Country of Origin: United States

Dorset – Polled

Posted: April 16, 2021

Breed Type: Dual-Purpose Breed
Country of Origin: United states
Breed Association Website: dorsets.homestead.com

Horned Dorsets were imported into this country in 1860 to the West Coast. Horned Dorsets were the dominate type of Dorset sheep in America until the development of the Polled Dorsets in the 1950’s. Polled Dorsets were developed from a gene mutation. The polled strain has helped Dorsets become one of the most popular sheep breeds in the country today, where it has the largest white face breed registry in the country and second overall.

Dorset wool is also amazing to spin. It is a nice spongy soft fiber for mittens, socks and outer clothing.


This breed presented by

Stunkel Dorsets
Glenn Stunkel
PO Box 10
Tuscarora, MD 21790
(301) 639-7257

facebook.com/StunkelDorsets

Montadale

Posted: April 15, 2021

Breed Type: Dual-Purpose Breed
Country of Origin: United States
Breed Association Website: montadales.com

The history of the Montadale breed of sheep dates back to over half a century and is one of the most amazing success stories in modern sheep-breeding history. While other breeds have been developed in the United States, Montadales are the only breed to have been developed by private enterprise.

Much of the credit for the development of the breed goes to E.H. Mattingly, a well- known commercial lamb buyer who was obsessed with the idea of producing the ideal sheep. Early in his youth, Mattingly had been advised that if he could bring together the qualities of the big western white-faced sheep and the popular mutton characteristics of the Midwestern sheep, he would have the perfect breed.

Many breed combinations were crossed throughout the years, but it wasn’t until 1932 when he purchased the first Columbia ram to go east of the Mississippi River to cross on his Purebred Cheviot ewes that provided Mattingly proof that his mission was on target.

In order to find the most profitable combination, the sire and dam of the two parent breeds were eventually reversed, with testing being conducted for …

Katahdin

Posted: April 19, 2021

Breed Type: Hair Breed
Country of Origin: United States
Breed Association Website: katahdins.org

Katahdin sheep are born in the USA!

The breed was originally developed in the state of Maine by Michael Piel, the breed founder. The traits he wanted were:

  • Shedding ability
  • Easy care
  • Profitability
  • Ability to have and raise MULTIPLE LAMBS
  • Parasite resistance
  • Moderate size and adaptability

Katahdin sheep are different!

Katahdin sheep have no wool!

They have hair like a dog and can grow hair in the winter and shed the hair in the summer.

Katahdin sheep are born with long tails (like all lambs do) but the Katahdin Breed Association Standards say to leave the tails long and not to “dock” (cut short) the tails.

Katahdin sheep come in a variety of colors: solids of black,or white, or red, or brown and even harlequin: black and white spots, or brown/ fawn and white spots or mottled (freckled).

Katahdin sheep have a 200% lambing ability and can often have twins, triplets and even quadruplets!


This breed presented by

Rabbit Run Farm and Castle Keep Farm
Joan Horman
5109 Cap Stine Rd
Frederick, MD 21703
(301) 473-5304

2024 Festival Gear Now Available

A selection of 2024 Festival Merchandise is now available. We have short-sleeved t-shirts, long-sleeved hooded t-shirts, three styles of bags, and two sizes of posters. Click "Read More" for details on how you can get yours!

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Henry Clemes is co-founder of the “father and son” fiber arts team @Clemes & Clemes, Inc. based in Pinole, California, Henry has been building innovative and elegant fiber arts equipment and sharing his knowledge about fiber preparation for 50 years. We are pleased to have him back teaching three full-day drum carding classes this year. Although Carding for Color: Tints and Shades has sold out, there are still a few seats available for Exploring the Drum Carder and Carding for Color: Fractals. Registration is available at www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool ... See MoreSee Less
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There are still available seats in some classes! Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival is delighted to welcome Peggy Doney from Colorado Springs, Colorado to the roster of new instructors this spring! Life for Peggy was never the same after taking a spinning class with her neighbor years ago. Before she knew it, Peggy was spinning, knitting, dyeing, and creating silk fusion. Eventually, Peggy became a dyer for Treenway Silk, began exploring her own colorways, and developed her own color recipes through experimentation with gradient, triad, and monochromatic studies. She has a special interest in making accurate, reproducible dye recipes that reflect colors found in nature. Peggy loves to share her enthusiasm and knowledge of dying and has been teaching for several years at gatherings, guilds, and festivals including Taos Wool Festival. Two of her classes have already sold out, but there are still limited seats available in Tints, Tones, and Shades, Oh My! In this class, students will learn about the role of adding white, black, and gray to colors, as well as using different additives to achieve consistent depths of shade. But don’t let color theory intimidate you! Peggy will make sure you leave with lots of beautiful samples, and she is bringing lots of dye jokes and her big box of crayons as reference material! You can learn more about Peggy by following her The 100th Sheep and you can register for her class at www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool ... See MoreSee Less
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Teacher Spotlight! There are still limited seats available in some classes! Meet Jill Duarte, one of our amazing instructors at Maryland Sheep and Wool this year. Many of you know her as the co-owner of Hipstrings and a frequent contributor to PLY Magazine, but you might not know Jill also holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Evolutionary Biology! Jill’s background in science and love of fiber arts has informed her business and is reflected in the fiber, yarn, and tools she creates and produces. Jill describes herself as “inordinately fond of short-stapled fibers and fast spinning tools.” Like many of us, she cannot just stop with one fiber pursuit, and she finds herself knitting, spinning, dying, crocheting, weaving, and sometimes felting. As an author and teacher, Jill is dedicated to the resurgence of modern fiber craft that is based on a foundation of technical and historical knowledge. This year Jill is sharing her expertise with several knitting and spinning classes including Fiber Speed Dating, Spinning Short Stapled Fibers , Getting Started on a Supported Spindle, Spinning for Consistency, and Knitting with Handspun Yarn. Although a few of her classes are sold out, a limited number of seats for the remaining classes are still available here: www.lessonface.com/sheepandwool#mdsw #mdsw24 ... See MoreSee Less
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