East Friesian sheep originated in Germany in the Friesland region of Germany and the Netherlands - hence their name. They were used predominantly as a dairy breed and provided excellent milk for cheese!
A German couple by the name of Chris Buschbeck and Axel Meister immigrated to Canada in the 1980's and missed all the delicious sheep cheese and milk from their homeland and couldn't find an equivalent breed in Canada.
In 1994 they imported East Friesian embryos from Germany and began the first flock of East Friesians in N. America. They are quite popular in Quebec where the majority of dairy breeds thrive in Canada. The sheep are calm and docile (which makes milking them twice a day very convenient).
East Friesian Ewe
The wool from the East Friesian breed can be somewhat variable, but many would describe it as a more rustic wool with more coarseness than other fine or medium type wools. The breed is generally white, but can also be a beautiful dark brown/black and sometimes you will even find sheep that are white with spots (some have compared them to holstein cow of the sheep industry).
Spinning this wool in a worsted or semi-worsted style will produce a smooth and finer-feeling wool, where as spinning it woolen style will give a more full-bodied but more toothy feeling yarn. It will have a lot of air and loft and very insulating.
This yarn would be best suited to outerwear - jackets, vests, legwarmers and perhaps mittens or even a hat if lined with something more fine. It would make a great blanket to use while having a picnic or perhaps a winter campfire!
It will take dye well and produce more of a matte appearance due to its low lustre. The wool will felt.
Staple length: 3 – 6 inches
Fibre diameter: 28 - 33 microns
Fleece weight is between 9 - 13lbs
Structure: blocky dense locks
PICTURE COMING SOON
Audrey Boulet of Les Bresbis du Beaurivage in Quebec supplies our East Friesian wool. This is a little farther than we usually travel to get our wool - but I love what Audrey is doing and I had to try out her wool!
Audrey started her farm as a dairy sheep farm. Her first product is milk that she sells to a local buyer for cheese! It wasn’t until a few years of searching for somewhere useful for her wool to go that she partnered up with a local dyer and started producing a yarn line. Now Audrey has a beautiful line of yarn, socks, roving, blankets and sheepskins. Make sure you check out her farm store if you want more of this amazing wool.
This is our first time ever including East Friesian wool in our breed study, we look forward to your recommendations for how it spins and knits/crochets.