OK, it IS all about the sheep!
In July I had some minor surgery on my right hand to release a trigger finger (it was sticking in the closed position and I couldn’t move it without quite a bit of pain). All is well, and I’m knitting again, but in the intervening time I’ve been spending some time at my wheel, spinning and trying to improve from lumpy string to something-resembling-yarn. I give lots of credit to Kathy, Lisa and Margaret (in my Wednesday knitting group) for all of their recommendations and encouragement (they say very nice things about the tangled, over-spun lumps I bring for show-and tell).
But speaking of spinning — this gives me the opportunity to let everyone know that Josefin Waltin, the Swedish hand-spinner and teacher has agreed to collaborate with me for my book on Sweden, so the new title is Knit (spin) Sweden!
I asked Josefin to spin some of the Swedish breeds that are found in the commercial yarns, thinking that her insight into how the fibers behave and their unique characteristics would provide more depth to the discussion, and also encourage spinners to seek out fleece from these wonderful animals.
These cuties are Jämtland sheep from central Sweden, a crossbreed between Svea and Merino (Svea are descendants of a variety of breeds; most recently a crossbreed between Finull and usually a meat producing sheep like Texel). As you can imagine, having both Merino and Finull in the mix leads to wool that is very fine and soft, and a joy to wear next to the skin.
Sheep photos courtesy of Ullform Spinneri, makers of UllRika yarns
I wanted to mention Ullform Spinneri, and their webshop Yarns and Barns because their yarn is also available in Stockholm at Makeri 14 in the old city (Gamla Stan). Makeri 14 is a cozy shop that carries an international selection of yarn, and Yarns & Barns UllRika is the only Swedish brand they stock. The shop owner, Stephanie, chooses yarn she enjoys knitting. Because the shop is quite small, this curated collection of yarn is very special, and you are apt to enjoy knitting those fibers yourself.
Yarns and Barns is not yet able to sell outside of Sweden, but they are working in that direction, which is very good news for the rest of us. It is a mini-mill, and there’s quite an interesting story behind their yarn. Ullform Spinneri was originally associated with an agricultural school, providing lönspinning services to farmers and shepherds in the surrounding area. Lönspinning is a service where the farmer pays the mill for processing and/or spinning services, and returns the product to the farmer to market and sell. At the end of 10 years, the school felt that there wasn’t sufficient profit in the business, and it closed. That’s when a group of 12 people from the area — about half farmers and half crafters, came together to buy the mill and keep the business in the region to continue supporting this endeavor. The difference was in the vision for Ullform. The group decided to buy the fleece, produce yarn, and develop their own market. They use eco-friendly processing, including water recycling, washing the wool with whey detergent, and using vegetable spinning oil to produce their yarns.
Keeping the name for the spinneri, the owners determined that they needed to develop a coherent collection and give it a brand — that brand is Yarns and Barns. They began production in November 2018, and already are making a name for themselves at shops and wool fairs. They are starting small to carefully control their output and its quality, working now with just one brick-and-mortar yarn shop (in Stockholm), and a collection of craft and museum shops.
Photos of the dyeing project by Sara Björkebaum (@bbaumish)
This year’s dyeing program was a collaboration with the RÅW Project, owned by the textile artists Emma Dahlqvist and Sanna Bodén, processing waste from local restaurants and industry. I’ve mentioned this compost dyeing process before in my profile of knitting designer Kristin Blom.
Photo by Oscar Morin
Kits from Yarns and Barns are designs by Katarina Widegren Flach, and are based on historical 19th century patterns on socks and mittens from the region. The stranded knitting in fine yarn makes them both dense and warm, but with simple, stylized motifs that are quick to knit up. At the moment, instructions are only in Swedish, but as part of the process of moving to Internet sales, they also will be made available in English.
Ullforum plans to offer targeted and focused workshops in the summer about Swedish wool and “glocal” (global and local) sustainability. They encourage visitors to participate as space is available (contact the mill for information after the New Year to learn of their plans).
It is no surprise that the motto of this group is Ullforum: a small spinning factory with great ambition.