Fiber Teasers & April Spinning Club Spoiler!

Here is a small taste of the new fibers I'm bringing to Maryland Sheep & Wool (I'll be adding them to the website after I get home):

Castlemilk Moorit, from Great Britain, listed as "endangered" on the Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) Watchlist. This is one of my favorite fibers, and getting harder to find. It's been several years since I've had this in stock, and I'm really excited to have it back again (til it runs out again, anyway!). It's relatively soft, very squishy and a beautiful natural moorit brown color. I could wear this next-to-skin ... as long as it wasn't a turtleneck. :-D

Portland, also from Great Britain and listed as "At Risk" on the RBST Watchlist. Portland is a white fiber which was traditionally used in the hosiery industry of the 19th Century. This is dyed in a rich blue and olive green swirl.

Portland again, this time dyed in a Chili Red and Toffee swirl. Portland is an interesting fiber, squishy with great crimp and relatively soft, but not one I would wear next to the skin (some of you more intrepid wool-wearers might). I think it's perfect for a scrunchy Autumn sweater.

Boreray, from the island of Boreray in the St. Kilda chain, off the coast of Scotland. This breed is the rarest of the rare British breeds, and the only one listed as "critical" on the RBST Watchlist. It's taken me years to find. This is a very "different" fiber. Soft gray with a soft hand, but with crazy black and white guard hairs. Because of the guard hairs, I'm not yet sure whether it will be next-to-the-skin soft; without the guard hairs it would have been. But this time around, I chose to process the entire fleece rather than separating it. It was the weirdest raw fleece I have ever seen.

Bluefaced Leicester dyed blue and green, with some left white, blended with blue/purple cashmere/silk top and blue/green/tan/white merino/silk top (because I am just evil). BFL is not a rare or endangered breed, but I like it. Especially when I blend it with exotic and luxury fibers. This is one soft fiber!! It looks mostly pale green/gray, but with hints of all the other colors blended in here and there. Purdy.

Ouessant from Great Britain. This is claimed to be the smallest breed in the world and originated on the small Isle d'Ouessant 12 miles off the coast of Brittany. This fleece is so dark brown it's almost black. This fiber had no bleached tips or anything, so it is really dark. Definitely the darkest, naturally dark fiber I've ever had. It's also really nice and soft.

86% Teeswater, from the US. Not listed as Endangered on the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) but it listed as "Vulnerable" by the RBST. This fleece is simply washed in the lock. The locks of this fleece are long, lustrous and distinct. Very soft and a lovely soft white color.

87% Teeswater, also from the U.S. This fleece's locks are less distinct than the above fleeces, but it is soft and lustrous nonetheless. Just not as good if you want to use it for, say, doll hair.

91% Wensleydale, from the US. Again, not listed as endangered by the ALBC, but is listed as "At Risk" by the RBST. This fleece is not as curly or lustrous as the Wensleydale I've had that have a higher percentage of Wensleydale, but it is incredibly soft. It also has some bleaching on the tips, but is a beautiful fleece. I like the color of the bleached tips, personally.

Lastly, April Handspinning Club spoiler shot. This is 50% Yak / 50% Merino, very soft and lovely. Yes, the color is pretty much the same as the April Yarn Club, sort of a dusty plum with sage green and gray. I like it on the yak/merino.

I still await 4 more fibers from the Mill, and am crossing my fingers they get here in time. It's going to be close. If they arrive in time, I'll also have brown Rambouillet from the US, white Masham from Great Britain, white Ouessant from Great Britain and more of the wonderful Falkland Islands Polwarth blended with cashmere, baby alpaca, baby camel, yak and silk.

Back to work for me!