on Working with wool, especially breed-specific wool, gives you an incredible choice in each breed’s specific properties and qualities, as Ethel Mairet explains: Every raw material has its own definite expression, its biotechnic quality. This can even be found in the various types of fleece. Each kind of fleece has its own perfect expression – the… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #25
on Keen-eyed WOVEMBER readers will have noticed the prominence of WOOLFEST amongst our writings on WOOL, and the many times we have referred to this wonderful annual fibre festival in discussing how gaps between producers and consumers of WOOL might be closed. WOOLFEST started in 2005 and now attracts over 100 stallholders and 4000 visitors every… Continue Reading Marion Woolcott on Working with Wool & WOOLFEST
on Now we have had a few days of exploring how wool is processed – both domestically and commercially – we thought it would be amazing to showcase a very special project which brings all that processing together! In 2011 the Kennet Valley Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers undertook a historic recreation project, based on… Continue Reading The Newbury Coat
on As we will see in tonight’s post about somebody who does not have to ‘close the gap’ between growing wool and wearing wool: “Without a thorough knowledge of his raw material, a craftsman cannot do good work because he understands only imperfectly the reasons for his actions. Few craftsmen have the privilege of using a… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #4
on These photos were contributed to the WOVEMBER 2012 competition by Ericka Olsen Stefano… WOVEMBER wonders if they are Snow White Blacknoses, as featured in this documentary film, and what their wool is like? Can anyone enlighten us? ‘I’m sending in three photos of sheep in Switzerland. The unusual looking breed is from the upper Valais,… Continue Reading Snow White Blacknoses?
on We mentioned Deb Robson in our recommended reading for WOVEMBER post, and in “Growing Wool in pictures by Susan Gibbs“. If you have not yet seen The Fleece and Fibre Sourcebook we suggest you check it out at once! And if you ever have the chance to attend one of Deb Robson’s workshops, you will… Continue Reading Deb Robson on Growing Wool…
on A self-professed yarn-based craft addict, Kate Woolwinding submitted this post – and another, to be revealed later in the month! – as an entry to the WOVEMBER competition! Kate is a freelance writer and editor living on a windy Welsh hillside not far from the sea, and here are her words on Growing Wool. You… Continue Reading Kate Woolwinding on Growing Wool…
on Sheep have been bred in Britain for a very long time indeed – for their fleece, their milk, and their meat. It may come as no surprise therefore, that: “The words used to describe sheep of different age and sex vary in detail up and down the country. Lambs are EWE lambs if female; if… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #3
on Sue Blacker with her sheep, photograph © Sam Morgan Moore Sue Blacker is well known to wool enthusiasts as she has a hand in the whole fleece to garment process from start to finish! In running The Natural Fibre Company she works with many woolgrowers who get their fleeces spun there; as a knitwear designer… Continue Reading Sue Blacker on Growing Wool…
on If you usually think of breed-specific wool as that gorgeous skein of Merino in your favourite colour at your local yarn shop, then think again. Lincoln Longwool Sheep, picture submitted to Wovember2011 Gallery by Helena Callum “The usual classification of our [British breed] sheep into MOUNTAIN, LONGWOOLS and DOWNS, is that which emphasises the character… Continue Reading WOVEMBER WORDS #2