This yarn is from our Batch #1. The wool for this yarn was sourced from small family-farm flocks (including The Ornery Shepherd’s), all beloved by their shepherds and all well-known for the high quality of their wool. The wool was washed and carded at a 200+ year old family-run mill, then spun on the last working spinning-mule in the US. Spinning-mules are the ultimate in antique long-draw spinning machines, resulting in a lofty, woolen-style yarn that greatly resembles handspun. If you’d like to follow the story of Batch #1 in detail, please visit the Highlight Reel titled “GCN Yarn Journey” at TheOrneryShepherd on Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/stories/highlights/179376049974...).

This yarn represents everything there is to love about Gulf Coast Native wool -- warm, elastic, lofty, plump, and smooth. The undyed color is the standard natural Gulf Coast Native “French Vanilla”. The hand is best described as somewhere between medium and medium-soft. It has remarkably good drape and stitch-definition for such plump yarn, making it an excellent choice for lace, colorwork, and textured patterns, as well as smooth fabrics. The colored skeins have been kettle-dyed by hand in microbatches by The Ornery Shepherd. The two-colored skeins have been individually 50/50 dip-dyed by hand.

Gulf Coast Native (GCN) is a heritage breed native to the southeastern region of the US, descended from the flocks brought to the New World by explorers and settlers from Spain, beginning in the 1500s. Thought to be a mix of multi-purpose Churro sheep and pre-Merino types (which accounts for their fine wool), over the years they’ve become well-adapted to the heat and humidity of the South and have developed a natural resistance to internal parasites and other diseases that commonly affect sheep (in other words, they’re managed in a more sustainable way than most sheep breeds).

The Ornery Shepherd is a registered provider for the Livestock Conservancy’s “Shave ‘em to Save ‘em” (SE2SE) program (more information available at www.livestockconservancy.org). Due to the Gulf Coast’s critically endangered status, each order of 4 ounces or more of Gulf Coast Native yarn comes with an official SE2SE Passport sticker.