Stitchin' Bints: Wool Week

This item also appears in the handspinner newsletter (November 2010)

11-17 October 2010

Wool Week was led by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the campaign for wool. It aimed to reverse the trend that now sees fleeces being burned because farmers are shearing their sheep at a loss and encourages us to think of wool as part of our heritage and a renewable, sustainable and versatile resource.

I have to admit that in putting together this 'round-up', I've enjoyed some of the puns; 'having a field day', 'fans flock to Savile Row', 'best baa none', 'suits ewe sir', 'give fleece a chance' and so on.

Savile Row Field Day

You won't have missed the news that the week was kicked off by Savile Row being turfed over to help flocks of Exmoor Horn and Bowmont sheep to feel at home.

There is a wealth of photos and video of the sheep alongside bemused and besuited urbanites:
http://blog.visitlondon.com/2010/10/british-wool-week-sheep-on-savile-row/
http://modusdowalwalker.com/latest/permalink/saville_row_goes_rural_for_wool_week/
http://www.sustainable-fashion.com/tag/wool-week/

Mayfair.org carries a wonderful video showing the sheep, farmers, visitors and the agriculture minister.
http://www.mayfair.org.uk/blog/2010/10/sheep-graze-in-savile-row-00608.html

More video from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11521313

Wool Week blogpicks

I like the illustration and writing on this post:
http://www.ameliasmagazine.com/fashion/its-national-wool-week/2010/10/15/

josiekitten marked the week by making a wooly post each day:
http://theknittingexploitsofjosiekitten.blogspot.com/2010/10/wool-week-2010-day-1.html
http://theknittingexploitsofjosiekitten.blogspot.com/2010/10/wool-week-2010-day-2.html
http://theknittingexploitsofjosiekitten.blogspot.com/2010/10/wool-week-2010-day-3.html
http://theknittingexploitsofjosiekitten.blogspot.com/2010/10/wool-week-2010-day-4.html
http://theknittingexploitsofjosiekitten.blogspot.com/2010/10/wool-week-2010-day-5.html

Devonfinefibres wrote this fabulous post about getting the Bowmonts to the event:
http://devonfinefibres.wordpress.com/2010/10/08/the-journey-to-savile-row/

... and their post-event thoughts with a gallery of photographs:
http://devonfinefibres.wordpress.com/2010/10/12/savile-row-field-day-wow/

York

The NFU asked Diane of the murmering wheel to make a union jack from hand dyed and spun wool.
It was commissioned to help support the campaign to have wool included in the 2012 Olympics, but as part of York's Wool Week celebrations was displayed on the back of Norfolk Horn ram Nobby.
http://www.nfuonline.com/Regions/North-East/News/Nobby-brings--em-flooding-in/

lots more links and photos on Murmering Wheel's blog:
http://murmuringwheel.blogspot.com/

More photos of York's Wool Week event:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/45211192@N07/5080800377/

In other areas

Artist Steve Messam covered a remote barn with the fleece of 200 Swaledales
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-11521066

Chelsea Harbour Design Centre's Wool Week installation involved sheep, textiles and cat's cradles of red wool. Watch a video of their installation being constructed:
http://www.dcch.co.uk/index.php?page=wool+week+installation

Liberty and Rowan Yarns jointly held a Wool Week competition for students, the prize winners being displayed in one of their windows. Claire-Anne O'Brien used British sheep breed yarn in supersized basic knit loops to create a chair. Joint winner Helen Turner's woolly wonder oversized knitted retro coat was made using five varieties of Rowan Purelife British wool.
http://blog.liberty.co.uk/5635/and-the-winner-is/?resetFilters=true&utm_source=social&utm_medium=facebook&utm_campaign=GeneralItems_141010

Liberty made willow Herdwicks for their Wool Week installation.
http://blog.liberty.co.uk/5627/wool-week-comes-to-liberty/

I've said before that I think the terms graffiti knitting or yarnbombing shouldn't be applied to corporately-organised events, but credit to Selfridges for 'yarnbombing' their store for Wool Week:
http://www.selfridges.com/en/Whats-On/Events/London/Wool-Week_Wool%20Week/