Icelandic cross wool - July Fiber Club - 2 oz

This is the fiber from July 2023 Monthly Fiber Subscription Club

Description as written in the Club handout:

The shepherd Cindy had been breeding these sheep which she calls “pixie” sheep for years in an effort to create a mini sheep. Her goal was to create a gateway sheep of sorts for those new to shepherding. They are small, sweet and have lovely wool!!!

Cindy is not breeding for wool and doesn’t use the wool so is extra thrilled to find us to use some of it. Remember how I love a challenge! She started this flock with Icelandic, Corriedale and Cheviot and has bred them down in size by selecting offspring that will contribute to the smaller size. She has a lovely variety of colors and a whole lot of moorit sheep which is unusual. The wool itself is a little all over the place but leans heavily towards Icelandic. Longer tog like guard hairs were common but also some finer undercoat and plenty of mid-length crimpy wool. Given the various staple lengths you may need to do a bit more manipulating this wool for consistency but I was stunned by how well it spins.

What I found was I had the best luck with her ram fleeces as they are not meeting the demands of pregnancy and feeding so their wool was nice and strong. The average staple length was 5-6 inches but some longer for sure so keep those hands farther apart while you spin. This wool took some extra time to process due to many factors but the dry heat we’ve had in the area meant lots of early morning processing to get here. But WOW was it worth it! We’ve done it again making something out of what otherwise would have been waste wool! I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!