Friday, May 16, 2008

Polwarth fiber anyone?

image from Handbook of Australian Livestock, Australian Meat & Livestock Corporation,1989, 3rd Edition
I am trying to find a source of Polwarth fiber in the US, preferably one with an online shop. After playing with it a few weeks ago at the Sheep and Wool Festival, I have decided it is my all-time favorite wool; soft, lofty, perfect fiber length, easy to spin, etc, etc, etc.


Locks would be perfect, but roving is okay too. Even whole fleeces if necessary. Natural is preferred, but dyed would be nice too.


Anyone have any ideas? Or a Polwarth sheep in the back pasture ready for shearing? Or a fleece or two in the basement gathering dust?

5 comments:

Batty said...

No idea where you can find the fiber, but those sheep sure are fuzzy-looking!

Leesy said...

Doesn't it just make you want to reach in there and feel the fiber? Or get out the shears? Okay, they look like overgrown shrubbery in this case, just like merino and other fine fiber fleece always do!

Leesy said...

well, if anyone's interested, rovings.com seems to be the consensus go-to place for Polwarth. They're in Canada, but it's better shipping and time wise than getting it from Aust/NZ.

Jeri said...

I have a source for you, in Texas, of merino lincoln cross fleece. I bought one recently and the washing/prep is the easiest of any fleece I've worked with. The crimp is great plus the luster of the lincoln.
They are a first cross, not bred back to merino.

Unknown said...

Did you ever find a source?

I raise Polwarths in Ontario, Canada (so if you need a fleece or some roving, I have both). However, I would love to compare my fleece to someone else's to see how I might improve,so if you have a source, I would love to hear from you.

Thanks! shepherd@elderberryfarm.ca