Navajo Churro and Spanish Churra Sheep and Fleece

My adventures into this particular fleece did not take me where I expected to go.
Navajo Churro and Spanish Churra
^^ pdf. about this lovely research adventure.

This entire project was slightly disjointed, so bare with me while I try to tie all these loose strings together... 

I bought 3 Navajo Churro fleece last summer with the idea that they would work for the Greenland gown project, as all of the Icelandic fiber I could get at the time was already blended.  After spinning this up, I know it won't work for that. While it will definitely be a super-fun spin, I will use it for something else... maybe an Iberian style rug?

I was searching for another project to fill in my 5 for the Pentathalon at Ice Dragon, and Juliana suggested the sample yarn I had already spun and discounted.  I started looking, and found a wealth of totally unexpected information on the history of the breed(s).  These are the very first footsteps on what will be a very long road, and there are gaping holes in the research, but at least I can see the holes vs. having no idea where I'm going.

What I expected was something along the lines of "Hispanic settlers spun & wove & wore clothes made from this wool"  What I got was a huge international Spanish wool trade, multicultural economic powerhouses, a battle for world domination, shifting cultural identities, genocide, and finally on the brink of extinction, a way to survive in their true form - one can hope for that for both the people and the sheep.   Oh, and I get to spin some really lovely wool too.  A totally unexpected bonus was that my singles, when plied, were in the ballpark of the rug yarn - next time, more twist all around, and a worsted prep.

Ultimately I'd like to do a comparison study of the different Spanish sheep breeds, outline their economic uses and just follow the trade routes to see where these things ended up.  Since I know Merino was a major export, I'll 'travel' to London to look at the wool cloth produced there, and then Flanders for tapestries to see if I can find out if it was Churra or Merino being used there.  But more on the Churra itself to see if I can find the missing spinners and learn more about the dyers... there is a lot.  It will be fun.  I'll probably cry more.

On a side note, any time you have the opportunity to buy the fleece or fiber from a rare breed, please do so.  It supports the shepherd and gives them an economic incentive to continue the lines in their true form vs. crossing out for other qualities.