Sheep to Shawl | rosemary-web-site

From Sheep to Shawl

There are many types of sheep which are bred for different purposes. Wool for spinning needs to have a good length of fibre and if worn against the skin needs to be soft.

Sheep

Sheep are usually sheared once a year in the spring.

This is the 2014 shearing at WindReach Farm where I helped with the shearing of 27 sheep.

When the sheep has been sheared, the fleece is skirted to remove damaged and dirty wool and to separate first from second grade fleece

The fleece is then rolled and wrapped for storage until it is needed

Raw sheep fleece - These are examples of different fleece types

This shows the crimp in the wool fibres

The wool is washed a number of times

It is then spread out to dry

The wool fibres are separated by teasing apart and carding. This is my hand operated drum carder

Natural or chemical dyes can be used to colour the wool. This shows a pot of black eyed susan flowers being boiled up for dye

This is the dye garden at the Pickering Museum Village with some of the plants used by the early settlers to dye their wool and fabric

These drop spindles are used to spin wool and were made for me by my husband Jonathan

Regular drop spindles

Turkish drop spindle

This is my modern Spinolution Queen Bee spinning wheel which is a pleasure to spin on and folds up for easy transportation

A sampling of spun, plied yarn, some dyed using natural plant dyes

This is my spinning wheel from the 1850's which my husband Jonathan has carefully restored for me. It's lovely to spin on and and I often wonder about the many miles of yarn that have been spun on it and who has owned it . It must have a great story to tell.

At the Pickering Museum Village, spinning while being serenaded by Jonathan on his Autoharp

Shawl

In costume wearing a knitted wool Sontag at the Pickering Museum Village and in charge of Savanna, a goat from WindReach Farm

Antique spinning wheel and wool winder in action on Heritage Day at WindReach Farm 2021