Last year, I bought a bag of Drenthe Heath sheep wool. During our walks, we often see flocks of these sheep at work in one of our national parks. They are kept for conservation grazing, and their work is eating young trees and shrubs. Without them, our open heathlands would turn into woodland in no time.
Drenthe Heath sheep are not primarily kept for their meat or fleeces, but their meat seems to be good (I’ve never tasted it) and they produce fleeces of 1 to 2 kg per sheep. I know that their wool is generally considered to be of poor quality, but still I wanted to experience for myself what it feels like, how it spins up, and what I could knit with it.
An entire fleece would be way too much for me, so I bought a bag with small quantity of prepared wool.
Hallo Marijke,
dankjewel voor je avontuur met Drentse Heideschaapwol.
Kemp kan ook spierwit zijn, ik had in het project Pleed een vacht waarvan ik dacht dat er stripjes wit plastic in zaten, zo dik kunnen die vezels zijn.
Er was groot verschil in zachtheid van de vachten van de Leeuwarder schaapskudde. Het onderhaar is fijne zachte wol. Als je dat alleen zou willen gebruiken moet het voor het kaarden gescheiden worden.
De tentoonstelling in Leeuwarden van Pleed is te vinden op http://www.pleed.nl
Groeten!
Gieneke
Dank voor jouw ervaringen met de wol. Leerzaam! For those who don’t read Dutch, Gieneke mentions an exibition about a project using local wool in Friesland that has been spun and made into blankets. Follow her link if you’d like to know more.
How interesting! I haven’t really put much thought to the process of creating yarn so this was informative. Shame on me, all these years of knitting.
This reminds me of a classic Swedish children’s book called Pelles nya kläder (Pelle’s new clothes) by once very well known writer and illustrator Elsa Beskow. The book describes how Pelles two grandmothers and his mother transform the fleece of his sheep into a stylish suit. The pictures are lovely, must hunt for it in my youngest son’s bookshelf.
Oh well, one can’t do everything. Perhaps you could keep spinning in mind as something to look forward to when you retire ;). Thank you for the book tip. I know that it’s been translated into Dutch but have never actually read it. I’m going to look if I can borrow it from the library.
Hallo Marijke,
Dank voor het delen, ik heb weer wat geleerd over wol en kemp.
Ik verwacht binnenkort de vacht van een Drents Heideschaap, Lobke, mijn adoptieschaap. Ben na het lezen van jouw blog nog meer zeer benieuwd hoe de vacht eruit ziet.
Groethes,
Mariek
Ach, wat leuk, adoptieschaap Lobke. Ga je er weer een vachtje van vilten?