Lleyn Sheep

The Lleyn Sheep (or Llŷn) was developed in north-west Wales in the early 1800's when it is believed that rams from the now extinct Irish longwool breed called Roscommon, named after Lord Roscommon, were bred with native Welsh Mountain ewes on the Lleyn Peninsula.  In 1810 Border Leicester bloodlines were added into the mix to produce the breed we know today as Lleyn.  According to the British Wool Marketing Board the breed was established in the UK during the 19th century.

The Lleyn Peninsular, outlined in red

The Lleyn is a medium sized sheep with a white face, white head and a black nose.  The ears and legs below the hock are free of wool.  Neither sexes grow horns.  They are very popular as a commercial breeding ewe now and can be found all over the UK but in the 1960's there were just 10 flocks in existence so the owners formed a breed society in 1970 and began promoting the breed and, at the time of writing, the breed has recently progressed from the Rare Breeds Survival Trust category 5: Minority (1500-3000 breeding ewes) and into category 6: Over 3,000 registered breeding ewes.

They produce a kemp free medium size fleece of 2-3kg that is a creamy white and quite matte with a staple length of 3-5 inches for the most part but coarser parts of the fleece can be longer.   

This fleece is best spun by flicking or combing the locks and spinning it worsted style to minimise any hairiness although if you separate the coarsest and hairiest parts of the fleece out I'm sure you could prepare and spin it anyway you like.  The nicest parts of the fleece has nice bounce qualities and can be used for everyday knitted garments.  The hairy parts would be good for household textiles that need to stand up to rough treatment.  If you want to dye it it does take dye well, with a touch of muted lustre.  

I have bought this breed in as pre-prepared roving, which is really nice and clean this time.

My finished yarn is of medium quality to the touch of the hand and and is a warm creamy white and is 50g/166m of sport weight.  My knitted piece for the project only took 8g/26.5m so I have some left to do whatever with.