Soothing wool

Sometimes everything seems to happen at the same time, and there is little energy left to breathe. The state of the world, a long period of stress at work and aging parents all add up to tension. Having soothing wool go through my hands is one thing that keeps me on track.

I have been working on and off with a fleece for a few months now. A beautiful Gestrike fleece shorn last autumn. Recently I found my way back to it after quite a long break.

Hanna the Gestrike sheep

The fleece is soft and airy and soothing to work with. I’m working on it from several angles at once – in one end I card a bobbinful of rolags, spin two bobbins and ply them. In another I tease a different part of the fleece to card when the first part is all spun up. Meanwhile, I listen to audiobooks. I just finished Barbara Kingsolver’s Demon Copperhead and started Holly Ringland’s The lost flowers of Alice Hart. My plan is to spin the same yarn weight, but divided into three categories of fine and crimpy, medium and long and strong. This way I can use the different qualities in different parts of a knitted sweater.

I got the fleece from last year’s Swedish fleece championships. I know the sheep farmer and trust her completely when it comes to the wool from her sheep. The fleece got a gold medal.

Luggtacka the Roslag sheep

This year’s fleece championships took place just a couple of weeks ago. I wasn’t there, but I did follow the prize ceremony online and the auction that followed it. Another sheep owner Dan and I had visited for photo shoots last year got medals for two of her fleeces and I won the auctions for both of them. Luggtacka the pitch black Roslag sheep got the award called The Wool Guru’s Temptation. This fleece was a temptation indeed – wool so open and soft that the 700 grams worth of wool had the volume of a 2 kg fleece.

The colour is a challenge for me, I find it very difficult to spin black fleece, but with some dedication and a contrasting background can make it work. I’m thinking about spinning a knitting yarn for stranded colourwork, perhaps for a knit sleeve bodice.

Lappen the Brännö sheep

Another fleece from the same sheep farm was Lappen the white Brännö lamb. The fleece is heavenly soft and open. The sheep farmer lives in an island in an archipelago northeast of Stockholm and the sheep graze in a few different islands with the farmer taking them between the islands in her small boat. Sometimes the sheep go on swimming adventures of their own. The fleece got a gold medal in her category and the highest possible marks for wool care.

I knew I needed to win the auctions for both Luggtacka and Lappen, since I know the farmer and the care and dedication she puts into her sheep. You can read more about Dan’s and my visit to the sheep farm here.

Svea the Värmland sheep

The third fleece I bought at this year’s auction came from Svea the Värmland sheep and is also very soft and silky. I picked Svea’s 1 kg fleece in just a couple of nights – it was so open and airy my hands just danced the staples apart.

Just as Lappen, Svea got the highest possible marks for wool care. I’m thinking knitting yarn for this fleece too. The

Soothing wool

Spinning, carding and teasing all have their own choreography and rhythm and it seems to be just what I need at the moment – the single voice of the narrator and the dance of tools and hands in a set rhythm. Wood and wool through my hands. The soothing smell of lanolin and the genuine kindness I sense in the fibers. Greetings from pasture and barn fall into my lap. As the fibers open before me I’m taken back to the sheep that grew and wore the wool. I am so grateful for getting to know so dedicated sheep owners. Their kindness and the soothing wool bring me so much joy and trust in the goodness of people.

P.S. My book Listen to the Wool is scheduled for publishing in November.

Happy spinning!

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