Week one of the #Wovember2016 instagram photo competition…

Felicity Ford on

As we mentioned in this post Wovember is once again hosting an annual photo contest on instagram. All you have to do to enter is use the hashtag #Wovember2016 on any images which show the ways in which you are appreciating and celebrating sheep and wool this Wovember. You can see some of the diverse range of entries here! Every week, lifelong wool lover and long-term Wovember supporter Joanne Spittler will share her favourites as a kind of woolly round up of some of the awesome stuff taking place around the world this Wovember.

This week I have picked three pictures which tell a special story. During the process of choosing this week’s favourites, I enjoyed every single capture. It is very beautiful to see what wool means to you all.

These stories caught my attention:

Elaine tells a lovely story about the longevity and resilience of wool and how it can be part of a child’s playtime. I love this truly historical picture of her and her sister sitting in their blanket fort.

This #wovember post is about woolly memories. When I was little we used to visit my granny and grandad in the highlands. We would always build forts with ever-increasingly complex wind-break 'walls' and toasty 'roof' made from wool blankets and offcuts. This was clearly the beginning of a wee housey, as they often had entrances and rooms by the time we were finished banging the windbreaks into grass with giant mallets, standing on a stool. The wool blankets came from my Granny's work at T.M. Hunters Woollen Mill. One of my favourite memories and the blanket in this photo is in the boot of my car today! Just goes to show the resilience of wool. Pretty sure we were in our forts in rain at times – snug as can be. #wovember2016 #knittersofinstagram #knitstagram #wool

A photo posted by Elaine (@socherryknits) on

Ange interprets her local landscape by using wool and this caught my eye immediately. Her handwoven cushion is a creative work of art celebrating one of wool’s many forms whilst telling us the story of where she is at home.

Mary tells the story of how she and her youngest daughter Georgie ended up with a flock of sheep. It is heart-warming to see the storyline evolve and to read about the amount of work involved in keeping sheep.

Thanks to Joanne for taking the time to go through the photos submitted so far to the Wovember 2016 photo competition and for making such a thoughtful selection; these top picks really give a flavour of the lovely stories that folk are sharing this Wovember, in celebration of wool.