Having raised purebred & registered Navajo-Sheep for more than twenty-five years, I have tried many ways to use their wonderful wool. With good food and water, Navajo-Churro fleece can grow more than 3/4" each month and that's a lot of wool.
Because their wool grows quickly, we shear twice a year and have sold everything from raw wool to large woven rugs (sold in the Sundance Catalog!). We made and commissioned yarn, socks, sweaters... but my personal favorite is making felt: "painting" with the natural colors. The finished pieces are soft yet sturdy. They hang on the wall, flop on the floor, decorate the back of a sofa ... unlimited imagination. These felts are easily cut and sewn into slippers, bags, placemats...

Navajo-Churro sheep are fun to raise: they are smart and real survivors. Ancestors came with the Spanish Conquistadores in the 1500s, walking along with the explorers throughout the US Southwest. Quickly adopted by the existing monasteries and pueblos, the Spanish Churra sheep provided a previously unknown fiber--- wool--- as well as meat and pelts.

Our process: The wool is sheared off the sheep and any debris is 'skirted' out. I group fiber by color--- white, black, browns, grays, patterns--- the genetic diversity is terrific--- then wash and 'card' (think: combing) and then, finally, I can make felt with it!

From birthing the lambs to the finished product, at Lana Dura we know every step along the way. We are SLOW FASHION for certain... carefully, slowing, naturally, sustainably.