Local wool is the best wool. The first day of Spring is today — of course, it is snowing outside but, the weather report says that tomorrow is going to be 50 degrees. Spring is here! A good friend of mine went to a local farm yesterday where she watched the sheep get sheared and the lambs are expected any day. I am getting excited about wool and sheep shows and I can’t help but think about the great local wool I found last year and this wonderful pair of mittens I made.
This time of year brings up memories of my childhood and visits to an historical farm named Conner Prairie. Here they would reenact the time period and you would actually see how people lived in the “olden days”. My favorite demonstrations were always the handcrafts and I loved when there was a connection back to the animals on the farm. We moved from Indiana before I started 5th grade, but the inspiration of the farm life always stayed with me.
When I moved to Pennsylvania 14 years ago I was thrilled to find out that there is a historical farm right here in my town! Quiet Valley Farm. Last summer I went to a demonstration where I watched how to dye wool with plants from the farm. It made me so happy to have this experience back in my life. The wool used for these mittens was purchased from Quiet Valley where the sheep are raised and the wool was dyed with the peels of an onion.
I am not sure how the wool was spun, but I do know that I enjoyed knitting with this local wool as it was so soft and spongy and the mittens were so warm this winter! I can’t wait to go back to the farm this spring for a new lesson on dying, see the sheep and visit with the spinners and buy some more of that wonderful local wool!
