Hebridean Seafaring Sheep in the UK

We’re on our last leg of the EU tour of sheep and wool and have landed back in the native land of team Wovember: the UK. We’ve featured loads of content about the UK on the Wovember blog in the past so rather than trying to summarise everything we know about wool from this country… Continue Reading Hebridean Seafaring Sheep in the UK

Svenska får och ull – Swedish sheep and wool

Today on our EU tour of sheep and wool we are in Sweden, where the word for sheep is får and the word for wool is ull. Wikipedia list the following breeds as being native to Sweden – Dala-fur; Gotland; Gute; Roslag and Rya. However, several additional Swedish breeds are mentioned in the fantastic The… Continue Reading Svenska får och ull – Swedish sheep and wool

Ovejas y lana en España – sheep and wool in Spain

Today on our EU tour of sheep and wool we are in Spain where the word for sheep is oveja and the word for wool is lana. Spain is where the infamous merino originates from and to give some historical context, we shall begin by quoting from the excellent tome The Wool Trade Past and… Continue Reading Ovejas y lana en España – sheep and wool in Spain

Slovenske ovce in volna – Slovenian sheep and wool

Today continuing our EU sheep and wool tour we are in Slovenia where the word for sheep is ovce, and the word for wool is volna. The two sheep breeds listed as being native to Slovenia are the Jezersko-Solčava breed and the Bovec sheep. The Jezersko-Solčava sheep originate in Jezersko. ETA:  we also learnt from one… Continue Reading Slovenske ovce in volna – Slovenian sheep and wool

Ovce a vlna na slovenskom – sheep and wool in Slovakia

Today we resume our tour of EU sheep and wool and find ourselves in Slovakia – The Slovak Republic – where the word for sheep is ovce and the word for wool is vlna. These words feel familiar; ovce is also the word for sheep in the Czech Republic and ovca is used in Bulgaria… Continue Reading Ovce a vlna na slovenskom – sheep and wool in Slovakia

Oi și lână în România – sheep and wool in Romania

Today for our EU Wovember Words post we are in Romania where the word for sheep is oaie, and the word for wool is lână. To begin with the sheep (info from this report); In Romania there are two autochthon native breeds: Turcana, named also Zackel (“mountain peasant”, “Romanian”) or Walachian (“Romanian”), is the sheep… Continue Reading Oi și lână în România – sheep and wool in Romania

Ovelhas e lãs portuguesas – the work of Rosa pomar

Today our EU themed Wovember Words is travelling to Portugal where the word for sheep is ovelha, and the word for wool is lã. We are taking all our inspiration and some of our quotes for this post from Rosa Pomar. Rosa has been documenting and researching the sheep breeds and textile traditions of Portugal for… Continue Reading Ovelhas e lãs portuguesas – the work of Rosa pomar

SCAEP & SCEAP, WOLLE & WULL – some woolly words from the Netherlands

Today on our Wovember Words EU tour of sheep and wool, we are in the Netherlands. To celebrate this, we are republishing a post from Tom of Holland – inventor of Wovember Words – written in 2011, and exploring Dutch knitting terms for sheep and wool. In this EU Wovember Words series, we are rarely… Continue Reading SCAEP & SCEAP, WOLLE & WULL – some woolly words from the Netherlands

Nagħaġ u suf f’Malta – sheep and wool in Malta

Today the Wovember Words EU tour is stopping in Malta where the word for sheep is nagħaġ and the word for wool is suf. Malta has a breed of sheep – the Maltese sheep – described in this leaflet like this: This rare indigenous breed was the original seedstock used in the development of the… Continue Reading Nagħaġ u suf f’Malta – sheep and wool in Malta

Wool and Brexit

Good evening! We want to update you on a few things. The Wovember Petition First and foremost, we have begun a process for officially submitting the Wovember petition to the European Parliament with a supporting paragraph asking that, in light of the 997 signatures we have collected here, we feel that the confusing EU labelling legislation… Continue Reading Wool and Brexit