For people interested and those who can read Dutch, here is the article I read: velt.nu/nieuws/onderzoek-hoe-duurzaam-wol which is actually a great article about wool being a superb resource, but I got ticked off by it saying our wool is of lower quality. I might have a bit overreacted, but if a cooperative for living ecologically is already saying this, then I do not want to know what lesser informed sources might think of our wool... And well, we actually all know what they think and that's why wool had become a waste product...
This is a barely researched article. I had to laugh at the part that said that the wool protects sheep when they are running in the Australian bush. We don't run sheep in natural bushland, they get tangled up in the blackberry bushes and other undergrowth. You need clean, dry paddocks to run merinos. Further, only half the national flock is mulesed. It's a practice that is being phased out by selective breeding for sheep more resistant to flystrike and the use of alternative control methods.
You’re so right! Just yesterday I was musing about getting my hands on some lamb’s fleece. Daughter: Oh but X has lambs now! (Friend at uni) Me: Oh?… Daughter: Hang on… She grabs her phone and texts her friend to ask what they do with the shearings. Turns out the shearer takes all the fleeces with him and drops them off at the recycling plant (containerpark). Anyhow, her friend is going to set aside a lamb’s fleece or two for me to play around with once the shearer comes. I was floored when I learned all that wool is just going to be thrown away. Seriously?!!??? I’m hoping this means I get a steady source. I’ll have to find out what breed these sheep are from. Most probably a meat breed or a milk breed. Next step will be processing and sourcing heritage breeds. Edit: Thank you for the information on how I can find heritage breeds in Belgium!
I'm in Australia so Merino is rather common here. I mostly spin Corriedale which is a fine wool and Coopsworth which is classed as a carpet wool. I like both. I'd love to spin breeds from further afield.
How wonderful to introduce so many children to spinning their local wool! Makes my heart sing. My favorite wool to spin is Jacob wool, which is from the UK, but the US made their own version of it as we do with many European breeds. I bought two fleeces a couple weeks ago from a farmer 20 minutes from where I'm going to be living the next few years, and the natural colors of the fleece are gorgeous enough to die for.
When i was 8 i visited a farm-school village with my class in the countryside of Galicia, Spain. There we spanned wool and baked and ate sourdough bread, we saw the sheep and the flour mill, all this traditions kept alive in one little village. I never forgot about it and almost 30 years later i bake sourdough bread, love fibre arts and anything to do with wool, and my dream is to one day own sheep. As a city child that sparked was enough!
Oh yes, next to the fieldtrips to the rather industrialised textile museum it were also living history villages that sparked my interest in all thing traditional crafts. I clearly remember secret snacking from that bread we made because it was the best bread I had thus far eaten in my life. I dream of sheep everyday. The big dream would be to move to the mountains (probably to France then because Belgium has no mountains) and raise some sheep and give spinning demo's to People.
PREACH!! I'm in Oregon, USA, and we used to live in a rural area where some friends kept unusual breeds of sheep and I got experience spinning beyond merino. I'll spin anything folks give me (funny how when you're a spinner, your sheep rancher friends just foist bags of fleece on you!), and I'm always pleasantly surprised! Next weekend I'm going to pick up a Clun Forest fleece and I'm quite excited about it, because I've never spun it before. I wanted to add: I enjoy watching you make your nests without a diz. I always transfer my combed fiber to a hackle and diz it off, but I think next fleece, I'll try your technique. Really enjoy your energy and enthusiasm and all the yummy fibery content!
I had a very big Button for a diz and then lost it 😅 this technique now feels more intuitive. And yes, people will throw the fleeces at you. While I was spinning a couple that own some zwartbles sheep took my business card just to contact me during shearing season because other years the fleeces just get thrown away. So I'm excited for some possible zwartbles!
Hi Jente, I won't ask if you're ok, coz judging by the huge smile on your face that you are. Lovely to see children wanting to try Spinning, I hope that they got a spark from you. It was lovely that so many people stopped to chat with you.😊😊 Happy Spinning Sweet Fibre Friend 🎡🐑🥰💞 Take care and stay safe Lots of love,Blessings and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂💞🐕
@@MijnWolden Hi Jente, I could tell that you'd really enjoyed it. Thankyou so much for sharing your day. Hope you've now recovered from it.🌼🌼🐑🐑 Thankyou so much for the Heart ♥ Sending Heart ♥ back to you ❤️💞 Happy Spinning Sweet Fibre Friend 🎡🐑🥰🌟 Take care and stay safe Lots of love and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂🐕💞
Love this!!! I go every year to do demos for washing wool, combing, carding and spinning also. Just a suggestion, if you have seat belts in your car, put your wheels in and buckle them up. This way they don't rock around or tip. Keep up the great work!!
I had to lie my backseat flat to fit the Wheels, so I couldn't reach the belts. But luckily they were wedged tightly against the roof, so there was no rocking or tilting 😅
I'm really enjoying your work and your vibe., and I always come away from your videos with a fresh idea. Thanks for putting so much effort into this TH-cam thing :)
There is no such thing as inferior wool. There is wool that has damage due to weather and sheep health but no breed of wool is inferior. I know here in the States we have the shave em to save em program. I have been dipping into breeds in areas where my ancestors would have resided. So far I really enjoy Manx Loaghten from the Isle of Man. I am looking to dip my claws into some Black Welsh and curate a list of breeds to try out.
And yet, there is this prevalent thought among non-spinners that there is, and it really ticks me off 😅 I have seen the name Manx Loaghten go around quite a bit on spinning related social media, sounds like really scrumptious wool! I personally am really curious about Mergellander (the really long haired one in the video) and the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse.
@@MijnWolden It is beautiful soft wool, the Manx. Excellent read on its history too. I have yet to dip my toes in the sheep breeds that are in your neighborhood but I am sure they have a great history to go along with that lovely wool.
I wasn't a Pokemon child, and sometimes I feel like I'm making up for that as an adult in my attempts to SPIN ALL THE BREEDS!!! So on a selfish level, I want heritage breeds to stick around so I can spin them, but also, they're living embodiments of the human history and choices that produced them, and if we lose them, we lose a tangible link to the past. Thinking about that bums me out. In terms of very most local sheep, I live in Chicago. With real estate prices being the way they are, there's not a lot of sheep. However, once you get further out, there's actually a decent amount of Shetlands and Icelandics in the upper Midwestern states like Illinois and Wisconsin. Possibly for climate and size reasons, but I don't actually know that for sure. It looks like you had such a lovely day on the farm! What a great idea to bring two wheels to let people try the other one out. I hope you made not only yarn, but new spinners and converts to local wool! I was also wondering, what brand are your combs?
@@MijnWolden Thanks so much! I'd seen other 3D printed combs, but they were just the handles with some holes, and instructions said "add a nails from the hardware store for tines" which really did seem like making deadly weapons! These look much nicer to use.
Schapenwol is altijd waardevol! Niets minderwaardig. Bedankt voor je leuke vlog. Ik heb hem gekeken, terwijl ik heerlijk met wolletjes bezig ben. ( ik maak mijn eigen stalenboek met zelfgesponnen wol van verschillende schapen. Tot nu toe is alles heerlijk wollig en zacht. Behalve mijn eigen gesponnen haar 😂)
@@MijnWolden haha ja jij bent een bofferd met zo veel wol van het Vlaamse schaap. En met een paar gram gesponnen draad heb je een mooi begin van je stalenboek.
There are many grazing herds in my area which are kept for brush control and land management. One organization is promoting co-ops which use Romney sheep and bfl crosses in order to also make use of their fiber. I've been sampling a romney from one of the local shepherdesses and it's wonderful! I think most flocks use babydoll and southdown, and their fleeces aren't quite so lovely. There's also one small flock of heritage Shetlands nearby.
I really like watching your video's while spinning, and this one was another delight to watch! I really love to learn more about heritage sheep and absolutely agree that they desirve to be in the spotlight! My favorite breed is the Mergelland sheep. Locally Staatsbosbeheer manages a flock and i have the honour to be provided with their wool to spin. I am really looking forward to start weaving with it and im curious about the other breeds you mentioned. Definitely going to look them up more and try to visit places they are kept to get to know their fleece characteristics. Thank you so much for making this video!
While I can’t deny that merino is extremely important to the New Zealand economy it is about as Kiwi as Kiwifruit. New Zealand traditionally has no native land mammals and consequently the only historical fibres used for clothing were flaxes and other grasses that were woven. We imported merino sheep just like we imported ‘Chinese Gooseberries’ (the original name for Kiwi fruit). I grew up in New Zealand surrounded by sheep but merino raw fleece is actually hard to find and most spinners spin Corriedale. When we spin merino it’s usually been commercially milled overseas. In Australia (where I now live) the first fleece I ever bought was actually Finnish 😊 and I bought it because of these videos. It’s lovely to work with and way more forgiving than merino.
As long as you're having Fun! Personally I would also love to try some Icelandic or Shetland fleeces. So I'm not saying you should only ever spin local breeds. But here nobody values our wool, and that's sad. It's in my opinion very much a western European problem, because handspinning is regarded as dead, so over 95% of our sheeps' fleeces gets thrown away. And when organisations for ecologic living then start spreading that our wool is of inferior quality compared to wool that is imported and as you say commercially milled not even in the country of origin... Then I get ticked off 😅
There is more to spinning than Marino dear grief enough of Marino there is Gotland Shetland Polwarth and probably hundreds of other breeds. So let's stand up for the underdog/undersheep. Let this be our quest grab all nearby hobbits and Gandalf would probably be helpful too. Hugs and best wishes from Katy from NZ 😊❤❤
Fantastic video, wonderful to see so many children having their first foray into the fibre world. I'm in the U.K. we have the Rare Breed Survival Trust who look after the interests of lots of our rare native breeds, they have a great website with lots of useful info. I have tried lots of our breeds and pretty much all of them were mill prepped combed top, I liked them all but having now tried fibre from fleece I need to try them all again as it is so different. My favourite so far I think is shetland, but a close second would be Welsh Black. Many thanks for your fun and informative videos, best wishes, Jenny
Zo blij dat jij ook lokale wol spin. Ik haal mijn wol ook alleen maar bij de “boeren” ui mijn dorp. Om hun te steunen…en de rassen te behouden. Heerlijk om je zo bezig te zien. Dank je wel weer voor je filmpje 😍.
What a great video! I liked seeing the farm and all the sheep and lambs. You looked completely in your element-sharing your passion for your local sheep and wool, and enticing children into the fiber world. Well done!
The US has a very good heritage breed conservation program not only for sheep but for other farms yard animals. I live in Wyoming USA , which is a huge sheep area. We are one of the major producers of meat and Wool. Sadly, there are not many heritage breeds here, but many unique and one of a kind breeds. I have recently been able to get a fleece from a local. It is beautiful, soft, and so much more interesting. I was asked to teach about wool to 700 3rd and 4th grade students this past spring. It was so much fun! Even living here, many had no idea about raw wool and all the steps it takes to make useable products. Thank you for sharing so much of your fiber life!
We have indeed grown ways away from our historic connection and knowledge about textiles. I did two in public demonstrations now, here's to hoping the next generation remembers us telling them about it 😁
Well done glad you enjoyed the day and had time for the children some demonstrators are not nice to children and those that want to try. I am in Australia so my wool is merino but I have spun very little of it.I spin what I can get most of the time that could be anything,a lot of farmers are importing different heritage breeds ,if able to go to a wool show then you can buy different breeds,locally even though there are sheep I have not seen fleeces for sale.I do have some local alpaca I am spinning at present,I know that doesn’t count,but hey I am spinning
Local alpaca counts, I would say. In my neighbourhood there is one spinning Mill, all thanks to a local alpaca farm. Alpacas are not a local animal, but without them there would be no Mill in Flanders.
Seems like everyone had a wonderful time! :) I can get fleece, but spinning wheels are so expensive that I just can't afford right now. Maybe some day I can afford one.
@@MijnWolden Where I live, a lot of people like to use them for decorations. So most of them are not even complete, there are parts missing, and whoever is selling them usually wants double what they are worth. I thought about trying to make one out of an old bicycle.
Ah yes, that happens a lot here too. 300€ just because it was someone's dead grandma's, sorry but I don't pay for sentimal value. But I keep my eye on the sites and apps approximately every day and I had three Lucky strikes I think. Although my first wheel only had 2 bobbins. And then I also got a wheel for quite cheap from a fellow spinner in my neighbourhood who had to empty out one of the rooms in her house because her daughter was moving back in. Maybe you could try and find some local groups?
I found the breed and diversity story very interesting. I am a botanist and the plant world has been wrestling with this problem for decades, although the advent of the international seed bank and many regional projects may be making some headway.
Yeah, I've been following stories here in Belgium of native breeds being reintroduced on a small scale, and it has so many similarities to the living history breeds story. Capitalism and industrialisation have stolen such important things from us
I think it's a great idea to investigate and spin the wool of local heritage breeds, but your comment about "sheep that live within a km of where you live" did make me laugh because I'm Australian and those sheep would be...Merino. The south east of Australia was instrumental in making the merino what it is today (and thus we are described as the country that rode on the sheep's back.) However I've since moved to Finland, so if I were a spinner I'd be checking out Finnsheep.
Yeah, but I've heard from other commenters on here that it is very hard to get a hold of australian/NZ Merino when you live there because it's all reserved for export or processed abroad, truly An upside down world 🙃
I don’t know if the U.S. has any heritage breeds of sheep. I want to investigate this because the more I watch your videos the more I want to learn how to spin. I’m just learning how to knit. I love that you are sharing your passion. Keep it up. That’s how awareness will grow and positive change can happen! Going to search for a local living heritage sight in my area… Looks like a ton of fun!
Oh there must be! Look for the shave them to save them program, which has been mentioned in this comment section quite a couple of times. Off the top of my head I think navajo churro is a US heritage breed
Another great video! It looks like you had so much fun!! What a great idea to take two wheels. If I ever do a spinning demo I will be sure to do the same.
This was a really interesting video, thank you! The work done keeping heritage breeds is so important - not just for historic reasons. Marino sheep need specific living environments to thrive and are susceptible to a variety of illnesses in (for example) very wet climates. Also, just because it's fashionable to have very short-fibered, soft wool right now doesn't mean that this will be what is desirable in the future - for a sustainable future keeping a genetically diverse pool of sheep (or cattle, or seed-crops etc) is hugely important. Once a genetic sub-group is gone it can be difficult-to-impossible to get back. And I say this as a New Zealander, who is quite fond of our sheep, lol. That said - the area where I grew up is to wet to be ideal for marino sheep, hence my awareness of some of the inherent problems farmers can face with them.
Merino is het lokale schapenras. Ik kan niet vaak met iets anders draaien. Er zijn 12 miljeon Merino's hier in Victoria, die gras eten. The finer the wool, the lighter a garment that can be made and most Merino sits in the 15 - 25 micron range, has a relatively short staple length and high crimp. These factors combine to make a fleece that will create a very light and springy, woollen spun yarn that is perfect for machine manufacturing. Manufacturing needs are what dictate primary production and the types of animals that are farmed. Bedankt voor het nieuwe woord, 'minderwaardige'. I know the words it is made from and the suffix, and for once the literal translation to English and the Dutch usage match!
Yeah, Raven from @CrowingHen explained that to me once as well. Merino is very consistent, so works well with machines, while other sheep have more variation between them and in their fleeces, so machine manufacturing doesn't like them as much. It's so interesting that the rise of Merino then coincides with the fall of handprocessing wool. And yes, Dutch and English sometimes just literally Translate each other, that's why I find it quite easy to talk in English. I don't have to Scramble my sentences like I have to do in French, eventhough that should theoretically be my second language as a Belgian...
@@MijnWolden Merino is very economical for manufacturing, producing a fine and light weight fabric, but unfortunately a lot of it (especially at the cheaper end of the market) does suffer from surface pilling. Once the pilling is removed, the fabric settles and it is less likely to reappear, but most people don't know how to manage it and discard their woollens prematurely due to unsightly pilling. I would dearly love to get my hands on a couple of raw Icelandic fleeces for some historic reproduction spinning and weaving, but it just isn't available here. Out of my Flemish family, only my sister in law is fluent in French, but that was because her work required her to speak it.
Jente, I might be wrong but wasn't Belgium famous for woven tapestries before the Middle Ages and up to the Industrial Revolution? Higher micron fleece may not be the best for next to skin wear, but make amazing yarn to used in tapestry weaving and carpet/rug weaving. I haven't spun Flemish sheep wool but have spun English long wools breeds like Romney and Cotswold. Cotswold has a high micron count and a shine that you can see a km away. It takes dye beautifully and is hard wearing. I've used the yarn in rug hooking, and simple Tabby weave fabric to make upholstery cloth for cushions. The results were amazing and with proper care, will last hundreds of years. In the future I want to weave some simple fabric from a high micron count sheep to sew a three seasons coat. Since it will be lined, next to skin doesn't matter. Also the long wools were also used to make yarn/thread that was used in crewel embroidery. (that eventual coat is going to be embroidered) The wool could be spun very thinly and therefore used in lace making. The resulting lace would be long lasting. My guess is that the Flemish sheep fleeces were perfect for those applications. Cheers-Laura
We were also known for that but what I'm referencing here is what we call 'laken'. This was a felted woolen cloth for making clothes out of. And Flanders and Brabant made such luxurious laken it was sought after in the entirety of Europe. We have royal garments made out of laken. Traders in Venice spoke Flemish because the laken trade was so important. But after the 14th century however they started importing English wool and later Spanish Merino and that is how my story here of the detoriation of the Belgian wool market gets set into motion.
@@MijnWolden Hi Jente, thanks for the information. This is the first time I've heard of this textile. I'm going to read up on it. I haven't done much felting so it is a rabbit hole that I might explore. It is so sad that these textile traditions have faded away. I totally agree that we need to encourage and support the protection of heritage breeds. I try to buy heritage fleeces when I can to support the farmers raising these sheep. Although I made myself a goal not to buy any new fleeces until I have processed and spun the fleeces I have never mind knitting or weaving the yarn I have made. In my professional life, I'm an educator, so in a blend of my personal and work life, I have the goal of passing on my knowledge of the textile arts to the next generation. With luck and passion, we can preserve and restore the world's rich fibre arts traditions. Cheers-Laura
If you've knitted Shetland wool you'll know it's very sticky - if you drop a stitch it doesn't go anywhere and it's no trouble to pick up. On the other hand, it's not very strong, the amount of force required to break Shetland wool is next to none. Merino is at the opposite end of the spectrum, drop a stitch and you'll need to chase it before it runs down to the cast on but you'll need to work a bit if you want to break it. Where does Flemish wool fit in that spectrum? Does it have any special qualities when you are knitting it that distinguish it from other wools? (Looking at your little combed nests it certainly looks nice.) I'm hoping to get my hands on some Border Leicester to spin, my mother made a hand-spun Guernsey in Border Leicester that had the most wonderful silky appearance.
I would guess flemish wool to be in the Middle, and maybe a bit more towards Shetland. It doesn't felt very easy either, which is annoying because a spit splice joint takes a while 😅
Hi, loved this video. It brought back happy memories of similar demonstrations with my guild at fibre festivals. We had a head start maybe, as the audience already loved wool/knitting :) Just wondering about your wool combs, they look nice and light. R/Lily
I got my Combs from Etsy, from Instrumentum Textilae. They're 3D printed and indeed quite light. The plastic sometimes is a bit hard on the hands, and doesn't form to your grip like wood might. But they were at least 5 times cheaper than wooden once, so price/quality-wise they're really great!
Did you get another chance to do something like this again? I attended an agricultural show here where I live for the first time a month or so ago. I will definitely be going again next year. There are actually two but I did not get a chance to go to the second one. I might make requests next year for days off when I know the shows are happening. I think I was lucky that the one I did get to was the larger of the two. I was a little disappointed not to see sheep fleece for sale but I did get some prepared alpaca from a local alpaca farm. I have never spun alpaca and it is still waiting for me to give it a go lol T x
Not at this spot no, but I'm helping out a community lead project for turning flax into linen, and I'm the only spinner in the group, so I might be giving some lessons
@@MijnWolden oooh that sounds fun. I have never spun flax. I know there is a local project to grow flax in my local area again to make linen. Fife, where I live was apparently well known for textiles back in the day. I am not involved in the project, I just happen to have read about it somewhere.
But the only real use for wool is super fine "next to skin" yarn for slender knits, right? Anything else (and anything with any actual strength) is "good for rugs" right? (I am equally tired lol) Honestly it's a real struggle finding local stuff, the nz stuff is what all the shops sell. The US seems to have so much more choice. I'm glad the Flemish sheep got revived and I hope they continue to thrive. It's great to see kids get excited about this stuff; I think the problem is that most never get a chance to actually try more hands-on hobbies. There's a real lack of access and exposure.
The irony is that it’s actually quite hard to source raw merino fleece in NZ or Australia because it’s mostly commercially processed for overseas markets.
Ah yes, and no other wool is ever tolerable against anyone's skin. Rugs? Nah, it's only good for isolation of your garden shed! (My farmer had 3 bags of wool, of which 1 went to me and the others were used as isolation - Well at least it wasn't thrown away or incinerated like the 95% other wool) If you know people with sheep it's not at all difficult to find local stuff. They will throw it at you because no shop wants to sell it. I had some People during the demo take my business card because they have sheep and don't know what to do with the wool... (So I might get a hold of some zwartbles fleeces in the Future)
@@MijnWolden unfortunately I live in a city and can't walk or drive so it reduces my options a lot lol but I did find something eventually. It's also much harder when you physically can't start from unscoured fleece orz Something else I wanted to say while watching the video and promptly forgot: can we appreciate farm horses? Because we don't see much of these thicker, solid horses a lot anymore either.
@@YarnNTea honestly I'm not that surprised. When I went to nz I thought I'd buy myself a nice thick jumper "since wool is one of their local industries" and it was completely impossible. Everything that WAS being sold locally was super sleek clothes in microscopic yarn indistinguishable from cotton without looking at the label. I guess chunky knits just aren't Trendy anymore so anything that isn't mainstream only gets sold to high bidders.
I just looked it up because I didn't know but yes Australia has an independent heritage sheep society dedicated to preserving heritage breeds (which seem to be all introduced from England in the 19th century). I don't know what my favourite breed to spin is yet! I've not spun enough to know as I've only really spun corridale combed top I can buy from a locl wool mill, so I guess my favourite is something i can still discover. I do know there is a farm near me that sells fleece from what I now know it a heritage Australian breed, I will have to try some
@@Cate-and-Maddielion Oh yes, nice wool base, but it's not Corridale. Their rustic range and ready spin are a Merino x Border Leicester cross. It's comparable to Corridale in fibre diameter, but the cross is more Merino squishy, whereas the Corridale is stiffer, almost more crunchy than squishy. Nundle Woollen Mill sells a similar diameter top (29 micron) at $37 per kilo.
I do hope it's pretty§ clear that this is a local Belgian perspective, I can't speak for the entire world of course (would be too much pressure anyway) 😂
I just love what you're doing. We, as humans, have altered animals so much over the eons, and I've always thought it should be important to remember how the animals used to be, when their qualities suited them more than us. We forget that so many of these animals no longer exist as they originally evolved, so having diverse breeds is important for understanding their biological history. I don't know what kind of sheep we have in the US - probably whatever the early immigrants brought, and then further modified. So I doubt we have any local heritage breeds of our own. But really, you've just made me want my own little pet sheep to shear and make yarn from. ...can a sheep live in a house?...
If you have a garden perhaps 😉 and yes, the first sheep just shed their wool whenever they needed to, no intervention from humans needed (some more primitive sheep breeds still do like the mouflon or ouessant), now they are totally reliant on us to be comfortable in their skins...
I'm very sorry to butt in, but I wanted let you know that the United States does actually have many unique sheep breeds with a specific (and sometimes long) history on this continent. Domesticated sheep were introduced into the Americas by Europeans in 1493, but since then, many different groups of people to have selected them for specific environments. In some cases, the development of these breeds even predates the development of some European sheep breeds, such as the Rambouillet, the Clun Forrest, or the official national Belgian breeds of the 1840s that Jente mentioned in her video. When we look at American breeds like the Navajo Churro, developed by the Diné and used since the 1500s in their weaving traditions, the American Tunis, derived from ten sheep given as a gift to the US government by the Bey of Tunis in 1799, or the California Variegated Mutant, developed in 1960 from one flock specifically for hand spinners, these types of sheep don't exist anywhere else besides the US! There's more unique American breeds I could list, but since this is already a hefty comment, I'll just suggest the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em program at the Livestock Conservancy and the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook if you would like to learn more. Many of our heritage breeds are also in danger of going extinct (just like the Flemish sheep), so unless we seek them out and use their wool, they'll go away. Like Jente, I'm also very passionate about these breeds, and I'm sorry for the block of text, but I want to make sure people know they're out there!
@@retrocraftdreams Different sheep breeds are a real rabbit hole to go down for sure! If you ever want to explore more in person, there's a bunch of fiber festivals where you can go and look at the different types of sheep for yourself. Weekend after next (May 6 & 7th) is actually Maryland Sheep and Wool. Alongside vendors, sheep dog demonstrations, and people demoing spinning, there's a parade of different sheep breeds, and a sheep breed display! This year's featured breed of sheep is the Jacob. The breed was developed in the UK, but interestingly, the American Jacobs are closer to the older descriptions of the breed than the current English Jacobs. Also they're very cool looking, with spots and up to six horns, so just really fun! If you're anywhere near Maryland I would highly recommend the Maryland Sheep and Wool, and if you're elsewhere in the US, there's plenty of very fun fiber festivals (with sheep!) throughout the year!
@@biblioknitting9695 this is a very important block of text, don't apologise! Sad that heritage breeds are on the Verge of dissapearing worldwide... Luckily handspinners will take up arms (figuratively, though my combs might look dangerous) to protect them.
I just love this video, I love watching your videos, but this one meant so much more to me, as I am passionate about keeping heritage breeds, and especially, STOPPING this ridiculous and totally short-sighted move across the world where perfectly lovely and USEFUL, an VALUABLE sheep - and goats and even alpacas - were shunned for not having the right colour or micron. Because it is dictated by corporations and their fiber treatment facilities, only white is acceptable, and the staple length has to be a certain length, and mind you, not too long either, a certain micron and the list goes on. So people were either shunning local breeds, breeding away perfectly good genetics, or culling any unwanted colours. I lived in Tienen in Belgium for 5 years. At the time unfortunately I had not started spinning yet, but I was already interested in fiber. I then moved back to our family's farm in South Africa in 2009, when I started keeping Saanen goats. I quickly realized I miss an important dimension - wool! I kept on thinking how I can maybe get it all in one, maybe milk sheep, and good fleece? That didn't pan out - no milk sheep in South Africa, and I thought about getting just any sheep, as long as they have good fiber. Well, here in SA, you have the same problem - only merino is considered good enough to be called wool sheep, and perfectly good fleeces are ploughed into the lands as compost because the national wool co-op only wants white merino... I didn't get around to get some wool sheep, BUT....🦙 Around 2015 I decided to get myself a few alpacas for their fiber... And I became addicted, hopelessly addicted... It started with one, then another 1, then 2 more, then 6, then a herd of 36... I now have over a hundred... Every natural alpaca colour you can imagine... And one of the largest collections of suri alpaca in SA... And I started spinning... Another addiction - I now have 5 wheels, and 4 floor looms and a table loom... And I need a rigid heddle for on the go, and a traveler wheel for doing just what you did - introducing people to the lost art and utter pleasure of spinning - fiddling with fluffy fiber, and miraculously converting it into fabric!
Oh yes, colour discrimination is a WILD thing. I have two beautiful alpaca fleeces from friends from my mom, but nobody wants them because they're brown and not white. HOW AND WHY?! I love that you got yourself a herd 😁 I have many friends in Tienen and the surrounding villages 😁
I’m wondering how they define quality. Is it “inherently lower quality” because their industrial fast fashion machines can’t handle it? Or is it something else entirely? BTW, have you seen footage of how they process sheep for shearing for the mass market wool industry? It’s disturbing to say the least.
![โรงเรียนห้ามรัก โดนจับได้ตาย...!! [เอิร์นไดเม่]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/4u02Sbr556Q/mqdefault.jpg)
For people interested and those who can read Dutch, here is the article I read: velt.nu/nieuws/onderzoek-hoe-duurzaam-wol which is actually a great article about wool being a superb resource, but I got ticked off by it saying our wool is of lower quality. I might have a bit overreacted, but if a cooperative for living ecologically is already saying this, then I do not want to know what lesser informed sources might think of our wool... And well, we actually all know what they think and that's why wool had become a waste product...
I'll make it this weekend's homework.
This is a barely researched article. I had to laugh at the part that said that the wool protects sheep when they are running in the Australian bush. We don't run sheep in natural bushland, they get tangled up in the blackberry bushes and other undergrowth. You need clean, dry paddocks to run merinos. Further, only half the national flock is mulesed. It's a practice that is being phased out by selective breeding for sheep more resistant to flystrike and the use of alternative control methods.
You’re so right!
Just yesterday I was musing about getting my hands on some lamb’s fleece.
Daughter: Oh but X has lambs now! (Friend at uni)
Me: Oh?…
Daughter: Hang on…
She grabs her phone and texts her friend to ask what they do with the shearings.
Turns out the shearer takes all the fleeces with him and drops them off at the recycling plant (containerpark).
Anyhow, her friend is going to set aside a lamb’s fleece or two for me to play around with once the shearer comes.
I was floored when I learned all that wool is just going to be thrown away. Seriously?!!???
I’m hoping this means I get a steady source. I’ll have to find out what breed these sheep are from. Most probably a meat breed or a milk breed. Next step will be processing and sourcing heritage breeds.
Edit: Thank you for the information on how I can find heritage breeds in Belgium!
What a delightful experience, thank you for sharing it with us! I looked up local sheep farms and am now inspired to invest in some local wool!
I'm a woolfluencer 😎
@@MijnWolden haha 😂 100% yes!
I'm in Australia so Merino is rather common here. I mostly spin Corriedale which is a fine wool and Coopsworth which is classed as a carpet wool. I like both. I'd love to spin breeds from further afield.
How wonderful to introduce so many children to spinning their local wool! Makes my heart sing. My favorite wool to spin is Jacob wool, which is from the UK, but the US made their own version of it as we do with many European breeds. I bought two fleeces a couple weeks ago from a farmer 20 minutes from where I'm going to be living the next few years, and the natural colors of the fleece are gorgeous enough to die for.
I hope the children will remember it! They got to take their little piece of yarn home as a souvenir!
I love spinning jacob! Such an under-appreciated wool. It has a really lovely drape in the finished garment.
You’re fun and I agree with your thoughts. Long live historical breeds! Hugs from Provence. Adrien
Thank you!
When i was 8 i visited a farm-school village with my class in the countryside of Galicia, Spain. There we spanned wool and baked and ate sourdough bread, we saw the sheep and the flour mill, all this traditions kept alive in one little village. I never forgot about it and almost 30 years later i bake sourdough bread, love fibre arts and anything to do with wool, and my dream is to one day own sheep.
As a city child that sparked was enough!
Oh yes, next to the fieldtrips to the rather industrialised textile museum it were also living history villages that sparked my interest in all thing traditional crafts. I clearly remember secret snacking from that bread we made because it was the best bread I had thus far eaten in my life. I dream of sheep everyday. The big dream would be to move to the mountains (probably to France then because Belgium has no mountains) and raise some sheep and give spinning demo's to People.
Peace and blessings be upon you and your loved ones.
Very lovely and underrated ❤
thanks!
PREACH!! I'm in Oregon, USA, and we used to live in a rural area where some friends kept unusual breeds of sheep and I got experience spinning beyond merino. I'll spin anything folks give me (funny how when you're a spinner, your sheep rancher friends just foist bags of fleece on you!), and I'm always pleasantly surprised! Next weekend I'm going to pick up a Clun Forest fleece and I'm quite excited about it, because I've never spun it before.
I wanted to add: I enjoy watching you make your nests without a diz. I always transfer my combed fiber to a hackle and diz it off, but I think next fleece, I'll try your technique. Really enjoy your energy and enthusiasm and all the yummy fibery content!
I had a very big Button for a diz and then lost it 😅 this technique now feels more intuitive.
And yes, people will throw the fleeces at you. While I was spinning a couple that own some zwartbles sheep took my business card just to contact me during shearing season because other years the fleeces just get thrown away. So I'm excited for some possible zwartbles!
Looked like lots of fun.
It was!
Hi Jente, I won't ask if you're ok, coz judging by the huge smile on your face that you are.
Lovely to see children wanting to try Spinning, I hope that they got a spark from you.
It was lovely that so many people stopped to chat with you.😊😊
Happy Spinning Sweet Fibre Friend 🎡🐑🥰💞
Take care and stay safe
Lots of love,Blessings and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂💞🐕
It was a lovely day indeed 🥰
@@MijnWolden Hi Jente, I could tell that you'd really enjoyed it.
Thankyou so much for sharing your day.
Hope you've now recovered from it.🌼🌼🐑🐑
Thankyou so much for the Heart ♥
Sending Heart ♥ back to you ❤️💞
Happy Spinning Sweet Fibre Friend 🎡🐑🥰🌟
Take care and stay safe
Lots of love and Big Hugs Jen xxxx ❤️❤️❤️🫂🫂🫂🐕💞
❤❤❤
Love this!!! I go every year to do demos for washing wool, combing, carding and spinning also. Just a suggestion, if you have seat belts in your car, put your wheels in and buckle them up. This way they don't rock around or tip. Keep up the great work!!
I had to lie my backseat flat to fit the Wheels, so I couldn't reach the belts. But luckily they were wedged tightly against the roof, so there was no rocking or tilting 😅
I'm really enjoying your work and your vibe., and I always come away from your videos with a fresh idea. Thanks for putting so much effort into this TH-cam thing :)
Thank you 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰
There is no such thing as inferior wool. There is wool that has damage due to weather and sheep health but no breed of wool is inferior. I know here in the States we have the shave em to save em program. I have been dipping into breeds in areas where my ancestors would have resided. So far I really enjoy Manx Loaghten from the Isle of Man. I am looking to dip my claws into some Black Welsh and curate a list of breeds to try out.
And yet, there is this prevalent thought among non-spinners that there is, and it really ticks me off 😅 I have seen the name Manx Loaghten go around quite a bit on spinning related social media, sounds like really scrumptious wool! I personally am really curious about Mergellander (the really long haired one in the video) and the Entre-Sambre-et-Meuse.
@@MijnWolden It is beautiful soft wool, the Manx. Excellent read on its history too. I have yet to dip my toes in the sheep breeds that are in your neighborhood but I am sure they have a great history to go along with that lovely wool.
@@kristalburns3490 the coolest history is the Ardense Voskop, which was brought here by the ancient romans to provide wool for their soldiers
I wasn't a Pokemon child, and sometimes I feel like I'm making up for that as an adult in my attempts to SPIN ALL THE BREEDS!!! So on a selfish level, I want heritage breeds to stick around so I can spin them, but also, they're living embodiments of the human history and choices that produced them, and if we lose them, we lose a tangible link to the past. Thinking about that bums me out.
In terms of very most local sheep, I live in Chicago. With real estate prices being the way they are, there's not a lot of sheep. However, once you get further out, there's actually a decent amount of Shetlands and Icelandics in the upper Midwestern states like Illinois and Wisconsin. Possibly for climate and size reasons, but I don't actually know that for sure.
It looks like you had such a lovely day on the farm! What a great idea to bring two wheels to let people try the other one out. I hope you made not only yarn, but new spinners and converts to local wool! I was also wondering, what brand are your combs?
What a lovely and well written comment! I got my Combs from Instrumentum Textilae on Etsy, they're 3D printed
@@MijnWolden Thanks so much! I'd seen other 3D printed combs, but they were just the handles with some holes, and instructions said "add a nails from the hardware store for tines" which really did seem like making deadly weapons! These look much nicer to use.
They came with the tines included, although they could just be nails as well 😅 but they work nice enough for what they cost me
Schapenwol is altijd waardevol! Niets minderwaardig. Bedankt voor je leuke vlog.
Ik heb hem gekeken, terwijl ik heerlijk met wolletjes bezig ben. ( ik maak mijn eigen stalenboek met zelfgesponnen wol van verschillende schapen. Tot nu toe is alles heerlijk wollig en zacht. Behalve mijn eigen gesponnen haar 😂)
Bij al mijn spinnen zit een beetje van mijn eigen haar.
Wat leuk! Ik zou ook eens een stalenboek moeten maken, maar ik heb nog 28kilo Vlaams schaap liggen 😂
In mijn breiwerk ook altijd!
@@MijnWolden haha ja jij bent een bofferd met zo veel wol van het Vlaamse schaap. En met een paar gram gesponnen draad heb je een mooi begin van je stalenboek.
There are many grazing herds in my area which are kept for brush control and land management. One organization is promoting co-ops which use Romney sheep and bfl crosses in order to also make use of their fiber. I've been sampling a romney from one of the local shepherdesses and it's wonderful! I think most flocks use babydoll and southdown, and their fleeces aren't quite so lovely. There's also one small flock of heritage Shetlands nearby.
Nice!
I really like watching your video's while spinning, and this one was another delight to watch! I really love to learn more about heritage sheep and absolutely agree that they desirve to be in the spotlight! My favorite breed is the Mergelland sheep. Locally Staatsbosbeheer manages a flock and i have the honour to be provided with their wool to spin. I am really looking forward to start weaving with it and im curious about the other breeds you mentioned. Definitely going to look them up more and try to visit places they are kept to get to know their fleece characteristics. Thank you so much for making this video!
Mergelland is so special, they are local to me too :)
While I can’t deny that merino is extremely important to the New Zealand economy it is about as Kiwi as Kiwifruit. New Zealand traditionally has no native land mammals and consequently the only historical fibres used for clothing were flaxes and other grasses that were woven. We imported merino sheep just like we imported ‘Chinese Gooseberries’ (the original name for Kiwi fruit). I grew up in New Zealand surrounded by sheep but merino raw fleece is actually hard to find and most spinners spin Corriedale. When we spin merino it’s usually been commercially milled overseas. In Australia (where I now live) the first fleece I ever bought was actually Finnish 😊 and I bought it because of these videos. It’s lovely to work with and way more forgiving than merino.
As long as you're having Fun! Personally I would also love to try some Icelandic or Shetland fleeces. So I'm not saying you should only ever spin local breeds. But here nobody values our wool, and that's sad. It's in my opinion very much a western European problem, because handspinning is regarded as dead, so over 95% of our sheeps' fleeces gets thrown away. And when organisations for ecologic living then start spreading that our wool is of inferior quality compared to wool that is imported and as you say commercially milled not even in the country of origin... Then I get ticked off 😅
There is more to spinning than Marino dear grief enough of Marino there is Gotland Shetland Polwarth and probably hundreds of other breeds. So let's stand up for the underdog/undersheep. Let this be our quest grab all nearby hobbits and Gandalf would probably be helpful too. Hugs and best wishes from Katy from NZ 😊❤❤
Gandalf would most certainly be helpful too! 😁
Fantastic video, wonderful to see so many children having their first foray into the fibre world. I'm in the U.K. we have the Rare Breed Survival Trust who look after the interests of lots of our rare native breeds, they have a great website with lots of useful info. I have tried lots of our breeds and pretty much all of them were mill prepped combed top, I liked them all but having now tried fibre from fleece I need to try them all again as it is so different. My favourite so far I think is shetland, but a close second would be Welsh Black. Many thanks for your fun and informative videos, best wishes, Jenny
That sounds lovely, but yes fiber from fleece is so much different! There's no comparing...
Zo blij dat jij ook lokale wol spin. Ik haal mijn wol ook alleen maar bij de “boeren” ui mijn dorp. Om hun te steunen…en de rassen te behouden. Heerlijk om je zo bezig te zien. Dank je wel weer voor je filmpje 😍.
Toch zo jammer dat onze boeren niets meer voor hun wol krijgen. En het is zo mooie wol!
What a great video! I liked seeing the farm and all the sheep and lambs. You looked completely in your element-sharing your passion for your local sheep and wool, and enticing children into the fiber world. Well done!
I was in my element, it was such a nice day 😁
Well done!! Proud of you!! 😍🥰
😘❤️
The US has a very good heritage breed conservation program not only for sheep but for other farms yard animals. I live in Wyoming USA , which is a huge sheep area. We are one of the major producers of meat and Wool. Sadly, there are not many heritage breeds here, but many unique and one of a kind breeds. I have recently been able to get a fleece from a local. It is beautiful, soft, and so much more interesting.
I was asked to teach about wool to 700 3rd and 4th grade students this past spring. It was so much fun! Even living here, many had no idea about raw wool and all the steps it takes to make useable products.
Thank you for sharing so much of your fiber life!
We have indeed grown ways away from our historic connection and knowledge about textiles. I did two in public demonstrations now, here's to hoping the next generation remembers us telling them about it 😁
Well done glad you enjoyed the day and had time for the children some demonstrators are not nice to children and those that want to try. I am in Australia so my wool is merino but I have spun very little of it.I spin what I can get most of the time that could be anything,a lot of farmers are importing different heritage breeds ,if able to go to a wool show then you can buy different breeds,locally even though there are sheep I have not seen fleeces for sale.I do have some local alpaca I am spinning at present,I know that doesn’t count,but hey I am spinning
Local alpaca counts, I would say. In my neighbourhood there is one spinning Mill, all thanks to a local alpaca farm. Alpacas are not a local animal, but without them there would be no Mill in Flanders.
Seems like everyone had a wonderful time! :)
I can get fleece, but spinning wheels are so expensive that I just can't afford right now. Maybe some day I can afford one.
I have no clue how the second hand market is where you live, but that's where I got mine. New Wheels are indeed very expensive
Spindles are a much cheaper option and easy to learn how to use.
@@MijnWolden Where I live, a lot of people like to use them for decorations. So most of them are not even complete, there are parts missing, and whoever is selling them usually wants double what they are worth. I thought about trying to make one out of an old bicycle.
@@jirup I have a spindle but I also have issues with pain in my hands. Lol. Sometimes the spindle doesn't work out so well.
Ah yes, that happens a lot here too. 300€ just because it was someone's dead grandma's, sorry but I don't pay for sentimal value. But I keep my eye on the sites and apps approximately every day and I had three Lucky strikes I think. Although my first wheel only had 2 bobbins. And then I also got a wheel for quite cheap from a fellow spinner in my neighbourhood who had to empty out one of the rooms in her house because her daughter was moving back in. Maybe you could try and find some local groups?
I found the breed and diversity story very interesting. I am a botanist and the plant world has been wrestling with this problem for decades, although the advent of the international seed bank and many regional projects may be making some headway.
Yeah, I've been following stories here in Belgium of native breeds being reintroduced on a small scale, and it has so many similarities to the living history breeds story. Capitalism and industrialisation have stolen such important things from us
I think it's a great idea to investigate and spin the wool of local heritage breeds, but your comment about "sheep that live within a km of where you live" did make me laugh because I'm Australian and those sheep would be...Merino. The south east of Australia was instrumental in making the merino what it is today (and thus we are described as the country that rode on the sheep's back.) However I've since moved to Finland, so if I were a spinner I'd be checking out Finnsheep.
Yeah, but I've heard from other commenters on here that it is very hard to get a hold of australian/NZ Merino when you live there because it's all reserved for export or processed abroad, truly An upside down world 🙃
I don’t know if the U.S. has any heritage breeds of sheep. I want to investigate this because the more I watch your videos the more I want to learn how to spin. I’m just learning how to knit. I love that you are sharing your passion. Keep it up. That’s how awareness will grow and positive change can happen! Going to search for a local living heritage sight in my area… Looks like a ton of fun!
Oh there must be! Look for the shave them to save them program, which has been mentioned in this comment section quite a couple of times. Off the top of my head I think navajo churro is a US heritage breed
I’m over Merino. I prefer the under dogs or rather under sheep. Thank you for your passion.
The undersheep is where it's at 😎
Woohoo Herkenrode! th-cam.com/video/MngofgHxopk/w-d-xo.html ❤
yusss 💪
Another great video! It looks like you had so much fun!! What a great idea to take two wheels. If I ever do a spinning demo I will be sure to do the same.
I just remembered that if I were a spectator I would die to try it out myself. And there were some others (especially kids) that thought the same :D
This was a really interesting video, thank you!
The work done keeping heritage breeds is so important - not just for historic reasons. Marino sheep need specific living environments to thrive and are susceptible to a variety of illnesses in (for example) very wet climates. Also, just because it's fashionable to have very short-fibered, soft wool right now doesn't mean that this will be what is desirable in the future - for a sustainable future keeping a genetically diverse pool of sheep (or cattle, or seed-crops etc) is hugely important. Once a genetic sub-group is gone it can be difficult-to-impossible to get back.
And I say this as a New Zealander, who is quite fond of our sheep, lol. That said - the area where I grew up is to wet to be ideal for marino sheep, hence my awareness of some of the inherent problems farmers can face with them.
Interesting train of thought: what types of wool do you think we might want in the future?
Merino is het lokale schapenras. Ik kan niet vaak met iets anders draaien. Er zijn 12 miljeon Merino's hier in Victoria, die gras eten.
The finer the wool, the lighter a garment that can be made and most Merino sits in the 15 - 25 micron range, has a relatively short staple length and high crimp. These factors combine to make a fleece that will create a very light and springy, woollen spun yarn that is perfect for machine manufacturing.
Manufacturing needs are what dictate primary production and the types of animals that are farmed.
Bedankt voor het nieuwe woord, 'minderwaardige'. I know the words it is made from and the suffix, and for once the literal translation to English and the Dutch usage match!
Yeah, Raven from @CrowingHen explained that to me once as well. Merino is very consistent, so works well with machines, while other sheep have more variation between them and in their fleeces, so machine manufacturing doesn't like them as much. It's so interesting that the rise of Merino then coincides with the fall of handprocessing wool.
And yes, Dutch and English sometimes just literally Translate each other, that's why I find it quite easy to talk in English. I don't have to Scramble my sentences like I have to do in French, eventhough that should theoretically be my second language as a Belgian...
@@MijnWolden Merino is very economical for manufacturing, producing a fine and light weight fabric, but unfortunately a lot of it (especially at the cheaper end of the market) does suffer from surface pilling. Once the pilling is removed, the fabric settles and it is less likely to reappear, but most people don't know how to manage it and discard their woollens prematurely due to unsightly pilling.
I would dearly love to get my hands on a couple of raw Icelandic fleeces for some historic reproduction spinning and weaving, but it just isn't available here.
Out of my Flemish family, only my sister in law is fluent in French, but that was because her work required her to speak it.
Jente, I might be wrong but wasn't Belgium famous for woven tapestries before the Middle Ages and up to the Industrial Revolution? Higher micron fleece may not be the best for next to skin wear, but make amazing yarn to used in tapestry weaving and carpet/rug weaving. I haven't spun Flemish sheep wool but have spun English long wools breeds like Romney and Cotswold. Cotswold has a high micron count and a shine that you can see a km away. It takes dye beautifully and is hard wearing. I've used the yarn in rug hooking, and simple Tabby weave fabric to make upholstery cloth for cushions. The results were amazing and with proper care, will last hundreds of years. In the future I want to weave some simple fabric from a high micron count sheep to sew a three seasons coat. Since it will be lined, next to skin doesn't matter. Also the long wools were also used to make yarn/thread that was used in crewel embroidery. (that eventual coat is going to be embroidered) The wool could be spun very thinly and therefore used in lace making. The resulting lace would be long lasting. My guess is that the Flemish sheep fleeces were perfect for those applications. Cheers-Laura
We were also known for that but what I'm referencing here is what we call 'laken'. This was a felted woolen cloth for making clothes out of. And Flanders and Brabant made such luxurious laken it was sought after in the entirety of Europe. We have royal garments made out of laken. Traders in Venice spoke Flemish because the laken trade was so important. But after the 14th century however they started importing English wool and later Spanish Merino and that is how my story here of the detoriation of the Belgian wool market gets set into motion.
@@MijnWolden Hi Jente, thanks for the information. This is the first time I've heard of this textile. I'm going to read up on it. I haven't done much felting so it is a rabbit hole that I might explore. It is so sad that these textile traditions have faded away. I totally agree that we need to encourage and support the protection of heritage breeds. I try to buy heritage fleeces when I can to support the farmers raising these sheep. Although I made myself a goal not to buy any new fleeces until I have processed and spun the fleeces I have never mind knitting or weaving the yarn I have made. In my professional life, I'm an educator, so in a blend of my personal and work life, I have the goal of passing on my knowledge of the textile arts to the next generation. With luck and passion, we can preserve and restore the world's rich fibre arts traditions. Cheers-Laura
If you've knitted Shetland wool you'll know it's very sticky - if you drop a stitch it doesn't go anywhere and it's no trouble to pick up. On the other hand, it's not very strong, the amount of force required to break Shetland wool is next to none. Merino is at the opposite end of the spectrum, drop a stitch and you'll need to chase it before it runs down to the cast on but you'll need to work a bit if you want to break it.
Where does Flemish wool fit in that spectrum? Does it have any special qualities when you are knitting it that distinguish it from other wools? (Looking at your little combed nests it certainly looks nice.)
I'm hoping to get my hands on some Border Leicester to spin, my mother made a hand-spun Guernsey in Border Leicester that had the most wonderful silky appearance.
I would guess flemish wool to be in the Middle, and maybe a bit more towards Shetland. It doesn't felt very easy either, which is annoying because a spit splice joint takes a while 😅
Hi, loved this video. It brought back happy memories of similar demonstrations with my guild at fibre festivals. We had a head start maybe, as the audience already loved wool/knitting :) Just wondering about your wool combs, they look nice and light. R/Lily
I got my Combs from Etsy, from Instrumentum Textilae. They're 3D printed and indeed quite light. The plastic sometimes is a bit hard on the hands, and doesn't form to your grip like wood might. But they were at least 5 times cheaper than wooden once, so price/quality-wise they're really great!
Did you get another chance to do something like this again? I attended an agricultural show here where I live for the first time a month or so ago. I will definitely be going again next year. There are actually two but I did not get a chance to go to the second one. I might make requests next year for days off when I know the shows are happening. I think I was lucky that the one I did get to was the larger of the two. I was a little disappointed not to see sheep fleece for sale but I did get some prepared alpaca from a local alpaca farm. I have never spun alpaca and it is still waiting for me to give it a go lol T x
Not at this spot no, but I'm helping out a community lead project for turning flax into linen, and I'm the only spinner in the group, so I might be giving some lessons
@@MijnWolden oooh that sounds fun. I have never spun flax. I know there is a local project to grow flax in my local area again to make linen. Fife, where I live was apparently well known for textiles back in the day. I am not involved in the project, I just happen to have read about it somewhere.
But the only real use for wool is super fine "next to skin" yarn for slender knits, right? Anything else (and anything with any actual strength) is "good for rugs" right?
(I am equally tired lol)
Honestly it's a real struggle finding local stuff, the nz stuff is what all the shops sell. The US seems to have so much more choice.
I'm glad the Flemish sheep got revived and I hope they continue to thrive. It's great to see kids get excited about this stuff; I think the problem is that most never get a chance to actually try more hands-on hobbies. There's a real lack of access and exposure.
The irony is that it’s actually quite hard to source raw merino fleece in NZ or Australia because it’s mostly commercially processed for overseas markets.
Ah yes, and no other wool is ever tolerable against anyone's skin. Rugs? Nah, it's only good for isolation of your garden shed! (My farmer had 3 bags of wool, of which 1 went to me and the others were used as isolation - Well at least it wasn't thrown away or incinerated like the 95% other wool)
If you know people with sheep it's not at all difficult to find local stuff. They will throw it at you because no shop wants to sell it. I had some People during the demo take my business card because they have sheep and don't know what to do with the wool... (So I might get a hold of some zwartbles fleeces in the Future)
It's all just one big capitalist scam!
@@MijnWolden unfortunately I live in a city and can't walk or drive so it reduces my options a lot lol but I did find something eventually. It's also much harder when you physically can't start from unscoured fleece orz
Something else I wanted to say while watching the video and promptly forgot: can we appreciate farm horses? Because we don't see much of these thicker, solid horses a lot anymore either.
@@YarnNTea honestly I'm not that surprised. When I went to nz I thought I'd buy myself a nice thick jumper "since wool is one of their local industries" and it was completely impossible. Everything that WAS being sold locally was super sleek clothes in microscopic yarn indistinguishable from cotton without looking at the label. I guess chunky knits just aren't Trendy anymore so anything that isn't mainstream only gets sold to high bidders.
This is so cool! I was just wondering what cardigan you are wearing while spinning?
That's the bookish cardi by Annie Lupton!
I just looked it up because I didn't know but yes Australia has an independent heritage sheep society dedicated to preserving heritage breeds (which seem to be all introduced from England in the 19th century). I don't know what my favourite breed to spin is yet! I've not spun enough to know as I've only really spun corridale combed top I can buy from a locl wool mill, so I guess my favourite is something i can still discover. I do know there is a farm near me that sells fleece from what I now know it a heritage Australian breed, I will have to try some
Discovering is just as important! There still is so much I haven't tried either :D
I'd love to know which mill is selling corridale as combed top. I really like corridale for needle felting.
@@jirup Bendigo woolen mill, their 'ready spin' which is 46 dollars for one kilo!
@@Cate-and-Maddielion Oh yes, nice wool base, but it's not Corridale. Their rustic range and ready spin are a Merino x Border Leicester cross. It's comparable to Corridale in fibre diameter, but the cross is more Merino squishy, whereas the Corridale is stiffer, almost more crunchy than squishy. Nundle Woollen Mill sells a similar diameter top (29 micron) at $37 per kilo.
i would like to be able to spin and knit with the Flemish ( not sure of the spelling )sheep wool that you are spinning with
Flemish is the right spelling!
I’m trying to get my hands on some Navajo-Churro yarn or fleece it’s a sheep breed native to North America
A lot of comments mention that breed, it must be lovely indeed!
You make some very good points but….. merino is my local heritage breed. 😂 I live in Australia.
I do hope it's pretty§ clear that this is a local Belgian perspective, I can't speak for the entire world of course (would be too much pressure anyway) 😂
I just love what you're doing. We, as humans, have altered animals so much over the eons, and I've always thought it should be important to remember how the animals used to be, when their qualities suited them more than us. We forget that so many of these animals no longer exist as they originally evolved, so having diverse breeds is important for understanding their biological history. I don't know what kind of sheep we have in the US - probably whatever the early immigrants brought, and then further modified. So I doubt we have any local heritage breeds of our own. But really, you've just made me want my own little pet sheep to shear and make yarn from. ...can a sheep live in a house?...
If you have a garden perhaps 😉 and yes, the first sheep just shed their wool whenever they needed to, no intervention from humans needed (some more primitive sheep breeds still do like the mouflon or ouessant), now they are totally reliant on us to be comfortable in their skins...
I'm very sorry to butt in, but I wanted let you know that the United States does actually have many unique sheep breeds with a specific (and sometimes long) history on this continent. Domesticated sheep were introduced into the Americas by Europeans in 1493, but since then, many different groups of people to have selected them for specific environments. In some cases, the development of these breeds even predates the development of some European sheep breeds, such as the Rambouillet, the Clun Forrest, or the official national Belgian breeds of the 1840s that Jente mentioned in her video.
When we look at American breeds like the Navajo Churro, developed by the Diné and used since the 1500s in their weaving traditions, the American Tunis, derived from ten sheep given as a gift to the US government by the Bey of Tunis in 1799, or the California Variegated Mutant, developed in 1960 from one flock specifically for hand spinners, these types of sheep don't exist anywhere else besides the US! There's more unique American breeds I could list, but since this is already a hefty comment, I'll just suggest the Shave 'Em to Save 'Em program at the Livestock Conservancy and the Fleece and Fiber Sourcebook if you would like to learn more.
Many of our heritage breeds are also in danger of going extinct (just like the Flemish sheep), so unless we seek them out and use their wool, they'll go away. Like Jente, I'm also very passionate about these breeds, and I'm sorry for the block of text, but I want to make sure people know they're out there!
@@biblioknitting9695 Wonderful! This is a wealth of knowledge I didn't even know I was looking for two days ago.
@@retrocraftdreams Different sheep breeds are a real rabbit hole to go down for sure!
If you ever want to explore more in person, there's a bunch of fiber festivals where you can go and look at the different types of sheep for yourself. Weekend after next (May 6 & 7th) is actually Maryland Sheep and Wool. Alongside vendors, sheep dog demonstrations, and people demoing spinning, there's a parade of different sheep breeds, and a sheep breed display! This year's featured breed of sheep is the Jacob. The breed was developed in the UK, but interestingly, the American Jacobs are closer to the older descriptions of the breed than the current English Jacobs. Also they're very cool looking, with spots and up to six horns, so just really fun!
If you're anywhere near Maryland I would highly recommend the Maryland Sheep and Wool, and if you're elsewhere in the US, there's plenty of very fun fiber festivals (with sheep!) throughout the year!
@@biblioknitting9695 this is a very important block of text, don't apologise! Sad that heritage breeds are on the Verge of dissapearing worldwide... Luckily handspinners will take up arms (figuratively, though my combs might look dangerous) to protect them.
I just love this video, I love watching your videos, but this one meant so much more to me, as I am passionate about keeping heritage breeds, and especially, STOPPING this ridiculous and totally short-sighted move across the world where perfectly lovely and USEFUL, an VALUABLE sheep - and goats and even alpacas - were shunned for not having the right colour or micron. Because it is dictated by corporations and their fiber treatment facilities, only white is acceptable, and the staple length has to be a certain length, and mind you, not too long either, a certain micron and the list goes on. So people were either shunning local breeds, breeding away perfectly good genetics, or culling any unwanted colours.
I lived in Tienen in Belgium for 5 years. At the time unfortunately I had not started spinning yet, but I was already interested in fiber. I then moved back to our family's farm in South Africa in 2009, when I started keeping Saanen goats. I quickly realized I miss an important dimension - wool! I kept on thinking how I can maybe get it all in one, maybe milk sheep, and good fleece?
That didn't pan out - no milk sheep in South Africa, and I thought about getting just any sheep, as long as they have good fiber. Well, here in SA, you have the same problem - only merino is considered good enough to be called wool sheep, and perfectly good fleeces are ploughed into the lands as compost because the national wool co-op only wants white merino... I didn't get around to get some wool sheep, BUT....🦙
Around 2015 I decided to get myself a few alpacas for their fiber... And I became addicted, hopelessly addicted... It started with one, then another 1, then 2 more, then 6, then a herd of 36... I now have over a hundred... Every natural alpaca colour you can imagine... And one of the largest collections of suri alpaca in SA... And I started spinning... Another addiction - I now have 5 wheels, and 4 floor looms and a table loom... And I need a rigid heddle for on the go, and a traveler wheel for doing just what you did - introducing people to the lost art and utter pleasure of spinning - fiddling with fluffy fiber, and miraculously converting it into fabric!
Oh yes, colour discrimination is a WILD thing. I have two beautiful alpaca fleeces from friends from my mom, but nobody wants them because they're brown and not white. HOW AND WHY?! I love that you got yourself a herd 😁 I have many friends in Tienen and the surrounding villages 😁
I’m wondering how they define quality. Is it “inherently lower quality” because their industrial fast fashion machines can’t handle it? Or is it something else entirely? BTW, have you seen footage of how they process sheep for shearing for the mass market wool industry? It’s disturbing to say the least.
Oh yes, that is highly disturbing. Leave the shearing to farmers and handshearders please 😅