kitty: rare breeds

Random thoughts of a new spinner: All rovings even if it is from the same breed of sheep are not created equal. Ever since MS&W last year, I have been obssed with extinct or nearly extinct breeds of sheep. I think one of the reasons that I really wanted to start spinning was so that I could do my part in using different types of wool. It may be unrealistic that the small quanity of roving I could spin in my life time would make a difference in the demand curve of wool, but we have to start someplace. The problem though is how do you know how to order roving from different breeders? Here is my example, I purchased some Jacob Roving at MS&W and fell in love with it. So I jumped on 8oz of Jacob Roving when I saw it on ebay for a cheap price. The roving was nicely carded and clean, but has the texture of steel wool and has broken my hands out. I certainly wouldn't make a knitted garment from this yarn. Though, the yarn that MG was sweet enough to spin for me out of the same breed is absolutely lovely. So how do you know how to buy roving since knowing and liking a breed of sheep is not enough?

My plyed 4oz of Jacob Roving.

More information on Rare Breeds

The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) of Great Britain Critical: < 300 registered adult females Endangered: < 500 registered adult females Vulnerable: <900 registered adult females At Risk: < 1,500 registered adult females Traditional: < 3,000 registered adult females Sheep (This chart was copied from theRare Breeds Survival Trust Breeds Site) Critical Endangered Vulnerable At Risk Traditional Boreray North Ronaldsay Castlemilk Moorit Leicester Longwool Teeswater Cotswold Dorset Down Hill Radnor Lincoln Longwool Norfolk Horn Soay Whitefaced Woodland Balwen Devon and Cornwall Longwool Dorset Horn Manx Loaghtan Oxford Down Portland Shropshire Wensleydale White Face Dartmoor Greyface Dartmoor Hebridean Llanwenog RyelandSouthdown The American Livestock Breeds Conservancy (ALBC) Critical:< 200 annual North American and estimated fewer than 2,000 global Rare: < 1,000 annual North American and estimated fewer than 5,000 global Watch: < 2,500 annual North American and estimated fewer than 10,000 global population. Study: breeds of genetic interest Recovering: breeds which were once listed in one of the other categories, but are still in need of monitoring. SHEEP (This chart was copied from the American Livestock Breeds Site) Critical threatened Watch Recovering Study California Variegated Mutant/ Romeldale Gulf Coast Hog Island (F) Santa Cruz (F)   Cotswold Jacob (American) Karakul (American) Leicester Longwool Navajo-Churro St. Croix Tunis Dorset Horn Lincoln Oxford   Barbados Blackbelly Black Welsh Mountain Clun Forest Katahdin Shetland Shropshire Southdown Wiltshire Horn (F) Feral populations or breed of feral origin. The Rare Breeds Canada (RBC) Extinct: None Critical: < 100 annual registrations Endangered: < 250 annual registrations Vulnerable: < 450 annual registrations At Risk: < 750 annual registrations Recovering: breeds which were once listed   Sheep (This chart was copied from the Rare Breeds Canada Site) Critical Endangered Vulnerable At Risk (Newfoundland) Border Cheviot Border Leicester Corriedale Cotswold Karakul Lincoln Longwool Oxford Down Scottish Blackface Shropshire Soay Shetland St. Croix Tunis Barbados Blackbelly Dorset Horn Hampshire Jacob Navajo-churro North Country Cheviot Romney Rambouillet   Southdown