Miss Alice was one of three Shetland sheep that I had in our backyard for several years. She is a Shetland and while her fleece was less than wonderful to spin having the characteristics of rug wool. But it was a beautiful variegated grey. Before moving to our new location where fencing was non-existent, and because my own health issues at the time had prevented me from taking care of the sheep – leaving all the work to my dear husband; I made a painful decision and listed the three Shetlands as free to a good home in Craigslist. I was amazed at all the calls we got and they went off with a lovely couple from Powhattan who already had a number of farm critters.

I still love spinning wool, but have a back stash of many year’s worth of fleeces still waiting to be spun and used in knitting or weaving. But I figure I can use my photos of my little fiber critters (they only come up about mid-thigh, so are good for small farms) for paintings.

Here is a closer view of this painting. The paint is still a wet, so you get some sparkles that won’t be there later: