James Shearer demonstrates the especially difficult by doing it on the
fine art of shearing a sheep, made uneven grass.
By SALLY BAIR
Feature Writer
Turning a freshly shorn
fleece into a lovely woven
shawl m the course of one
day is no small task. Last
Saturday at the Ephrata
Cloister about 25 members of
the Lancaster Spinners and
Weavers Guild ac
complished the job.
Beginning at 10:00 a.m.
with the shearing of the
sheep, they carded and spun
the wool and wove it
throughout the day. At 4:00
they auctioned off a beautiful
woven shawl which brought
$35.00 for their efforts.
According to Guild
member Judy Homan who
organized the event, its
purpose was “to educate the
public in the process of
producing a woolen gar
ment.”
Judy explained that in
colonial days people would
not have gathered under the
trees for the purpose shown
Saturday, but they often
gathered in the winter
months to “pass the time.” A
spinning bee was a social
event, and helped the “long,
tedious” job of spinning go
faster.
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Sheep to Shawl’ program presented
time spent in spinning in
earlier days, Judy said, “It
took seven spinners to supply
one weaver.” So the most
time-consuming - part of
producing garments or
textiles was in the spinning.
The grounds of the Cloister
provided a beautiful setting
for members of the Guild,
most of whom were garbed
in simple colonial style
outfits. About fifteen spin
ning wheels were set up
under the trees, and
members socialized with
each other and with spec
tators while they worked.
The spinners on Saturday
were spinning “in the
grease; ” that is, they did not
take the time to wash the
wool before weaving it. The
garment would be washed
after completion. The
elimination of washing the
wool obviously helped make
it possible to complete the
woven shawl that afternoon.
The first task of the day
fell to James Shearer who
sheared the sheep. He did the
job quickly and with great
expertise, explaining while
he worked. He said it is
important to keep the sheep
from touching any one foot to
the ground or it would fight
and struggle to stand up. As
it was, with four feet off the
ground, his sheep cooperated
nicely and appeared almost
tranquilized..
The fleece was then
“sorted.” The sorting
process is to remove the
short, tag ends of the fleece
around the stomach, legs
and tail. These ends are full
of dirt and grease and
therefore undesirable for
spinning. One participant
said these short ends are
good for mulching roses.
Next the wool was divided
among the spinners who
Lancaster Farming, Saturday, Ma
29,1976
17
Helen Weit works at her spinning wheel, dressed
in the garb of the Ephrata Cloister.
carded it and spun it. The
carding process is to get all
the fibers running in one
direction for ease of spin
ning.
There was an interesting
variety of spinning wheels,
both antique and newly
hand-crafted as well as a
wide array of spinning
talents. In the friendly, in
formal atmosphere, spec
tators could freely have their
questions answered and
some even had the op
portunity to participate.
Gradually as the spinners
produced a quantity of
thread it was transferred to
the loom where the scarf was
being woven. The warp of the
shawl had been spun by
Guild members earlier. To
keep the garment uniform,
only a few people did the
actual weaving.
A highlight of the event
was a demonstration of
working sheep with border
collies. Jim Shearer con
ducted the demonstration
and succeeded in showing
the efficient work of trained
collies. He explained that the
border collie responds to his
natural instincts without
commands when he has the
flock in a large area.
He said the dogs are very
obedient, very intelligent
and very easy to train - also
very easy to spoil. They have
a lot of “herding instinct,”
he said, and they can be
taught to work with many
animals.
For the uninitiated it was a
day filled with learning and
seeing how our ancestors
created their textiles. For
the participants, it was a day
of socializing, hard work and
the satisfaction of creating a
hand woven garment from
the raw product.
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Know Where the Activities Will Be?
Read the Farm Women Calendar.
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