on Today’s Wovember Words come from an amazing Victorian publication entitled Strawbridge & Clothier’s Quarterly and describe a type of open-weave and delicate fabric made from worsted-spun wool. You can still buy this fabric today, and it is very interesting to discover its use in Summer Costumes for Victorian ladies. I think it’s especially interesting because… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Nun's Veiling
on Last week TEAM WOVEMBER featured sheep bells in Wovember Words. This prompted Louise to look into something touched on in Stella Sutherland’s poem (also last week) with the Shetland Ewe wearing her “hard triangle of sticks”. As a small child I was often surrounded by sheep on our croft on Bressay and was quite familiar with their… Continue Reading Wovember Words: branks, yokes, pokes or bjoags?
on Here at WOVEMBER we have already looked at some of the actions and words which have historically been associated with shepherding. Here we have another action associated with wool working, which has it’s own unique method and measure. The ends of a length of newly woven cloth are sewn together to make a circle, and… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Waulking
on Earlier this year I read Knitting Yarns, (Norton, 2013), which is a beautiful collection of essays from authors such as Anita Shreve, Sue Grafton and Elizabeth Berg. It is a superb anthology exploring relationships with wool and knitting and is truly worth a browse in your library or bookshop. One of the absolute stand out… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Where it begins
on One of the wondrous things about WOVEMBER is how much WOOL information comes through in your comments. A few years ago several remarks on this post informed me that a Bellwether is a castrated ram that wears a bell around its neck and leads the rest of the flock about. The bell enables the shepherd… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Bellwether
on Following from this post about sheep counting words in Cumbria, TEAM WOVEMBER have been doing some sleuth work re: other sheep-counting words in different places and regions. According to a source quoted below, a variation on Yan Tan Tether Mether Pip was used in Lincolnshire, with a further version was reported to have been in… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Een Teen Thuther Futher Fipps
on Stella Sutherland is a writer from Bressay, Shetland. She has written four collections of poetry, contributed to a number of anthologies and written articles. I have always enjoyed Stella’s poetry which connects to animals and the landscape – a landscape very recognisable to me, as a Bressa’ lass myself. I was reading through one of… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Shetland Ewe
on The practice of putting bells on one’s sheep is no longer widespread in the UK, however there is some evidence that it was once much more popular in the UK than it is today, and sheep bells still seem to be used in other parts of Europe. The sounds of sheep bells featured in a… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Canisters and Cluckets
on When I was small I was fascinated by a packaged cake of soap in a friend’s loo. I went home to say that next door that had soap made from “fat wool”. Wool fat soap is actually lanolin, the natural wax (not fat) in sheep’s wool, which waterproofs our woolly friends and provides anti-fungal protection.… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Wool fat 'recipe'
on Yesterday we featured a film from the 1950s produced by the Whirlpool Corporation which really pushed the idea that wool is impossible to care for. However with the right information, caring for WOOL need not be a horrible chore and is the best way to extend its lifespan. In today’s WOVEMBER WORDS we share an… Continue Reading Wovember Words: tips for blocking stranded colourwork YOKES