P.O. Box 197, Sperryville, Virginia 22740-0197 ~ 703-309-3199 ~ info(at)spirit-trail(dot)net
Great Britain /European Fibers
Spirit Trail spinning fibers come predominantly from rare, endangered or unusual sheep breeds. Currently, all fibers are processed into roving.
Please see Rare Breed Classifications for informaton on a Breed's Class as noted below.
Rovings marked with ** represent sheep from islands,
for the Keep the Fleece Natural Fibers Contest, Island Life Category.
| Home |
| Return to Roving Page |
Please note that
photographs may not be an exact representation of color. I have tried to describe them as true to reality as possible, in the event the photographic image is inadequate.
 |
North Ronaldsey **~ Natural Dark Brown (Moorit) Roving
$6.00 / ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft "guard" hairs, natural dark brown color known as "moorit." "North Ronaldsay is one of the group of primitive Northern Short-tailed sheep and represents a very early stage in the evolution of domestic sheep. DNA studies have shown a close relationship to sheep found in the Stone Age village of Skara Brae on mainland Orkney, which dates from 3000 BC. In 1832 a wall was built around their native island to confine the animals to the foreshore for most of the year, in order to conserve the inland grazing. Since then the breed has developed its distinctive metabolism due to its diet of seaweed, which also renders it susceptible to copper poisoning under standard sheep management systems. " From the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. RBST Class: Endangered |
 |
North Ronaldsey **~ Natural Pale Brown / Light Tan Roving
$6.00 / ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft "guard" hairs, natural pale brown / light tan color . See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: Endangered |
 |
North Ronaldsey **~ Natural Light Gray Roving
$6.00 / ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft black / deep charcoal "guard" hairs, natural light gray color . See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: Endangered |
 |
North Ronaldsey **~ Natural Vanilla Cream Roving
$6.00 / ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft "guard" hairs, natural vanilla cream color . See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: Endangered |
 |
North Ronaldsey **~ Natural Soft Gray / Pale Tan Roving
$6.00 / ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft "guard" hairs, natural dark gray with darker gray guardhairs . See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: Endangered |
 |
North Ronaldsey ** ~ Natural Gray / Blue Roving $6.00 per ounce Description: Roving from the seaweed-eating sheep of North Ronaldsey Island, Scotland. Quite soft with interesting soft "guard" hairs, natural dark gray with darker gray guardhairs . See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: Endangered |
|
Manx Logthan **~ Natural Brown Roving $7.50 / ounce This diminutive, primitive breed was first established on the Isle of Man, off the coast of Scotland, and is a member of the multi-horned group of breeds, where animals can have as many as six horns. Moorit became the established colour in the breed about one hundred years ago, and the word Loaghtan means mouse-brown in Manx. RBST Class: At Risk |
 |
Gotland **~ Natural Gray Locks Price: $5.50 per ounce Gotland sheep were first established on the Swedish Island of Gotland, and were spread to other lands by the Vikings. This breed is related to Goth sheep, Icelandic, Finnsheep, Shetland, North Ronaldsay and Manx Loghtan. ALBC Class: N/A |
 |
Gotland **~ Natural Black Locks Price: $5.50 per ounce See above listing for more information on this breed. ALBC Class: N/A |
 |
Gotland **~ Natural Variegated Gray Locks Price: $5.50 per ounce See above listing for more information on this breed. ALBC Class: N/A |
|
Dorset Horn ~ Natural White Roving $7.25 / ounce Description: soft white, bouncy fiber, a bit coarse but very interesting. "The Dorset Down / Horn was developed in the late nineteenth century as a result of crossing Southdown rams onto Hampshire and Wiltshire ewes and using these to improve the native sheep of Dorset. " from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust. RBST Class: Minority |
 |
68% Manx Loaghtan **/
32% Angora
See above listing for more information on this breed. RBST Class: At Risk (Manx Loghtan) |
Coming Soon: At A Future Date: Castlemilk Moorit (vulnerable) |
