Thursday, May 21, 2009

The source of all wooliness

Earlier this week I visited a farm, a trip that reminded me almost constantly of this cartoon. I was excited to have the opportunity to see sheep up close again, thinking I might perhaps have some new appreciation of them, maybe even nurture a bond, as though they would know instinctively that I am a person who appreciates the unique contribution they make to the world as a whole and my world in particular.

Really though I'm just a person who covets their hair. I didn't enjoy the smell in the barn, and my hayfever kicked in so badly I could barely see the sheep or the cute new lambs, and all I could think of was what a lot of work it must be to get freshly shorn wool clean in the first place. I did have warm feelings about one dozing sheep though who looked like she'd been there, done that, then woke up and started baaaing at us all in a Bea Arthur pitch.

Later in the day I got chatting with somebody who works at the farm, and asked what they do with the wool when the shearing is done. Apparently a lady in town takes it and does all the cleaning save for removing the lanolin, spins the yarn and then knits mittens - which are waterproof, owing to the lanolin. You can be quite sure I filed that away for future reference.

And then yesterday my latest yums arrived from Twisted Fiber Art:


And I was so awestruck by what I found inside that I put down the scissors I used to open the parcel and haven't found them since:



Yes, I had to spend a whack of cash on Duty on top of the cost of the yarn and yes, it is still worth every penny. I wish I could adore wool on the sheep but perhaps that will come, and in the meantime I'll gladly settle for loving it like this:



Pretty good consolation, don't you think?

3 comments:

Karen said...

Whoosh! That's a heckuva lot of Twisted!! Beautiful, as ever.
I spent a lot of time on a sheep farm in the Gulf Islands of B.C. when I was a kid, and was back there a few years ago. I kind of like sheep, even though they're godawful dumb animals, constantly falling off cliffs and stuff. I even like the smell...weird, huh?

Anonymous said...

I'm drooling away nicely here. Have been reduced to trying to make my own self-striping, but it does nothing to curb my lust.

Kathleen Taylor said...

perfect consolation.

I do love a fresh fleece- love the feel, love the look, love the smell. But there is something even more compelling about beautiful yarn, all ready to wind and knit. And Twisted... well you know how I feel about Twisted...