Wovember

Wovember isn't recognised as a word by spell checker but perhaps in the future it might be. It is in its second year and celebrates all things wool related. 

Last year the focus was on the labelling of clothes that were made of wool blended with other fibres or in some cases garments that contained no wool at all but were described as wool or woollen. I don't know whether it is my imagination or perhaps wishful thinking but it seems that this is happening less now. I have noticed more garments labelled wool-blend or contains wool.

This year the focus is on the process of growing the wool from looking after lambs and sheep, through shearing and then processing the fleece into wool for knitting, weaving etc.

There are lots of articles on the Wovember blog. I particularly like the post about the Newbury Coat. Newbury is near here and last year I watched the sheep being shorn and saw all the spinners working away in the Corn Exchange. So many different skills and processes making the coat in just over 14 hours from the start of sheep shearing.

Wool is often considered to be expensive compared to artificial fibres but considering all the stages it goes through, it is very good value for money. In addition, when it is looked after carefully wool lasts for a very long time, a well loved hand-knitted jumper can be worn for years and years - or is that just me! I easily feel cold in the winter so I am a big fan of all things woollen. The Wovember badge in the side bar links to the Wovember blog.

The photographs in this post were taken on my recent trip to Shetland. I did try take some pictures of the  different coloured sheep that produce fleece and wool of wonderful soft natural colours but these sheep were camera shy, not their best view.

The ones in the photograph below were happy to pose for the camera.