Today I continue my quest in creating and posting one block a day of the fabulous That Town And Country Quilt by the lovely Susan-Claire Mayfield. This is day three hundred and thirty-three of that project.

This quilt block shows two black skinned and white wool sheep against a salmon-patternd light blue background. Each sheep is a large patch of white fabric that is shaped somewhat in a cloudy, or woolly, way. Each sheep's ear is delineated by stitching inside the white. Poking out of the ends of the tops are black pieces of fabric to indicate their faces. At the bottom of each woolly piece of fabric are short black pieces for their legs. Each piece of fabric is outlined with a light brown stitching. — Click To Enlarge

There are approximately 5.25 million sheep in the United States.

Texas has the most significant share, followed by California and Colorado. The cuties on this block are most likely Suffolk sheep.

When I raised sheep, this is the breed I grew. They are primarily a meat breed. Some sheep are fleece breeds, and still, others are dual breeds.

In meat breed sheep, most of the animal’s growth and energy goes to producing meat. Their fleece is considered open and coarse. Not particularly suitable for spinning.

I felted the wool from my sheep into thick felted pads for use in boot insoles.

Fleece breeds usually have white skin, and their energy and growth go into producing beautiful fleeces. Their long locks spin well, but their bodies are not very meaty.

I have always liked sheep and enjoyed raising them. I like to eat lamb.

The shearing side is hard work. I liked to go to the National Western Stockshow to watch the professional shearers work. That was mind-boggling to me. Needless to say, our sheep were never sheared that fast.