From the Pastures: The wool truth

Harvest has started here in northern Illinois. Many counties to the south have probably been harvesting for several weeks. Around us the weather has been perfect for picking beans for a couple weeks. My pasture still has a good grass cover for the small flock of sheep we have. There was not enough rain in August for a second cutting. I was hoping to sell the second cutting, but I am happy I have enough hay in the barn for the winter.

The Wisconsin Sheep and Wool Festival was a lot of fun. I was able to visit with a lot of friends and meet new friends. It is nice to see so many people enthusiastic about sheep. The colored needle felted batts made from my Scottish Blackface wool were a big hit.

A lot of people commented on how nice the colors were to use for their projects. The most popular colors were the combinations of blue and green. I dyed some rovings in bright neon purple, yellow and pink. The neon colors were everywhere at the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival this spring. They were not as popular at the Wisconsin festival. Interesting how different trends are popular in different areas.

In the mill, we have been working on some big orders. This kind of slows us down on overall orders, but is a little more efficient to run the same type of fiber for a longer time. We are very blessed with a lot of customers and a lot of fiber to process.

I am not very good at social media. I recently shared a graph from the American Wool Council showing the amount of energy needed to produce different fibers. Wool only requires a fraction of what other fibers like polyester or nylon require. My post has been seen by over 8,600 people and 136 people shared it. Makes me happy to spread the word about wool benefits. As I like to say, wear wool! Happy and safe harvest!