The fleeces are from three different breeds, namely the Bergschaf (from southern Germany), the Scottish Blackface and the Rhönschaf (central Germany). We like to take the fleeces from local sheep, because they don't cost anything and the sheep keepers would usually throw them away otherwise. This is a waste of some good wool.
Of course, a downside is that the sheep often aren't Nordic breeds, so the fibers differ from those that people in Viking Age Scandinavia would have used. But this doesn't bother us too much. It's really fun to work with the fleeces from different breeds. Plus, any breed that is not modern Merino might be closer to the old Nordic breeds.
I took some wool of each fleece and photographed them for comparison. "Our" Bergschaf actually is mostly brown and it's just a coincidence that this white piece seemed most suitable for the photo. In the other picture you can see how beautifully white the Blackface fleece looks if it's rinsed in cold water a few times. The fleeces are still very dirty, but due to the wet and cold weather we hesitate to wash them since drying would take an eternity.
A very small batch of Blackface wool has already been rinsed, however, and most of it is combed and even spun. The wool contains a lot of long hair, so I spun and plied a thin yarn suitable for sewing or embroidery.
