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Icelandic sheep breeders convene at Barbara Stinson's Farm of Beauty near Lodi, Wisconsin. From left are Stinson, Shana Chapel and Christina Taylor.
Christina Taylor inspects a bag of fleece. She breeds Iceland sheep at Driftless Icelandics near Tomah, Wisconsin.
Spinners like working with different colors; single-gene gray-mouflon sheep provide that color variation, says Barbara Stinson as she shows different bags of fleece.
Roving samples show color variations from a few of Christina Taylor's Icelandic sheep. The 'cinnamon bread' sample came from Zeus, one of her rams, a possible single-gene gray-mouflon sheep. Zeus is being bred to a solid-black ewe to further test whether he carries the gene.
Barbara Stinson is knitting a multi-hued sweater using yarn produced from her Icelandic sheep.
Leif is an Icelandic ram that carries the single-gene gray-mouflin gene. His name is a nod to Leif Erikson, the Norse explorer.
Barbara Stinson shows Ymur, an Icelandic ram born in April 2023.
Diane Graves shows Isafold Freyr, a black-gray-mouflon ram lamb, at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in 2017. The lamb won first place and then grand champion at the festival. Graves owns Isafold Icelandics, located near Vernonia, Oregon.
Uggi has white fleece but the ram is actually a black-single-gene gray-mouflon sheep with a white spot. Shana Chapel purchased the ram from Barbara Stinton.
Swatches of fibers from Iceland sheep with the single-gene gray-mouflon are displayed. Shana Chapel of Sweet Pasture Pies Farm near Pella, Iowa, provided the swatches from her flock for other breeders to see.
Barbara Stinson's flock of 21 sheep includes single-gene gray-mouflin animals.
Wide variation in Icelandic sheep fleeces creates challenges for breeders coding color and pattern when registering their Icelandic sheep. But that same variation is what attracts other breeders, genetics enthusiasts and fiber artists.
Margaret Flowers
Lynn Grooms of Grooms Communications is an independent writer residing in Mount Horeb, Wisconsin. She enjoys writing about farmers, farming practices, and other subjects related to food and agriculture.
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Roving samples show color variations from a few of Christina Taylor's Icelandic sheep. The 'cinnamon bread' sample came from Zeus, one of her rams, a possible single-gene gray-mouflon sheep. Zeus is being bred to a solid-black ewe to further test whether he carries the gene.
Diane Graves shows Isafold Freyr, a black-gray-mouflon ram lamb, at the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in 2017. The lamb won first place and then grand champion at the festival. Graves owns Isafold Icelandics, located near Vernonia, Oregon.
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