Field guides are just that...guides to take with you. In this case into the fleece barn, local yarn shop or fiber festival. Deborah Robson and Carol Ekarius have come out with "The Field Guide to Fleece", a slim down version of "The Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook". Their sourcebook contained over 200 fibers. This pocket sized guide contains 100 sheep breeds.
The breeds can be found alphabetically. Read about spinning, dyeing and the best uses for the fleece. You will learn the characteristics; fleece weight, staple length, fiber diameter, the origin and colors. There are photographs of the sheep, lock of fiber where you can see crimp as well as the mix of fibers: hair, dual coat. The sidebar is a bit of history and interesting facts about the particular breed.
A glossary of terms is given at the back of the book. Here is a video by Deborah on hand spinning rare wool. It is a perfect gift even if the recipient owns the 'Sourcebook'. Slip it in your knitting bag. Your next fleece will be exactly what you want to spin.
