.

The Process: Shearing, Rooing, and Skirting

Our fleeces are either roo’d (pulled by hand when the wool naturally loosens) or sheared. The wool in this auction is only the clean, protected wool from under the coats, which keep it free from VM (vegetative matter) like hay and seeds that are difficult to remove.

Everything outside the coat is skirted off. If it’s still usable, I sort it into color groups for processing by a mill. My mill's minimum inbound weight is 35 pounds per color for combed top. I may need to combine similar colors like fawn and moorit, and I’ve also added about 50 pounds of wool from sheep born here but raised by other farmers, which will join the combed top pool.

Closeup of the tips on a fleece

rooing in action — pulling wool by hand

A New Adventure in Processing

This year, I’m sending wool to a new mill — one of the few I’ve found that still makes true combed top. That’s a process where the wool is first turned into roving, then combed again to remove short fibers and align it perfectly. This prep is ideal for our soft, crimpy wool with its shorter staple length.

Addriana's nice crimpy lock

📊 Tracking Every Fleece

Each fleece is carefully evaluated and logged in a spreadsheet. I track many things including:

- Fleece weight

- Staple length

- Roo’d or sheared?

- Temperament or shearing quality notes

This helps me make decisions each year about who to roo, and gives buyers insight into the wool’s qualities.

Snippet from my 2025 fleece Spreadsheet

Every sheep has a card made

This Year's Fleeces

Here’s the breakdown of what’s going into the auction:

- 65 fleeces total

- 6 ram fleeces went to combed top

- 2 I’m processing myself (Musetta’s white fleece and Lakshmi’s grey katmoget fleece for lockspun yarn)

- In the auction:

  - 8 black fleeces

  - 12 fawn

  - 12 grey

  - 10 moorit

  - 15 white

  - 3 spotted fleeces (Mabel, Lucianna, Belinda)

Of those, 29 are roo’d, 21 are sheared, and the rest are hybrids or half-and-half.

Glorious Tree of Skirted Fleeces

The Back of Lucianna's Fleece Shows Her White Spots

What to Expect from the Auction

Each fleece will have a listing in the shop with:

- Weight

- Staple length

- Spinning fineness

- Photos of the ewe, the fleece, a lock closeup

- The full micron report 

This year’s flock average spinning fineness is 22.0 microns.

Tags

You can filter on tags on the Raw Fleece Auction Page so you can only view items you are interested in.  Here is a list of the different tags and the types:

Harvesting method:  Roo'd, Sheared, Hybrid, Half and Half

Color:  Moorit, White, Grey, Fawn or Black

Staple length:  Greater than 2" or Less than 2"

Discounted

Lamb

Spotted

The auction will run from:

Sunday, July 27 at 6 PM (ET) to Sunday, August 3 at 6 PM (ET)

I’ll be uploading preview listings ahead of time so you can browse, compare, and bookmark your favorites.

CioCio's standout fleece!

Data collection - recording fleece weight

💬 Final Thoughts

I work hard all year to give my sheep what they need — from nutrition to low-stress care — but ultimately, the fleece reflects each ewe's own nature. I’m proud of what they’ve grown this year, and I hope these fleeces find their way to spinners who truly value what this wool represents.

Very Special Sheep

📌 Key Dates:

- Preview Listings Begin: Rolling out soon

- Auction Opens: Sunday, July 27 at 6 PM (ET)

- Auction Ends: Sunday, August 3 at 6 PM (ET)

Sign up for fleece auction updates by subscribing to my newsletter on my homepage (scroll to bottom right):Our Website

Browse the fleece listings here: Fleece Auction

Looking Forward to Seeing You at CNY Fiber Festival!

It feels like ages since last festival season, and I’m so excited that CNY Fiber Festival is kicking off our first two-day event of the year! I love the slower pace of a weekend-long festival—it gives everyone time to settle in, wander, revisit, and really connect. If you’ve got a fiber-related puzzle, a project you’re stuck on, or just want to explore new tools and techniques, I hope you’ll swing by my booth. I’m not just here to sell Majacraft tools—I’m here to collaborate, problem-solve, and celebrate fiber arts with you. Over the years, my booth has evolved into more of a fiber studio than a traditional vendor space. It’s a place to experiment, try things out, and maybe even see your craft in a new light. Creativity is the heart of what I do, and helping people find the right tool or spark of inspiration is the best part of any festival. So whether you’re shopping, learning, or just exploring, come hang out! Try some tools, ask some questions, and let’s talk fiber. You never know what idea might strike next. See you soon!

May Event - Shepherd's Market Fiber Festival

I will have a booth at the Shepherd's Wool Market in Rush, New York in May.  This is the next festival on my schedule.  It is a nice one day event with local vendors of all sorts connected to fiber crafting.

My booth at Shepherd's Market 2024

I bring the entire range of Majacraft Spinning Wheels for people to try.  

All the Majacraft Wheels

They are set up around the booth - the Aura, Rose, Suzie, Luna and Little Gem.  Experienced spinners like to spin on them with all sorts of different fiber that I bring along.  Those who never spun before I give the opportunity to treadle while I draft so they can see how it feels.  

Giving a future spinner a try at a wheel

And many times people just ask me to show them how its done, and they enjoy just watching me spin.

 I also set up a table with all of the fiber preparation tools from Majacraft.  

All the Majacraft fiber preparation tools 

They all do their own special task, like blending, cleaning or aligning fibers to prepare for spinning or even felting.  It is really fun to demonstrate the drum carder - everyone really enjoys getting an overview of what it does.

Demonstrating the Majacraft Drum Carder in my booth

I love it when people bring along fiber that is giving them a little trouble.  Maybe a washed fleece that they are struggling to get clean.  Hoping at the Shepherd's Market I'll have people bringing fiber for us to find the best tool for the job.

Of course I bring wool from our sheep in many forms.  Handspun yarn, millspun yarn, fiber to spin, hand knit hats and mittens.  This will be the first time the combed top from 2024 will be making a public appearance.  I'll have to pack it in the nylon mesh bags I use for transporting the top to shows.

Handspun yarn and knit items in my booth

I have started setting up the booth a few days before the festival in the garage which helps alot to get me organized, and speed up the set up the day of.

Me and sister setting up practice booth in my garage

Looking forward to seeing everyone, hopefully if you are local to us you will be able to stop out and have a look around!