{"id":6879,"date":"2021-10-16T09:02:27","date_gmt":"2021-10-16T07:02:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=6879"},"modified":"2022-01-07T13:14:44","modified_gmt":"2022-01-07T12:14:44","slug":"gestrike-wool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/gestrike-wool\/","title":{"rendered":"Gestrike wool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One of the ten Swedish conservation sheep breeds is Gestrike sheep. Today’s blog post and an upcoming breed study webinar are all about Gestrike wool. This is my tenth breed study. Previous breed studies have been about Gotland wool<\/a>, Gute wool<\/a>, Dalap\u00e4ls wool<\/a>, V\u00e4rmland wool<\/a>, J\u00e4mtland wool<\/a>, finull wool<\/a>, rya wool<\/a>, Kl\u00f6vsj\u00f6 wool<\/a> (blog post only) and \u00c5sen wool<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This Saturday, October 23rd at 5 pm CET<\/strong> I will host a free<\/strong> live breed study webinar on Swedish Gestrike wool!<\/strong> I will share my experiences with the wool from a spinner’s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The webinar has already taken place<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gestrike sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Like all the other Swedish conservation\/heritage breeds, the Gestrike sheep is named after the region where it was (re-)found and established as a unique breed. So, Gestrike sheep were found in just a few flocks in villages in County G\u00e4strikland in the 1990’s. The flocks had been grazing in the area for many generations. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the statistics from the Swedish sheep breeders’ association there were 173 breeding ewes in 25 flocks in 2020. The ewes way around 45 kg and the rams 60\u201370 kg. They can be white, grey, black, brown or spotted. Some lighten with age. The wool is predominantly of rya type<\/a> \u2013 about 50\/50 of outercoat and undercoat.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Gestrike sheep on shearing day. The sheep with the blackest face just left of the center is Elsa, described below.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gestrike sheep are very good at grazing in tight vegetation and therefore perfect for forest grazing. They can get very affectionate and cuddly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gestrike wool characteristics<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As a heritage\/conservation breed, the breeding standards don’t allow crossing with other breeds or breeding for specific characteristics, including the fleece. So, as with the rest of the conservation breeds the fleece from Gestrike sheep is quite heterogenous.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

My experience of Gestrike wool is mainly from three individuals \u2013 Elin, Elsa and Gunvor from Claudia Dillmann’s flock. Claudia has been a member of the board of the Swedish sheep breeders’ association for some years, with a responsibility for wool and skin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Gestrike wool can have very soft and airy undercoat and long, strong and shiny outercoat. Some have a little kemp. Some can have. rougher mane fibers. Lamb’s wool is finer than wool from older individuals. This together with the many colours and the possibility of wool lightening with age gives a spinner an enormous spectrum of spinning possibilities \u2013 soft knitting yarn, strong warp yarn, fine, bulky and a broad palette of colours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The characteristics I choose to focus on when I spin Gestrike wool are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n