Who would have ever thought you could get more than one color wool from the same sheep? I thought there were sheep with only white wool and sheep with only black wool. Then I learned about the California Variegated Mutant or CVM.

The CVM is a variety of the Romeldale breed that originated, almost by accident, in the U.S. in the 1960s. A sheep breeder in California discovered a multi-colored ewe lamb—a genetic mutation—in his purebred Romeldale flock and kept it. A couple of years later a multi-colored ram lamb was born and the two were mated. The flock grew to about 75 animals and, in 1982, was sold and dispersed throughout the country. Since 1990 the breed has been actively marketed and the CVM/Romeldale is still considered a rare and endangered breed. All CVM sheep are Romeldales, but not all Romeldales are CVM. To be classified as a true CVM/Romeldale, the sheep must have a badger or reverse badger face, and/or dark legs and dark underbelly. The Romeldale is usually a solid color without the unique markings.

The Palmer Family Farm, in Tolland, Connecticut, started raising sheep in the 1990s and, today, own 24 CVM/Romeldales. Theirs is the largest flock of CVM/Romeldales in New England. The farm, nestled in a forest, occupies about five acres and has been an active farm since the 1940s. Linda and Floyd Palmer's interest in sheep evolved after their daughters, Rebecca and Cassandra, began raising rabbits as a 4-H project. Soon they had some angora goats and Linda's mother, Peg Sorensen, began spinning the mohair. Sometime later the family inherited a Cotswold ewe named Tina Marie and Peg also found this fleece very good to spin.

Peg Sorensen feeds a ram with two ewes in the background.

Upon further investigation the Palmers learned the Cotswold is considered an endangered breed and further interest eventually led Linda to the CVM/Romeldales. The Palmers started their flock in 2000 with two purchased ewes and one ram with the intent of marketing the unique fiber through local outlets in Connecticut.

According to Peg, the CVM/Romeldale can have as many as three different colors on the same strand when the sheep is young. The colors can range from light gray or creamy tan to dark gray and very dark brown, verging on black. Interestingly, the color of the fleece on a second year sheep is a different color than it was when it was a yearling. The sheep are blanketed all year to keep the wool clean and Peg notes that it's always a surprise when the blankets are removed in the spring, to see what the new color will be. The Palmers shear their sheep in April and May. The rams can produce 12 pounds of fleece and the ewes, around eight pounds. They're also hoping for about six new lambs to be born this spring.

California Variegated Mutant (CVM) lambs born in the spring of 2007.

What makes the CVM/Romeldale fleece so unique is its soft and fine characteristics. And the popularity of this breed's fleece is growing because, as the animals age, the fleece actually becomes finer which is often not the case with other breeds. Peg notes that the CVM/Romeldale fleece doesn't have the "prickle factor" like coarser wool has. Many people will avoid woolen garments because they can't tolerate the scratchy wool against their skin. The fineness of fleece is very dependent upon the micron count of the fleece. A micron (µ) is 1/1000 of a millimeter. Fleece measuring less than 20µ in thickness is considered a very fine fleece. Peg, who has been spinning wool for many years, finds the fleece from the CVM/Romeldales to possess that fine quality, softness and an ease of spinning. The fleece is perfect for the hand spinner.

Getting the raw fleece from the animal to the finished product is no simple matter. There is a number of processing stages it must go through. Peg explains that after the sheep are shorn, the fleece must be skirted which is removing the large dirt particles, etc. Then it's sent to the Still River Mill, a local mill in Eastford, Connecticut, that processes the fleece to order. The fleece is washed and dried and then they "pick it," a process that opens the locks. Then it is carded which opens and separates the locks even more and aligns the fibers. From there it will become either roving or batting, depending on the customer's preference and can be dyed into nearly any color a person might want.

The Palmers’ CVM/Romeldale herd possesses a very fine fleece, with up to three different colors on the same strand.

Peg takes most of her fleece home as yarn but enjoys taking some of it as roving and spinning it at home. Even though she focuses on the CVM/Romeldale breed, the farm also has Cotswolds and even a couple of alpacas that contribute fiber to the finished yarn products.

The wool business is a difficult one to get established in, says Peg. This special wool isn't very well known. But she's encouraged by the growth of this cottage industry and is confident that the popularity of wool from unique breeds such as the CVM/Romeldales will continue to grow with more exposure through trade shows and the like. Her yarns are currently available for sale at three locations in Connecticut.

For Peg and the Palmer family, working with the CVM/Romeldales and the other sheep breeds on the farm is a labor of love and continued fascination. Each year's fleece can be of varying quality and they have to be selective of which animals are kept and which should be culled from the flock. This past year they had an "accidental" mating of a Cotswold and a CVM which resulted in a cross breed that produced some of the best quality fiber Peg has seen. She said it was incredible to work with.

Two examples of yarn from Peg’s CVM sheep - a gray and a creme, both natural colors, non dyed.

Rebecca and Cassandra consider themselves as the next generation "sheep wranglers." Rebecca has already tried her hand at shearing and Peg notes her grand-daughter does a pretty good job of it. Rebecca will be studying animal science at the University of Connecticut this year. She's very interested in learning how nutrition may affect the quality of the fiber of these sheep.