Now that I have finished the work for my Master Spinner Level 1, I would like to give those who follow this blog an idea about some of the work that I did to complete the projects. I will begin by telling about the research that was required for the breeds books.
When I received the assignment requirements, the breeds book project intrigued me and so I was quite happy to start on it almost immediately after I returned from Olds College last July. I had returned home with several samples of breeds that I had collected while at the college. For you laymen out there, sheep are not just white fluffy things with an odd black one thrown in for variety. There are over four thousand breeds of sheep all with their own genetic lineage. My assignment was to research ten of them, and of course being a fanatic, I ended up with many more than that. I finished eighteen in all but I have another five waiting my attention and will probably do more than that as the opportunity arises. Then there are the thousands of cross breeds which I haven’t even yet begun to explore. My list went like this:
1 Cheviot
2 Corriedale
3 Cormo (New Zealand)
4 Cotswold
5 Icelandic
6 Jacob
7 Leichester (Blue Faced)
8 Merino
9 Polwarth
10 Polypay
11 Rambouillet
12 Rideau Arcott
13 Romney
14 Scottish Black Face
15 Shetland
16 South Down Baby Doll
17 Teeswater
18 Wensleydale
I still have some Suffolk, Gotland, Coopworth, Dorset, and Border Leichester, to try and I am hoping to get my hands on some fleece from a Newfoundland sheep or a St Jacques sheep, both of which have developed from natural crossing of various sheep in Newfoundland. I guess from natural selection, these animals, being isolated, have developed their own genetic identity.
The exercise has been a real eye opener. I couldn’t believe how much I learned from the variety of breeds. They all have their unique qualities that are more distinct than you might think. Briefly, I would have to say that my favorites so far, are; Cheviot, Polworth, Polypay, and Wensleydale. Wensleydale was bizarre but in the end I have to say that I loved it. It was really cool and naturally wanted to be a lovely novelty yarn. (I’ve discovered that I really enjoy the process and creativity behind designing a novelty yarn. But more about that on another day....)
Trying out a variety of breeds is very helpful if you are interested in designer yarns or if you have a specific project in mind. By spinning as many varieties as possible can only help a spinner be better equipped to choose a fleece that will best suit a specific project. Though I was not in favour of Cotswold I could definitely see the benefits of using this fleece for a carpet. It was by far the strongest fibre in my selection of breeds and would not break when I tried. As a matter of a fact, it cut into my hands and I ended up having to use scissors. At the opposite end of the spectrum was Super Fine Merino.... this stuff, in my opinion, was awful, mostly because it was so very subject to breakage. It was so weak that I never did find a method of opening the fibres that didn’t subject it to breakage. I think teasing it carefully was probably the most one could do to prepare it for spinning.
Each breed differs from sheep to sheep so trying just one of each breed gives you only a snapshot of the breed, and everything depends on the health of the animal and the ability of the shepherd to care for the animal. And I won’t even mention the difference between the different sections of the sheep itself.
Along with my research on he qualities of my selection of breeds, I was able to find some historical information about most of the breeds that I tried. This too was very informative. If you are a bit of a history buff you might find this aspect of such a project very interesting. It also gave me a clue as to the work that is involved with developing a new breed and how natural selection can develop breeds spontaneously over a period of years,
The variety of fleeces that are out there is amazing and new breeds are being developed as you read this. The newest one that I have heard of is called Spinsleydale..... hmmm.... I guess I shall have to try to get my hands on some of that too! Happy Spinning!
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