{"id":11567,"date":"2025-03-15T07:03:00","date_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/?p=11567"},"modified":"2025-03-15T07:38:37","modified_gmt":"2025-03-15T06:38:37","slug":"soothing-wool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/waltin.se\/josefinwaltinspinner\/soothing-wool\/","title":{"rendered":"Soothing wool"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hanna the Gestrike sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The fleece is soft and airy and soothing to work with. I\u2019m working on it from several angles at once \u2013 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\u2019s Demon Copperhead<\/em> and started Holly Ringland\u2019s The lost flowers of Alice Hart<\/em>. 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Hanna the Gestrike sheep got a gold medal in the 2024 fleece championships<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I got the fleece from last year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Luggtacka the Roslag sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This year\u2019s fleece championships took place just a couple of weeks ago. I wasn\u2019t 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\u2019s Temptation. This fleece was a temptation indeed \u2013 wool so open and soft that the 700 grams worth of wool had the volume of a 2 kg fleece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Luggtacka (meaning bangs ewe) got the Wool Guru\u2019s temptation award in the 2025 fleece championships. The fleece may look grey in the picture but I can assure you it is pitch black.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019m thinking about spinning a knitting yarn for stranded colourwork, perhaps for a knit sleeve bodice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lappen the Br\u00e4nn\u00f6 sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another fleece from the same sheep farm was Lappen the white Br\u00e4nn\u00f6 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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Lappen the Br\u00e4nn\u00f6 lamb got a gold medal in the 2025 fleece championships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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\u2019s and my visit to the sheep farm here<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Svea the V\u00e4rmland sheep<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The third fleece I bought at this year\u2019s auction came from Svea the V\u00e4rmland sheep and is also very soft and silky. I picked Svea\u2019s 1 kg fleece in just a couple of nights \u2013 it was so open and airy my hands just danced the staples apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Svea the V\u00e4rmland fleece got a gold medal in the 2025 fleece championships.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Just as Lappen, Svea got the highest possible marks for wool care. I\u2019m thinking knitting yarn for this fleece too. The <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Soothing wool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Spinning, carding and teasing all have their own choreography and rhythm and it seems to be just what I need at the moment \u2013 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\u2019m 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>\n\n\n\n

P.S. My book Listen to the Wool is scheduled for publishing in November.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy spinning!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can find me in several social media:<\/h2>\n\n\n\n