Suzanne and Jim bought their small farm in southwest Dane County in the summer of 2019, moving from Arlington Heights, IL, back to Jim’s home state of Wisconsin. They were fortunate to find a rare rural property, a small dell with an amazing ecosystem, filled with a wide variety of flora and fauna. As only the third owners of this picturesque property, they began to dabble in farm life with a roost of chickens, a handful of American Buff geese, a pair of strong-minded miniature donkeys, a pair of somewhat wild barn cats, and the farm's custodian, Bolt their Border Collie.
As they began to repair outbuildings, fence paddocks, and reclaim the farm from several years of idleness ( but not neglect), friends suggested they name their farm. At the time they were helping pasture several dozen sheep for a neighbor and repairing many of the eleven different farm field gates that were on the property. Eleven Gates had a nice ring to it. The property, its home built in 1924 (replacing the original 1870 homestead), the 1918 dairy barn, outbuildings, flower gardens, orchard, wildflower beds, woods, stream, pond, pastures, and hay fields provide Suzanne with endless subject matter for her watercolors, pastels and photography interests and provides Jim with plenty of challenging tasks to satisfy his hobby farm interests. Suzanne is a retired high school art teacher and Jim still works as the CEO of a specialty food and microbiology testing transportation company.
After a couple of years of managing a flock of Icelandic sheep for some neighbor farming friends, they decided to purchase a few sheep of their own. Through some careful research they found a geneticist/sheep breeder in Minnesota that was raising Southdown Babydoll sheep crossed with Finnsheep. The combination yielded a docile, friendly breed with a beautiful soft wool in
many different natural colors. A starter flock of a ram, companion wether, and three ewes made their way back to their farm and the real education began. The wool from their flock of
crossbreds carry a blend of the characteristics of both the Babydoll and Finnsheep breeds. They currently manage about three dozen sheep with a slow, steady and purposeful plan for continued growth.
Babydoll wool:
* Staple length: relatively short – 2″ to 4″ of growth per year
* Appearance: chalky, scales on fibers deflect light in multiple directions
* Crimp: 3 dimensional, has “cush” or “loft” that springs back when compressed. Resists felting.
* Fineness (average fiber diameter in microns): 26 to 36 = medium fine
* Color(s): Off-white and black fading to various shades of gray
Finnsheep:
* Staple length: Long – up to 7″ of growth per year (2 shearings possible)
* Appearance: has a sheen to it; reflects light
* Crimp: has a 2-dimensional wave that felts easily
* Fineness: average of 22-33 microns = medium
* Color(s): Pure white, deep black, gray, brown, and fawn
Several years into the project, Suzanne and Jim have learned and continued to learn the ins and outs of raising sheep. At present they breed their three rams from Thanksgiving to Christmas,
shear all sheep in late April, and lamb in mid-May. This gives the new animals a fairly warm and weather-stable environment to thrive in. Currently their fleeces undergo the typical processes of cleaning, carding, combing, drawing, roving, and spinning by their processing partners at a fiber mill in northwestern Illinois.
Jim and Suzanne keep immaculate barns, paddocks and pastures, and adhere to sound pasture rotation and responsible animal husbandry to ensure that all their animals are healthy and receive any necessary treatment. Their professional vets, farriers and shearers have all been sourced through the kindness and vast knowledge of many of their helpful neighbors.
Both Jim and Suzanne are happy to have sisters, daughters, daughters-in-law, and nieces that are avid knitters who have rewarded their gifts of yarn with beautiful soft and warm sweaters, mittens, and hats. We’re delighted for you to be able to experience their wonderful wool yarns, too!
All images courtesy of 11 Gates Farm.