Friday, August 9, 2019

Fiber Arts Friday: Shave 'Em to Save 'Em, Black Welsh Mountain

copyright: Desert Weyr

Black Welsh Mountain - At first glance, I'm really looking forward to spinning this wool.  The preparation is spongy without the immediate feel of lanolin and feels very consistent.


This is a naturally Black Fleece... with a generous 3-inch staple length.


There was a small amount of VM, that came out during the spinning process.


I started the Tour de Fleece with one single complete and 1 7/8oz remaining of this sample.



My thoughts while spinning this breed is that it would make a lovely felted pea coat, and also be nice in socks.  I love the natural black color.



From the Livestock Conservancy:  The Black Welsh Mountain sheep is the only completely black sheep breed from England and first came to the US in the 1970's.  The Black Welsh Mountain is listed as Threatened, meaning that fewer than 1000 sheep are registered in the US each year and that the estimated global population is less than 5000.




This roving was sourced locally from Desert Weyr.  I've mentioned before, it feels good knowing that I am able to support a Colorado breeder of rare livestock.  :-)


Final Yarn: Black Welsh Mountain
Single Duration: June 23 - July 5, 2019
Ply Duration: July 5 - July 13, 2019
Ready to Submit: July 20, 2019
ounces: 4 7/8 oz
yards:256, 2-ply
wpi:  12
Source: Mill-prepared roving

SE2SE Status:
Total Breeds: 22
Breeds Sourced: 11
Breeds Spun: 3
Breeds To Go: 19

Months Remaining: 28


Happy Fiber Arts Friday!

1 comment:

Andria said...

We bought a generic black sheep for meat a few years back and ended up keeping her because she is very smart, and small. I had her wool made into yarn last year and it is fabulous, I've made a fantastic Aran jumper out of it so far. Then I was gifted a book on spinning and fleece and I discovered she is a Black Welsh Mountain. Or at least, most of her is. I LOVE her wool, and this year I'm getting it made into DK/sport because I want to try new things with it. I much prefer her wool to the Border Leicesters, who I actually bought for their wool!