The Origin of Sheep

I've got a question.

Do you know where your wool comes from?

Think about your current or last yarn project. Where did the wool or felt come from?

My current projects (I normally have 3 on the go at once) Hobbycraft, Samuel Taylors & Purple Lynda.

Let's take one of mine, Anchor Freccia Cotton Thread. I bought this from Purple Lynda, who runs an excellent online crochet supply store from Inverness.
It's an Anchor product and Anchor is owned by Coats, a worldwide company. Not much to track from the website, but a small note on the label tells me it was Made in Hungary. And there my search ends.

So my little ball of wool, came from Hungary, to Scotland, To Inverness, To Leeds.

Now, how far back can you go?

Most of the time I have no idea where the wool came from, if it's british wool, great, but the truth is it's often the cost of the wool that makes my wool choice for me.

Yesterday I finally came face to face with April. I was so happy, after months of talking about her and asking after her I finally met her. I wanted to brush her up in my arms and hug her, but settled on a few scratches behind her ear.

April is a sheep, a Shetland sheep from the Highfield flock in North Yorkshire. Owned by Cluny Chapman.

www.highfieldtextiles.co.uk

You should check out the website that includes a monthly blog written by one of the sheep, it's a must read. I cried when the original blogger passed away and cheered at the first mention of April (coming 5th in the large ewe lamb class at the rare breeds show) then cried again when I read April had twins this year (photo of April and her twins on the right).

I first met Cluny at the monthly Briggate farmers market in Leeds. She has a stall a few stalls down from me. We chatted wool, then her wool, then I found out that not only does she spin her own yarn - the first person I've ever met who does spin yarn - but she knows the names of the sheep the yarn comes from. But of course she does, the sheep are hers after all.

So, I have a few balls of wool in my stash boxes that I can trace all the way back to the actual sheep it came from.

April grows the fleece - Cluny sheers April - Cluny's mum cards the fleece - Cluny spins the yarn - I buy the yarn. All within a 50 mile radius.

There's just something magical about knowing the whole story of wool, even if I can't replace my whole stash with magical wool. Knowing that this coming winter my hat, gloves and scarf can be traced back to April in York will make slipping on ice a little bit easier to cope with.

Yarn Review – Patons Smoothie DK

I'm currently working through Lucy Ravenscars Star Wars amigurimi characters. I've three made so far and currently halfway through R2-D2.

I'm somewhat a novice on the amigurumi scene although I've admired them from afar for a long time.

So, when it came to choosing the wool I thought I'd like a smooth wool rather than fluffy. I love the look of cotton wools and Patons (Coats Crafts) do a huge range of colours in 100% cotton, but the £4+ price tag was a bit off-putting.

I opted for the Smoothie wool which is 100% acrylic, but has a nice soft feel, a bit softer than cotton, but not as fluffy as wool.

It's classed as a value wool with a high quality end result, and on the whole I'd agree. If someone had suggested I try crocheting in acrylic I'd have laughed. It reminds me of a pair of trousers I had when I was a school leaver and going for my first job interviews. Uncomfortable and clingy are just two words that spring to mind.

The Smoothie 'wool' feels gorgeous to touch and the colours that were available (only four in Hobbycraft) though limited, were deep colours. The white is bright white and the black is blackest black.

On the negative side though I found crocheting a bit difficult at first. After a few stitches the eight individual strands that make up the yarn started unravelling and several times I pulled a strand with my hook. Perseverance prevailed though and I finished a little Stormtrooper with white 100% cotton and black 100%acrylic. The difference is noticeable with the cotton producing clearly defined stitches and the acrylic smooth, soft blended stitches, which I prefer, but I found a strand of the acrylic poking through where I've caught it and not noticed until after it was finished. It's a shame really because the end result is lovely.

Anyway, Smoothie comes in 25 shades 5 of which are effect colours, in 100g balls.

You can see the full range of colours on the Coats Craft website (www.coatscrafts.co.uk), a nice range in shades rather than solid colours, but they blend well together.

Price:

It has a RRP of £2.75
Hobbycraft - It's not available as far as I can see on the website, but I paid around £2.50 in store.
Purple Linda (www.purplelindacrafts.co.uk) are selling it for £2.45.
Ebay have many sellers with this wool but at a current lowest price of £3.50.
Dunelm Mill (www.dunelm-mill.com) is a clear winner though with balls at £2.25.
If you find it cheaper, feel free to comment and let us all know.