When we started putting this project together, I thought I'd just gather information that was already out there and present it in a way that would be useful to handspinners. The joke was on me. Nobody'd looked at rare-breed sheep from the spinner's perspective We ended up doing original research on deadline.

The coolest thing at the other end of this was the impact that knowledgeable spinners can have on the survival of the breeds of sheep that produce such a broad and distinct variety of wools. Without these creatures, the range of what we can do--and how well we can do it--is impoverished.

There are breeds that have been brought back from the brink of extinction by handspinners' individual purchases of single fleeces (or handfuls of wool, whatever it takes).

Compared to, say, football fans, spinners are a small economic force. In terms of cultural and genetic survival, though, we're mighty!

Yay! I looooove rare-breed sheep, and I collect them (yeah, sometimes I have to buy the whole fleece, and no, it doesn't always make for the best spinning...)

If there's a list anywhere for rare sheep fans, please put me on it!!!

Add me to that list for rare breeds.

I have been fortunate to acquire a (small) amount of British Soay (looking for more/source) and North Ronaldsay/Orkney wool for spinning. Am now on the lookout for Spaelsau and/or Old Norwegian. The biggest problem is that neither of these breeds are being "rescued" in the US... so I'm having to look for European/Norwegian sources.

I am extremely interested in this area.  I've done quite a bit of research into medieval sheep pertaining to Northern Europe.   And I'd kill for some spelsau!   Let me know if you find a source for fleece!

best,

Ercil

I became acquainted with Navajo-Churro while I lived on the Navajo Reservation 20+ years ago.  I am now building a spinner's flock with (currently) 5 N-C and one Jacobs/Cotswold cross.  Lots of fleece available, I've recently quit the corporate rat-race to indulge in fiber arts (last time I spun or wove was 20 yrs ago!)  I have lots more fleece than I can use, so contact me.  I also could use tips on processing N-C; the yarn I have from the Rez is soft as can be, I assume all the guard hairs have been removed and that the fleece was washed in cold water (not hot).  Any help in this experimenting is welcome!

I have been interested in the rare breeds of sheep since 2003 and have been sample spinning any fleeces I can find from the breeds.  I find though that not many spinners are interested in these breeds, since many of them are of medium softness.  I even took my rare breed sampler file to SOAR in 2004 to share, but found very little interest.  So I have been incorporating some of the experience into my bimonthly podcast:  yarnspinnerstales.  I talk about other fleeces too that spinners may encounter, but my first love is for these rare breeds.

I found the PDF to be a very well done collection of the breeds and really appreciate that it has been included here for spinners to download.  I was not as familiar with the Rare Breed Survival Trust list of categories so that was good information to find.  Thank you Deborah for all that hard work!