on Today’s Wovember Word comes courtesy of Louise Spong of South Downs Yarn, about the counting words used by Sussex shepherds. The following extract comes from Shepherds of Sussex by Barclay Wills (originally published in 1938), who regales the following story: He [the farmer] told me that one job was ‘telling’ the sheep. The sheep were allowed… Continue Reading Wovember Words: One-erum, Two-erum, Cockerum
on We cannot believe that this is the last photo competition round up of Wovember 2015! Here is Louise with the final round up of images that stood out this week. Do remember that you gain automatic entry to this competition by using the hashtag #Wovember2015 – but sadly you only have one more day! We… Continue Reading photo gallery round up #4
on Part of the Daily Photo series of photos taken and curated by Jeni Reid especially for WOVEMBER. For the WEARING WOOL phase of WOVEMBER we are delving into the joy of WOOL FESTIVALS – surely some of the best places to see WOOL being worn, and also some of the best places to see how… Continue Reading Daily Photo: Festivals 5
on Thank you so much to WOVEMBER reader KATA, who wanted to contribute a little nod to knitting from the late Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series. I have been re-reading the Discworld novels and although Terry Pratchett does not seem to have had a soft spot for sheep, there is this episode in Carpe Jugulum: ‘Yeah,’… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Pratchett
on Today we wanted to try something out here on the WOVEMBER blog and share a conversation between a Producer of Yarn (Jane Dryden of Home Farm Wensleydales) and a Consumer of Yarn (me, Felix, TEAM WOVEMBER MEMBER and WOOLFAN). Jane sent me some of her different hand knitting yarns and I swatched with them, noting… Continue Reading Between Producers and Consumers of WOOL…
on Part of the Daily Photo series of photos taken and curated by Jeni Reid especially for WOVEMBER. For the WEARING WOOL phase of WOVEMBER we are delving into the joy of WOOL FESTIVALS – surely some of the best places to see WOOL being worn, and also some of the best places to see how… Continue Reading Daily Photo: Festivals 4
on Louise is back with more woolly words as described by participants in the #breedswatchalong. Last time I shared with you some of the words and phrases used by knitters to describe the feel of the ball of yarn as they approached the crafting of their swatch. After casting on and noting observances of the feel… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Breed swatch-along – the feel of the fabric
on We are sure you will agree that today’s posts have given a lot of food for thought. We have one final bonus post tonight from natural dyer and knitter Julia Billings, AKA Woollenflower. This summer Jules was back in her homeland of Australia to teach natural dyeing workshops at Tarndwarncoort, Western Victoria. This is where the Polwarth… Continue Reading Tarndwarncoort: birthplace of the Polwarth
on Good evening WOVEMBERISTS! This evening’s Friday Night Vi-EWE-ing follows on from today’s earlier and highly recommended post from Kylie Gusset. Kylie closed her discussion by speaking about the importance of buying “close to farmer fibres” and sourcing textiles from within a 100-mile radius. This inspiring film made in the USA focuses on a very similar… Continue Reading Friday Night Vi-EWE-ing – the 150 mile wardrobe
on Good afternoon, WOVEMBERISTS! Today we have an important BONUS POST from Kylie Gusset, creator of the awesome Ton of Wool project. This afternoon she speaks about sourcing ethical wool and several issues for us to better understand as consumers of WOOL. How Climate Change Is More Painful Than Mulesing Ever Was. When we talk about… Continue Reading Kylie Gusset on Sourcing Ethical Wool