Welcome to my site!

Published by joanne

Always wanting to live on a farm and have animals, I bought my piece of land and a old farmhouse with a leaky roof, old wiring, and a toilet that froze in the winter, in 1992. Finding just what my soul was searching for gave me the confidence to work on my dream. Four Gulf Coast Native (GCN) ewes (Dorothy, Twiggie, Clara and Lucy) were added to the farm in 2002. In October 2004, a registered GCN herd sire, Smithonia Zell, was purchased from Hope Springs Farm (HSF) and the next spring we had seven ewe lambs and four ram lambs. After our first shearing in the spring, I realized how much fiber a small flock can produce in a year. What an amazing harvest! Not wanting to waste the wool, their fleeces were shipped off to make roving and batting and I received a spinning wheel as a Christmas gift. I quickly realized that if II wanted to sell my growing pile of fleeces I needed to learn what fiber artists were buying. I joined Pinterest, took a few spinning and dyeing classes and started my business, Georgia Rustic Wool. Over the years I've selected my sheep for the breed's most important characteristics: parasite resistance, foot health, confirmation, and being good moms. The Gulf Coast Native sheep, as a landrace breed, carries a wide variety of genes from their Spanish and British breed ancestors which Nature selected over time to make them a hardy yet beautiful and charming mongrel breed. Preserving this breed of sheep as become a passion of mine and raising them while enjoying life on my small farm in rural Georgia has given me so much more in return. I keep records on all of my sheep and track of both ewe and ram lines to prevent inbreeding, as best I can. For fleeces, I primarily select for consistent, lustrous, plentiful fleeces that I would want to spin. Over time, some of my ewes now produce 4-5 lb. of wool/yr. but the highest quality hand spinning fleeces max out at 3.5 to 4.0 lb. each. Even so, GCN sheep continue to surprise me with their diversity and I want to preserve that diversity in my flock. Due to my selection pressure towards fleece yield, most of my sheep no longer shed out their belly, neck and rear leg wool during the summer. This shedding pattern is very beneficial for cooling the animal and I emphasize it is an important heat-resistance characteristic of the breed. If I was not selecting for fiber production, I would select for it since I consider the shedding pattern as an important GCN characteristic to maintain in the gene pool. Both Hope Springs Farm and Georgia Rustic Wool are flocks with bloodlines that originated from Mississippi (Otaria Davis). If you are interested in raising GCN sheep I encourage you to create your flock from a variety of sources so that the breed can retain its diversity and hardiness for generations to come. I want this site to inspire people to follow their dreams and find their own version of happy. I love dyeing yarn more than spinning, I prefer knitting over crochet. I received a Lendrum folding spinning wheel as a "starting" wheel and decided it is the best spinning wheel for me and I have no need for another. Certainty of my choices made over time is gratifying. I love the rhythms of the seasons one learns to appreciate when living on a farm. Shearing, lambing, and haying all have to happen each year without fail not on my schedule but when it is best for the farm. The cycle of wool production epitomizes the synergy between my animals and the land. Green grass, well water, hay, grain and shelter allow my sheep to produce amazing wool that my shearers, Jonathan and Charlotte, help me harvest each spring with gratitude and reverence. Even with all of the ups and down of keeping sheep, Farm Life is good. I hope you enjoy this website. I'll do my best to keep it up to date but I also warn you it's just me doing everything here. So sometimes you'll find me walking the pastures at dusk or dyeing yarn instead of tapping on a keyboard. You can also follow me on #garusticwool on Instagram. I sell yarn at Revival Yarns, in Athens, GA; and when possible, attend the Southeastern Animal Fiber Festival in October, Fletcher, NC. I hope to meet you there some day. May you live a rewarding an grateful Life. Best wishes, Joanne View more posts