The Honorwood Flocks are based at Cefn Llanfair which is a small working farm situated on a plateau above the beautiful Teifi Valley near the village of Llandysul, specializing in the breeding and keeping of Shetland, Icelandic, Soay, and Jacob sheep together with white Angora Goats.
The sheep provide wonderful natural coloured fleeces and each batch of fleece spun will always give a unique and different effect. The Angora goat kids provide fine kid mohair which, when spun into yarn, is hand-dyed in a range of beautiful colours on the farm.
There are a variety of knitting wools and knitting yarns in both natural coloured wools and the luxurious hand-dyed kid mohair and mohair/lambs’ wool mix. For hand-spinning and felting there are interesting fleeces both from pure breed and crossbreed sheep plus mohair fibre. The knitting wools and knitting yarns are used in a range of quality hand-knitted knitwear, woven rugs and throws which are all made locally and displayed in the showroom.
Icelandic sheep have a unique double fleece comprising a soft under fleece and a more hairy top fleece. The fleeces are a variety of browns, greys, cream, and black, with some fleeces containing various shades and colours and the wool produces warm cosy knitwear, particularly robust and suitable for outdoor wear.
The marl yarns are different coloured fleeces plied together. Shetland sheep have very fine fleeces – the finest of any British breed. Shetlands have a beautiful range of natural coloured fleeces and the individual fleeces can contain a mix of colours and shades, hence the interesting colour effects when the wool is spun and knitted. This, together with the wonderful softness of the wool, makes knitwear unique and comfortable to wear.
The fibre produced by the Angora goat is called mohair from the Arabic word “mukhayyar” meaning “best fleece”. Kid Mohair is a soft luxurious yarn and has a wonderful lustre and is obtained from kids six and twelve months of age. At eighteen months and two years of age the mohair is then classified as young goat.
Visit in person to The Honorwood Flocks showroom.
Open: Monday – Friday 10am to 5pm. Weekends by appointment.
