I have been a spinner, weaver and knitter for most of my adult life. We also travel a lot, with history being a focus. The more we traveled over the years, the further back into history my interest went. My interests have pretty much settled in the late prehistoric era, the Bronze and Iron Ages. Geographically, my favorite places are in the southwest of France, famous for its prehistoric cave paintings and the Scottish Highlands and Islands, a treasure trove of henges, brochs, and standing stones. Since sheep are considered the second domesticated animal, the dog being the first, my interests led me to wanting to know more about early textiles and the animals that provided the fiber.
I am interested in the process as well as the end product. What types of sheep were used by people thousands of years ago? What did their raw fleece look like and feel like? What methods were most likely to have been used to process it? Did different types of fleece require different tools or techniques? Depending on the type of fleece, what products would most likely have been made? Could wool from primitive sheep yield fine, next to the skin, soft textiles? These were some of the questions I had hoped to answer. Along with the answers came a wealth of knowledge, experience and collaboration. I hope this will interest others and encourage spinners to try single breed sheep's wool as well as some rare breeds. I will be writing about this journey and how interesting and enjoyable it is to continue to explore this aspect of fiber arts.
