Sheep to Shawl Competition

Laura Brewer shared photos she took at the Wool Market Sheep to Shawl competition in Estes Park, Colorado. 

carding the wool for spinning preparation

carding wool before spinning

Laura wrote: For the Sheep to Shawl, there were 2 teams. Team #1 had a CVM fleece using plain and twill weaves for their pattern. That was the brown/cream shawl. Team #2 used a Jacob fleece, black and white, with a Swedish lace pattern.

team members spinning

Each team, of 5, with an alternate, scoured their fleeces prior to the contest. They were allowed to use that to card, spin and then warp their looms. On the day of the contest, they (all 5) picked, and carded
the fleece. Then one lady began spinning. When the carding was finished, the other 4 spun the rovings.

one person on each team was the designated weaver

weaving in progress for the purple team

 Then, one lady plied what was spun and gave it to the weaver. So, there were 4 spinners supplying the weaver.

weaving in progress

The contest was from 8:45 AM until 2:30 PM.

tying off the ends and finishing the shawl

finishing the shawl

 When the cloth was finished, they cut it off the loom, twisted the fringe on the ends, and then washed it in hot soapy water, rinsed, fixed any mistakes, then they were done.

washing the shawl 

Team #1 (wearing the green shirts) won the competition, by one point. The judging was open, so we got to watch as she gave her reasons.

Thank you, Laura for sharing your photos of the event.