FAQ
General Inquiries
As the property is home to both the sheep farm and our family home, we do not allow visitors. If you find yourself in the Penn Cove area, you are more than welcome to drive by the property to view the sheep as they graze in the fields.
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Some exceptions can be made by appointment with enough advance notice. We prioritize requests by fiber enthusiasts and sheep breeders.
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We also offer paid consultations for those interested in starting their own flock or purchasing breeding stock. Consultation fees can be applied toward future livestock purchases made at Wild Rose Farm.
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To accommodate the amount of visit requests we receive, we are working towards planning events, and scheduling small group Farm Tours for a nominal fee. To be notified when these become available, please sign up for our Newsletter Updates.
can i come visit the farm? do you have visiting hours?
Our wool is sold online only. It is a common misconception that we have a shop located here at the farm. Our entire catalog is available for purchase directly on our website, or a small selection of products is available on Etsy. At present, our wool is not carried in any in-person stores.
where can i buy your wool?
We do not typically allow pick up orders. A few exceptions for locals and fiber groups can be made by appointment, but must be scheduled well in advance.
can i pick up my order in person?
No, our shop is not set up to accept PayPal payments. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you wish to save your payment information for future purchases, you may choose to sign up as a site member.
do you accept paypal?
Our wool products can also be shipped to Canada. In terms of livestock, we are only able to ship rams and wethers to Canada. We do not ship anywhere else outside of Canada or the United States.
do you ship outside of the united states?
Sheep / Breeding Stock Inquiries
We breed Wensleydale and Teeswater sheep, as well as purebred and percentage Valais Blacknose sheep.
what breeds of sheep do you have?
Valais sheep are shorn every 6 months. Wensleydales and Teeswaters are shorn anywhere between 6 to 12 months depending on the final product we are hoping for.
how often do you shear your sheep?
Send us an email or give us a phone call to start the conversation! From there we will be happy to walk you through the process and discuss options.
how do i purchase sheep from you?
It depends on where you live. If you live close by, you can pick up the sheep or we can deliver for a nominal fee. For further distances, we recommend reputable and reliable transport service.
how do i transport or pick up my sheep after the sale?
Our starter flocks consist of several ewes and a ram, carefully selected based on genetics that would best fit your flock goals. If you are not interested in breeding, wethers can be included in place of a ram.
what is a starter flock?
With bred ewes, you will have lambs right away instead of waiting for a ram to breed ewes. No dealing with the hassle of rams or breeding season, just the joy of lambing come Spring! It is also a financially smart purchase
why buy a confirmed bred ewe instead of a breeding pair?
Summer months are the usual time period for buying rams, but it’s never a bad idea to start your search early. They can be bought and sold anytime. Breeding typically occurs in the fall. Ram lambs born in the spring can service a ewe come late Fall, while adult rams can service a ewe earlier in the season.
when is the right time to buy a ram?
Yes, we offer Wethers and bottle babies. Older ewes or ewes that have never bred also make excellent pasture pets. Any animal can become a pet based on the amount of quality time that is spent with them. Smaller numbers usually result in closer animal-human relationships.
do you sell sheep as pets?
Wool Product Questions
All of our blankets are handwoven here in the United States.
What started out as an overabundance of wool came a product that was made of incredible quality and craft. In 2010, we sent this excess wool to Swan’s Island Blankets in Maine to produce a limited line of handwoven blankets. Each blanket includes either an embroidered rose or our Wild Rose Farm monogram, as well as the Swan’s Island weavers mark, which can only be done by hand on a loom, serving as a mark of authenticity. All blankets are finished off with silk edges. These blankets are a lovely example of American craft, and true heirlooms built to last generations.
To learn more about our handwoven blankets and how they are made, click here: https://www.wildrosefarmwhidbey.com/blankets
how are your blankets made?
The staple length of our fleeces can be anywhere from 4-9 inches, typically between 6-8 on average.
We shear for animal health. Sometimes the fleece growing period is longer than other times based on seasonal factors. A fleece can grow up to 12 inches if waiting a longer period of time between shearings.
what is the typical staple length of your fleece?
After shearing, our wool is shipped to the mill where it is washed, carded and spun into yarn skeins of various weights and plies. Much of our yarns are hand dyed by Nan here on the farm after getting skeins back from the mill.
how is your yarn produced?
Small batch is used to describe yarns produced in limited quantities—often from a single flock, farm, or specific dye session—offering unique, artisan-quality fiber with high traceability. We typically only produce one batch of yarn particular to each sheared fleece. Each of our yarns is named for the sheep that the wool was produced from.
Mills differ from time to time, and yarn quality can change as a result. In addition, as sheep age, their wool can change color, meaning no two batches of yarn will ever be alike. For example, Starlight’s fleece sheared in the Spring may be turned into a Natural Color Silver 2ply Sport Weight Yarn. Her next fleece sheared in the Fall may become a different yarn weight, ply, or color entirely.
what does small batch mean?
We get a lot of messages asking this question! As each of our yarns are small batch, we strongly recommend rounding up the amount you need for your particular project, just to be safe! Once a batch sells out from a specific fleece and mill, it’s gone for good and may not be replicated again.
If the particular yarn you are looking for is sold out, reach out to us via email and we may be able to help you find a similar match suited to your needs.
i need more of a specific yarn and i can’t find it in your shop! what do i do?
If you send us an email with descriptive details or images of what you are looking for we do our best to find the right yarn fit for your needs.
can you help me find a similar match to what i’m looking for?
We are shepherds and farmers first and foremost. Our wool is a happy byproduct of the work we do here at the farm which we are excited to share with the public. That being said, we are not knitting experts, and would recommend consulting a knowledgeable knitter suited for advising your project prior to placing your order.
can you tell me how a yarn knits up for a particular type of project?
Teeswater & Wensleydale wool can be used for a variety of projects. Their fleece is ideal for locks, doll hair or beards, fiber crafts, felting locks, and spinning. The yarn they produce is wonderful for all sorts of knitting and crochet crafts. It can be worn next to skin, but aside from lambs wool it isn’t quite as soft as Merino wool. Their roving is ideal for spinning and fiber crafts.
Valais fleece can be more coarse than the Wensleydales and Teeswaters. Their wool is best suited for outer garments, warp yarn, woven rugs, and felted projects like wet-felted pelts or rugs.
can you tell me what kinds of wool are ideal for specific projects?
Our white wool is natural in color and sourced from all three of our breeds: Wensleydale, Teeswater, and Valais Blacknose. Teeswaters and Valais are always white (with the rare Valais Spiti showing a reversed black-and-white pattern), while Wensleydales can produce a range of natural shades—black, brown, charcoal, and silver. All natural colors are undyed and exactly as they came off the sheep.
Our dyed yarns can include a variety of vibrant colors, and will always be marked as such. Most of our dyed yarns are hand-dyed here at the farm by Nan herself. Interested in learning more about our dye process? Read our blog for more info: Exploring the Art & Science of Hand Dyed Yarns
what is natural color vs. dyed?
Sabraset (Lanaset) and Wash Fast Acid Dyes. These dyes are designed to permanently dye protein fibers – AKA animal fibers like wool, silk, angora, mohair, alpaca and others. They boast extremely high wash fastness and good to excellent light fastness.
what types of dyes do you use on your yarns?
SE2SE is an acronym for Shave ‘Em to Save ‘Em – an initiative through the Livestock Conservancy to promote the use of wool from rare & endangered sheep breeds. We are proud members of the Livestock Conservancy and SE2SE Producers. As an endangered breed, all of our Teeswater wool products come with a sticker to be used in your SE2SE passport towards future rewards.
To learn more about the SE2SE Initiative, visit the Livestock Conservancy website: https://livestockconservancy.org/get-involved/shave-em-to-save-em/
what is se2se?
Here at Wild Rose Farm, we are known as what some people call “Primary Producers”. This is because we raise the sheep here on our farm that produce the wool we sell. Our wool is not outsourced from another farm or location.
what is a primary producer?
We raise rare wool heritage breeds that produce exceptional quality wool and it is priced accordingly. The quality of the wool is a direct result from the quality of care that we, as shepherds, supply through 40+ years of dedicated sheep farming practice, knowledge, nutritional feed, vaccinations, land stewardship, property maintenance, and attention to genetic diversity within a rare gene pool.
The wool from our sheep is uniquely lustrous and strong. We heavily skirt our fleece so when you buy raw wool it arrives clean with very little vegetable matter. We have rave reviews for this fact alone.
When you buy from us, you’re getting more than wool. You’re knowing exactly where your wool comes from. You’re supporting rare wool and endangered heritage breeds whose genetics deserve preservation. You’re buying directly from primary producers—not a middleman—and keeping your dollars on a small, local family farm. You’re getting transparency and traceability, from pasture to package. In buying from us, you’re investing in ethical animal care and fiber with a story, integrity, and substance behind it—not a commodity pulled from an anonymous supply chain.
Our wool is priced to reflect its rarity, the labor behind it, and the stewardship required to produce it well. What you receive in return is quality you can feel, values you can stand behind, and fiber you can be proud to work with.