|
 Willow
Ridge Farm sits on over 40 acres of gently rolling hills in south central
Iowa. We share our
 home/farm
with a wide variety of livestock, with the emphasis on fiber bearing
animals. We raise registered Shetland Sheep, llamas and English Angora
rabbits. Making life even more interesting we have included Nubian goats
as well as Pygmy goats (a moment of weakness!), miniature donkeys (another
moment) a small flock of poultry; ducks, peacocks, geese, guineas and a
laying flock of Buff Orphingtons . Throw in a few dogs, cats, horses and
our days are full, but worth every bit of work.
We
have two sons, almost teenagers who share in the chores,
 making this whole
operation work for our family of four. We feel very fortunate to be able
to live away from the fast paced ways of town and enjoy life like it
should be.
 The
love for sheep started many years back with a very special “bottle baby”
named Vivian. One of triplets and
a purebred
Suffolk, she knew from an early age she was special. She wore a diaper
while in the house and turned our furniture into her own private
playground. With Vivian’s first birthday came her first haircut, no simple
job
either
because
she
didn’t feel like having her hair done, but with a lot of patience and
sweat the deed was done. Then came the question what to do with the wool?
“I will learn to spin!” Then what to do with the yarn? "I will learn to
knit!” So we owe much to the bossy little bottle baby, she turned the love
of sheep into something much larger, with our business growing from a few
sheep to many. Our hand knitting has expanded with the purchase of an
antique circular
 sock
knitting machine, which produces some of the most wonderful socks/slippers
from the wool of our sheep, rabbits and llamas. We are able to provide
fellow hand spinners with a wide variety of colors and fibers as well as
hand spun yarns to knitters and weavers.
If
you are ever in the area feel free to stop by, we would love to show off
our four-legged friends, explain the process of turning wool into finished
products, or chat with other fiber enthusiasts.
|
