Winners for WOVEMBER 2014

Hello! This is the very last post for WOVEMBER 2014, announcing the WINNERS for the WOVEMBERWAL and the WOVEMBER PHOTO COMPETITION. WOVEMBERWAL You may remember that there are three categories for the WOVEMBER WAL: The Golden Fleece Award is given for the sheepiest project – i.e. the project that most thoroughly celebrates the inspirational and… Continue Reading Winners for WOVEMBER 2014

Wovember Words: Cats and Wool

For this last WOVEMBER WORDS post of 2014 we celebrate our feline friends. The strong association of wool with cats is indicated every year in the wondrous photos that you submit to our photo competition. Every wool worker I know with a cat attests to the special affinity that this beast feels for the following… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Cats and Wool

Wovember Words: Leg-waarmers song (1983)

At Shetland Wool Week 2014 Shetland ForWirds put on a wonderful evening of songs and readings in Shetland dialect, designed to introduce and celebrate the richness of the Shetland dialect and to share some of the beautiful terms for WOOL and WOOLWORK used in the past and today in Shetland. Laureen Johnson has very kindly… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Leg-waarmers song (1983)

TURBOTHANKS X

Dear WOVEMBERISTS, fellow comrades in WOOL, lovers of the fleece, BUDDIES IN BAAS; – This is a massive heartfelt thanks to everyone who makes WOVEMBER happen every year. Thank you for tweeting and re-tweeting our articles, for sharing our stories on Facebook, for signing our petition, for mentioning this site on Ravelry and for generally… Continue Reading TURBOTHANKS X

Wovember Words: Wordsworth on WOOL

Today’s WOVEMBER WORDS come from Wordsworth who gives a wondrous picture of the place of WOOL in Lakeland life in the early nineteenth century. Originally published anonymously in 1810 as an introduction to Wilkinson’s “Select Views in Cumberland, Westmoreland and Lancashire”, Wordsworth’s “Guide to the Lakes” was later revised and edited by the author and… Continue Reading Wovember Words: Wordsworth on WOOL

WAL updated!

A flurry of emails later, we have an updated WAL gallery of projects to share – look at all the glorious creativity with wool that has happened this WOVEMBER… hurrah! We will announce the winners soon. HO-HO hat knitted from Jamieson’s Spindrift and fulled; Retro Norwegian Hat by Tanis Gray is made from vintage 100%… Continue Reading WAL updated!

My Wovember Sweater

Another wondrous post from Jane Cooper telling the story from sheep to sweater of one very special garment! I’ve spent the entire month wearing just one sweater. It’s been a fun way to celebrate Wovember but also a way to fully test the properties of a new knitting yarn. I’d like to introduce Orkney Wool… Continue Reading My Wovember Sweater

Wovember Words: WOOL and electricity

Sheep and WOOL really do get into everything and, if you have purchased a copy of the KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Sourcebook you will already know that “everything” even includes a 1930s book about electricity entitled “The Wonders of Electricity”. Published in the 1930s, this book provides fascinating glimpses into the domestic interior of the 1930s… Continue Reading Wovember Words: WOOL and electricity

The Sheep On The Shore and The North Ronaldsay Spinning Mill

This evening we have a gem of a post from Jane Cooper, who will be known to many of you through her amazing work on the Woolsack project and also for the work she does on the Blacker and Beyond and Fleece & Fibre Sourcebook group on Ravelry which celebrates a diverse range of different… Continue Reading The Sheep On The Shore and The North Ronaldsay Spinning Mill

Elizabeth

One more beautiful guest post from Sara Dunham reflecting on a special member of her flock. I buried an old friend yesterday, a Jacob ewe who was at least 16, if not older. Elizabeth. Or as she was called for the last couple of years, Queen Elizabeth. I’m not sure about large flocks, but in… Continue Reading Elizabeth