WOVEMBER PHOTO CONTEST WINNERS, 2013

Hello and a Very Happy New Year to you all!

Apologies for the slight lateness in posting details of our WOVEMBER photo competition and WOVEMBERWAL winners; the Winter was rather busy for all members of the team and we have all been rather swept up in our respective work with WOOL! The festive season saw loads of knitting, designing and mending going on for Tom; the launch of a new podcast (feat. plenty of wool-themed content) for me; and the production of a busload of gorgeous kits in 100% WOOL Shetland Heritage Yarn for Kate! We all hope that you have had an equally woolly/busy festive season and that prize-winning announcements will introduce a little woolly cheer amidst the wet and the cold weather we’ve been having lately.

I am delighted to announce that the winners of our photo-contest are:

01 – ‘Spinner’s Journey’ by Caroline

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We loved the whole ethos of this piece – its sheepiness; its status as a learning and experimentation piece; the natural palette; and its continuing life as a jacket for a shepherd. Caroline says of her wonderful cardigan:

This wool is very rustic, the fabric has almost zero drape & there is no colour. Many of these skeins date back years, to my very early attempts at spinning and most of the spinning is appalling. Some are over-twisted, like gnarled old rope, while others have almost no twist at all. They’re all different thickness and they’re very lumpy-bumpy.

The great thing is that I remember spinning all of these wools and they’re all part of my early spinning journey. The resultant garment may not hang well at the back, but it has a reassuring feel to it, like a faithful old blanket. I’ll not see the back anyway, when I’m wearing it.

Modelled with muddy wellies that I use when looking after my sheep.

Bravo, Caroline! A bag of soft Blacker Yarns DK weight yarns + a digital copy of Blayter will soon be winging their way to you! Thank you to Blacker Yarns for providing this wonderful prize.

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02 – Gotland fleece from Gotland photographed by Ulrika

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We loved how textural this photograph is and how it shows off the properties of the Gotland fleece so well. Ulrika says of her Gotland fleece:

Wool is my passion, different sheep, different wool. This is a very very dark, very very long, very very shiny, very very beautiful fleece from a True Gotland lamb from Gotland ;-). The fleece, the two-ply spun yarn and the faux rolags.

I live on the island of Gotland in the Baltic sea, where all sheep actually are called lambs and lambs are called lamb-kid 😉

Congratulations, Ulrika, a bag of Jamieson & Smith Heritage yarns in berry shades + a digital copy of Blayter will soon be on their way to you! Thank you to Jamieson & Smith for providing this wonderful prize.

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03 – An entry in the ‘Growing Wool’ section of the contest from Jane

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We loved the atmospheric mistiness of this fantastic photo by Jane, who writes:

Fiber artist Teri D. Inman, has been creating hand-woven designs for more than 30 years. Distinctive style, quality and complex color blends are the hallmarks of her work. Teri specializes in cashmere, silk, fine wools, and natural cottons, bamboo and tencel, often incorporating the process of arashi shibori into the fabrics for her designer originals. Wool from her Navajo-Churro sheep is hand-dyed and spun for rugs and tapestries. These are her Navajo-Churro sheep. Mineral County, Colorado

Huzzah for such a lovely photo, one amazing felted fox kit made by Caroline Walshe AKA An Snag Breac will be on its way to you soon! As Caro says, “you need something to chase the sheep!” Thank you Caroline for providing this beautiful prize.

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04 – An entry in the ‘Wearing Wool’ section by Marika

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We loved this creative use of natural sheep colours. Marika says:

This is my (big) version of Gudrun Johnston’s “Hansel Hap”, knitted in heavy dk / light aran undyed British yarn – from Ardalanish, Garthenor and Foula. Measures approx 180cm squared. Lovely and sheepy!

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We are delighted that Magnus from Foula Wool has created a super-rare selection of marled yarns for you to play with! There is about 250g in total, certainly enough for you to continue your experiments in sheepy shades. Thanks to Foula Wool for this exclusive WOVEMBER prize!

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Word on the WOVEMBERWAL winners will be announced later today and team WOVEMBER wish you all a Very Happy New Year!
YOURS IN WOOL xF