From shearing the sheep, carding wool, spinning yarn, weaving cloth, or making felt the day was certainly a learning experience. I do feel a little bad for the sheep, because of the weird position needed to get all the fur off. But I think with the hot weather coming on, the buzz cut is a welcome change. The amount of creativity coming from the fur of an animal just astounds me! Wool has never been something I was attracted to until I learned more about the process and all the different things you can do with it. Plus, the sheep were cute and beautiful in their own way. I got to feel some fresh fleece, right off the animal and it was fascinating to feel the lanolin oil and softness.
The carding and spinning ladies were busily making yarn and looked so happy and content with this ancient craft. There were too many people around them to take a good photo. On display were two small looms showing how cloth is made from the freshly made yarn. Seeing little kids trying out the loom was adorable.
And the felt making was beautiful in and of itself. I never knew that wool felt could be as strong as leather if it is made right. And now I understand why wool is such a joy to work with. I want to give thanks to the sheep and all the sheep ancestors...they have certainly been a part of human history for a long, long time.
