Cormo Sheep: The science experiment that worked brilliantly and paid off well. The name Cormo is from the names of two of the parent breeds, Corriedale and Merino, the breed was developed in Tasmania by Ian Downie. He developed a new breed of sheep strictly by scientific methods and empirical data to develop his ideal […]

YAK about YAK! Did you know that Yak’s don’t moo (aka bovine lowing)? They grunt, in fact, the scientific name of Yak is Bos grunniens or “grunting ox” named by Linnaeus in 1766. There are technically two subgenus of Yak domesticated “grunting” and wild “muted” Yak. Yaks are connected to the Pleistocene epoch more than […]

Southdown are the breed in which all others in the “Down Family” can cite in their back round. A relatively smaller sheep in comparison to some, it is a duel breed known today for mostly meat. There are technically 3 different types of Southdowns: American, Babydoll, and Miniature. American Southdown are larger than their English […]

Ever wonder where the fleeces of sheep raised for meat go? Into the wool pool! Don’t imagine a pool of wool but rather bales of wool compressed into 400 lbs per bag! For Washington State the lovely home of the Paradise Family, Pendleton Woolen Mills buys the bulk of fiber collected for the wool pool. […]

Congratulations to the Corriedale! This year is the 100 year anniversary of the Corriedale in the US. Introduced to the US in 1914 as a duel breed that would have a high yield in both fiber and meat. Corriedale is one of the oldest established cross breeds developed for Australia and New Zealand’s underused dryer […]

Winnipeg Manitoba was colder than Mars with wind-chills below -37.8 degrees C, and Mars at only -31 C in the last few weeks. Just reading that makes me cold and longing to wrap myself up in something bright and warm, it also makes me think of Icelandic mittens. Icelandic sheep are one of the purest […]

Sometime within your fiber journey you will come across some fleeces for sale.  The price of raw wool fleece can vary quite a bit and some really nice fleeces can even be found for…free!  When you do come across a fleece or are new to shopping for a fleece at a fiber festival etc, here […]