Here Sheep. Warm Woolies And The Why

Once upon a time, a sheep farmer needed a sitter for the weekend. The requirements? Feed and water and check the flock - but also be ready for anything from an early lambing to a medical emergency. After an interview at the farm about former livestock and vet tech work (with a lively quiz and walking around the barns), the job was mine.

The weekend went off without a hitch (no lambs presented). Calling “Sheep, here sheep” while rattling the feed to call the flock in, lambs frolicking and leaping from the pure joy of being alive as the sun warmed the pasture - well, anyone who has not seen this is missing out.

Inside the stone farmhouse was a mudroom with boots, coats, an old refrigerator with bottles and antibiotics, boxes with syringes and tubing for feeding alongside feed bags, supplies. The passageway led into a warm farm kitchen. A battered armchair by the stove was the most comfortable seat in the house.

The heat was welcome while listening to stories about rejected lambs being fed by bottle, sheep found frozen to stone walls and revived, twin lambs, days and nights of challenges and rewards.

That same winter more than 20 years ago, those sheep provided inspiration.

With mountains all around and very limited radio and television reception, I took up knitting again to enjoy the warm wooly results in mittens, hats, scarfs and sweaters. Since then, the world of knitting has expanded tenfold. Nowadays yarns can be ordered from the farm or online. Blends, exotics such as bison, yak and cashmere, even custom yarn spun from dog hair, offer even more choices.

As yarnaholic, my favorites include pure wool and mohair from handspun to store bought, depending on how the finished product will be used. Llama yarn is a wonder, just as soft as clouds look.

And the world of knitters and fiber lovers is big business - people drive all over New England and beyond to sheep and wool festivals and they visit local yarn shops on the journey. It’s a like-minded tribe of people who speak the same language.

A confession - in knitting, all types of natural fiber yarns go into my personal projects - from the current series of dog sweaters (must be tough and durable, they are frequently washed, catch on briars and stubble while out on walks) featured on Moo Dog Knits to the high-end custom knit sweaters for faraway friends.

Last week, Debbie Stoller, a New York Times best-selling author of knit and crochet books, launched a line of 100% natural and affordable yarns, dubbed Stitch Nation.

The yarns are developed in partnership with Red Heart from Coats & Clark. Curious, to check them out called for a visit to Jo-Ann’s store on the Berlin Turnpike. (The new lines are available only at the larger Jo-Ann’s right now.)

And there they were - a shelf of vibrant colored “Full o’ Sheep” skeins, made from Peruvian wool. “Bamboo Ewe” blends wool with bamboo fibers (55% viscose from bamboo and 45% wool). “Alpaca Love” is 80% wool and 20% alpaca.

Each of the 85 to 100 gram skeins sells for about $5. So electric pink, black and cream colored skeins were selected to take home to knit up. (For more on Stitch Nation by Debbie Stoller, visit www.stitchnationyarn.com or www.redheart.com.)

In Haddam, Connecticut Yarn & Wool Company offers gorgeous American-grown wool yarn and blends in a special sale while supplies last of their Farmhouse Yarns - $5 a skein (usually $18 a skein). See a sweater made from it on Moo Dog Knits.

Editor’s Note: Have a yarn shop worth a mention, a nifty product to share or an artisan to recommend? Send details to editorccb@gmail.com to add the idea to our list of places and people to visit.