- Wool is warm and toasty to wear Fall through Spring. In fact, it can keep you cool in Summer as well (surprising, I know, but read about the thermal properties of wool).
- Wool connects me to sheep, an animal that has provided fiber for clothing for thousands of years worldwide.
- Wool is nearly waterproof, is still warm when wet, and can be made waterproof by felting. It reminds me that some ancient and modern people have used large mats of wool felt to create nomadic housing (yurts). At one time I considered building a yurt in my back yard as a weaving studio!
- Wool is a renewable resource – fleeces must be shorn from sheep every year to keep them healthy, and we benefit from the yarn spun from the fleece.
- Wool yarn comes in a variety of sizes, from lace weight to bulky, so there is never a shortage of accessories I can knit.
- Knitting with wool is good for the hands. Some wool yarns are minimally processed and still contain lanolin (the sheep’s natural “oil” in the fleece), providing a nice waxy smell, and smoothing the hands that are gently exercised by knitting.
- Knitting with wool connects me to my ancestors who also knit with wool. Browsing through vintage knitting magazines and reading articles about historic and traditional knitting patterns offers me more connection.
- Buying wool yarn from local farmers in my area helps to protect the local economy, buying as close to the source as I can (as I am not a shepherdess). Sometimes I even know the name of the sheep whose wool I use.
- Buying wool yarn that is locally and regionally produced in other parts of the country and the world helps to protect those local economies and to create and maintain community supported agricultural efforts.
- I like to share my knitted wool accessories by wearing them, displaying them at my yarn shop, teaching knitting classes, designing knitting patterns to sell, and spreading the word about my love for wool. I like the community that wool helps to create. See more Yarn * Crafts * Community at http://www.sheepandshawl.com or come by the shop and chat a while.
Keep hope alive! Knit on!
The store is now closed. Thank you for your friendship and support. Call 413-397-3680 or email liz@sheepandshawl.com to pick up furniture you bought, or to look at remaining items in April. Continue to shop yarn, books, patterns, notions, on sheepandshawl.etsy.com
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