Lonach Farm
Lonach Farm is a small shetland sheep farm located in the foothills of the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Our goal is to produce the finest quality fiber for handspinners and knitters. Our main fiber focus is our own flock of shetland sheep, but we also work with fiber from other local farmers. We are always looking for quality, softness and cleanliness in the wool we work with.
We are crazy about all things wool and want to share the many qualities of this natural fiber with others. Its incredible warmth, its wearability, the lovely variations between breeds of fiber animals. Exciting combinations of vivid colors are inspired by the beautiful nature around us, this combined with the timeless beauty of shetland sheeps' natural colors leaves us constantly excited by the potential of our wool.
About Shetlands
Lonach Farm is a small artisan's flock of shetland sheep. Our flock is raised with care and love to produce happy sheep with the best quality fleeces. We are particularly excited about shetlands because of their wonderful personalities, sheer array of natural colors and incredibly fine fiber. A small and hardy breed, Shetlands are what is considered an heirloom or rare breed.
From the North American Shetland Sheepbreeders Association (NASSA), "Shetland wool is some of the finest among the UK breeds. It is soft, yet strong and durable, and is a delight to spin. Traditionally, the finest of the Shetland yarns, spun from selected neck wool, were knit into lace shawls so fine they could be drawn through a wedding ring!
We also chose Shetlands for their beautiful natural colors: marvelous on their own, the variations in natural color product stunning results when over-dyed. The full list of colors and markings are available on NASSA's web site.
However, one of the marvelous aspects of the Shetland is its variability within the breed. A small spinner's flock can produce ultra-fine Shetland yarn for handknits as well as coarser, but equally gorgeous yarns suitable for sturdy socks and warm outer garments and remarkable tapestry yarns."
Our Flock
Inquisitive, energetic, playful and downright evil at times, our shetland flock is the colorful embodiment of a lifelong dream - to farm sheep and to handcraft with their fiber. Steep and rather poor, the pasture here at Lonach Farm is perfect for raising these hardy sheep and if you squint just a little you can imagine these scottish sheep are grazing in the highlands of our own piece of Scotland. Each one has their own distinct personality and are truly friends as well as livestock. Meet the Flock.
Our Fiber
Our main focus is to produce the cleanest, softest fiber possible for fiber artists. We love to introduce people to the unique qualities of shetland fiber and we believe it adds something special when you know the animal that your wool has come from.
Everything we do on the farm is done with a focus on producing the highest quality fiber, from our grazing systems, feeding habits, shearing, the careful time consuming handpicking of fleeces, and processing. Our goal and challenge to ourselves as fiber farmers is to make our wool spotless.
We hand-dye our own fiber as well as some commercially produced yarns. We use a combination of a few methods — including hand-painting spun yarns and un-spun roving — to produce unique and striking color combinations.
