#spinaway farm

[kaiyonohime]

Warning to fiber buyers

Update post on Sherry Tenney.  She’s still selling infested fiber and fleeces and has scammed people out of tens of thousands of dollars, and the Pennsylvania Attorney General is still investigating her.  The wheels of justice are slow, unfortunately.

This post is a warning about shops that use her as a source, knowing that her fleece and fiber is infested, and those that support and help her in her illegal activities.  Any person and or shop listed here is to be considered as having possibly infested product, and should be avoided.  They all also knowingly support Sherry’s illegal activities, or actively help her in her illegal activities, and should be avoided.

ExpressionsInFiber, Etsy shop run by Elizabeth Washburn

Finer than Frog’s Hair, FB group run by Suzanne Smith Collier

FinerThanFroggyHair, Etsy shop run by Suzanne Smith Collier

Spinaway Farm, Brice Wonders

Sheeps and Me, run by Tuesday Rose.  A fair circuit seller, not online

All of these shops and sellers are confirmed to either use Sherry Tenney’s moth infested fleece and fiber to resell to others, or actively support Sherry Tenney in her illegal activities.  Please avoid them, for the safety of your money and your stash.

Sherry Tenney also stores all of her fleece and fiber out in the open on her porch, outside, and under a tarp in her barn, so moths are not the only insect infestation she currently has.  There is a high risk of lanternflies, an invasive species that will do high amounts of environmental harm to an area.  

[thehorsegodbuilt]

“Happy birthday to Cicada, a member of the 1967 Hall of Fame class. Cicada was foaled at The Meadow in Virginia on May 9, 1959. Campaigned by Hall of Fame Pillar of the Turf Christopher Chenery’s Meadow Stable, Cicada was trained by Casey Hayes. A bay filly, Cicada raced from 1961 through 1965, winning 23 of 42 starts and earning $783,764. A champion at ages 2, 3, and 4, Cicada won 11 of 16 races as a 2-year-old, including the Schuylerville, Spinaway, Matron, Frizette, and Gardenia. As a sophomore, she won the Kentucky Oaks, Acorn, Mother Goose, and Beldame. At 4, her victories included the Distaff, Vagrancy, and Sheepshead Bay handicaps. The BloodHorse ranked Cicada No. 62 among the top 100 racehorses of the 20th century. Cicada died in 1981 at the age of 22 and was buried at Jonabell Farm in Kentucky.” (x)

[a-bit-knitty-gritty]

My haul!  

I went today knowing that I wanted to keep my budget pretty tight and my costs low.  After a few months of very little work, I’m still getting my pocketbook back in order, but I also knew that I could afford to get some things.  I really wanted to find some roving to bring home and spin while I am still able to borrow the spinning wheel from my work and I had two general goals for what kinds of roving I wanted: a) a natural/undyed dark brown wool and b) at least one new kind of wool (i.e. not Merino, Hog Island, or Leicester Longwool).  And so I found one of each!

The blue-grey is a wonderful Corriedale.  I picked up 8 oz of it and already started spinning some and so far I’m pleased.  The color is dyed (Corriedale sheep generally only come in white if they are purebred) but very unassuming and neutral which is nice.  I hope to use it to make a nice warm winter scarf or such.  I bought this roving from Pennsylvania Spinaway Farm’s booth.

The dark brown is a Jacob.  I mentioned them in my earlier post, but I’ll go ahead and mention it again, this breed is usually spotted so you can get natural colors anywhere from white to black/dark brown.   I had decided when I met the Jacobs in the livestock barns that I wanted to try spinning some of their wool and it seems a great opportunity to get the nice dark yarn I’d been wanting.  Hooray!  I’m not sure what I want to make with it yet- it will depend on how much I end up spinning from the 4 oz I got.  I bought this roving from Tannery Spring Farm in West Virginia through the Jacob Sheep Breeders’ Association booth.

For reference to the range of Jacob sheep’s color:

Not pictured: my sweet MSW magnet for my locker at work so folks can be reminded of what a big sheep nerd I am.

[kaiyonohime]

Updates on Sherry Tenney situation

I have everything covered so far pinned to the top of my blog here.

After a month I felt I should share updates.  Sherry Tenney is still open and operating her scam.  She seems to be selling everything she can find in her attic, and most of the product shown is covered in mold, stains, and rodent droppings.  I cannot stress enough to avoid buying from her.

Unfortunately her sheep in Maryland are still not sheared.  In early July, after waiting for more than a year, they are suffering in this heat.  No shearer in the eastern US will work with her because of farm conditions and because of lack of payment.  Neither she nor her husband seem able to shear the sheep themselves, though she has claimed to be able to shear sheep in the past.  Supposedly an inexperienced shearer has been located and will be shearing the sheep next week, we are all hoping so for the sake of the sheep in this brutal July weather.

There is a barberpole parasite infestation on her Pennsylvania farm at this time.  As she has repeatedly stated that she has/will be transporting sheep from Pennsylvania to Maryland, sheep from both farms should be considered infected at this time.  

Sherry is also advertising lambs, ewes, and rams for sale from both farms.  She states that they do not have papers.  The sheep on her farm have been breeding without control for many years now, and there is no knowledge on their parentage.  The sheep are mostly likely at least slightly inbred, if not massively in some cases.  If you are looking to buy sheep to use for breeding purposes in her area, please remember there is no knowledge of their genetic lineage and they should not be included with your flock for your flock’s safety.

Known associates of Sherry Tenney who support her and either support her in her scams or actively help her with her scam:

Suzanne Smith Collier of “Finer than Frog’s Hair”.

Brice Wonders of “Spinaway Farms”

Please continue to be warned about Sherry Tenney.  She also goes under the aliases Sherry Tenney Giltay, Sara Rudacille, Lee Giltay, Sherry Vondorp, and others.  Do not be scammed by her, she will take your money and not deliver product.  She is being investigated by the Pennsylvania Attorney General at this time.