Sheep to Shawl spotlights wool at the fair
Helping in the Sheep to Shawl demonstration were several 4-H members, Riley Randolph, Coshocton/Tuscarawas Lamb and Wool Queen Adeline Kendle and Kylee Mutti. The girls all work with sheep in 4-H.
Rascal, a Shetland sheep, was the only unwilling participant in the Sheep to Shawl demonstration in the fine arts building at the Tuscarawas County Fair.
“He gets a little grumpy, but he’s fine after,” Rascal’s owner and Fiber Arts Guild of Tuscarawas County member Julie Beachy of Stone Creek said.
Shearing does not hurt the sheep, and they need to be shorn.
Rascal's short haircut was done in minutes by Sam Cunningham, an area sheep shearer. Cunningham has been a sheep shearer for 15 years and uses the Australian method of sheep shearing, which is easier for the sheep and the shearer and gets the coat off in one piece.
“They say the first 10,000 [sheep sheared] are the hardest,” Cunningham said. “After that you know what you are doing.”
The event was a first for the Fiber Arts Guild of Tuscarawas County, which wanted to show how wool was processed into useful items.
Before the wool can be used, it must first be cleaned and washed to remove the dirt from the coat and unusable clumps of hair removed.
Laura Gray of Gilmore, the founder of the guild, grew up with sheep and wanted her children to grow up with them also. “I got the sheep when my first child was a year old. I wanted to raise my kids on a farm around animals because I think that makes them better humans,” she said.
Because sheep must be shorn regularly, Gray found herself with a lot of wool she wanted to use. “I taught myself to spin mostly through YouTube videos. I started the guild so people would have a place to go to learn,” she said of the group that formed two years ago.
Gray was demonstrating how to spin wool into yarn on a spinning wheel that turned using foot power on a treadle. “It just takes practice,” she said of her technique.
With four children age 8 and under and another baby on the way, Gray considers spinning as therapy. “It’s a sanity-saver,” she said.
Helping in the carding demonstration were several 4-H members, Riley Randolph, Coshocton/Tuscarawas Lamb and Wool Queen Adeline Kendle and Kylee Mutti.
Interested fairgoers stopped by over the two hours of the demonstration to observe as members of the guild worked on every step of the process including working it into a variety of items including scarves, mittens, hats and shawls.
Doran and Marlene Gordon, who live near Dover, came to the fair to see the demonstration. “We saw it in the paper and wanted to come because Doran used to raise sheep,” Marlene Gordon said.
Doran Gordon sheared sheep and taught his four sons how to shear. One son even won a Junior National Shearing championship in 1992 in Denver, Colorado at the National Livestock Show.
Handmade yarn made by some of the members of the guild is available for sale at the Pin Drop Shop in Uhrichsville. Gray has taught classes there too. The shop also carries fabric and supplies for those who like to knit and crochet.
Through the guild Gray has met others who like to work with wool. “There is a lot of talent in the county,” she said.
New members shouldn’t be intimidated; all skill levels are welcome in the guild. The group meets the fourth Tuesday of the month at the Tuscarawas County Center for the Arts in New Philadelphia. For more information visit them on Facebook or email tuscfiberguild@gmail.com.
Jacque Peters, superintendent of the fine arts building, was pleased with the demonstration. “It’s our goal to start reaching out and getting others involved like the guild,” she said. “It’s great to see these young girls involved who are in 4-H and have sheep.”