I met Judith Hooper at a spin-in for the Tour de France in July. She was struggling with a fleece that just didn’t want to easily become yarn. Fleece with a bit of an attitude. What struck me about the roving she was holding was how lofty and springy it appeared. It definitely wanted to dance its own dance. I suggested trying long draw from the fold to let the fiber go its own way. Even that was a bit of a struggle. When I finally had an opportunity to spin it myself, I did a few test spins that were generally unsatisfactory, and concluded that I needed to slow down and listen to what the fiber was trying to tell me (this is advice I’ve gotten more than once from spinning goddess Josefin Waltin).
9-year old Lucy loves to cuddle and be scratched. After I had given her head a few scratches, she proceeded to bump me from behind every time I slacked off in giving her attention. She finally let me go when I offered her a favorite treat; little green apples from the tree she and her group were resting under to get out of the summer sun.
Herdwick sheep are said to have come to the Lake District of England with early Norse settlers (references to the breed date to as early as the 12th century). They are extremely hardy, and while they are a dual purpose breed, produce rather coarse wool, containing quite a bit of stiff kemp. Like so many others of the Heritage breeds, Herdwick reduced in numbers until they were endangered.
Because the history of Herdwick is intertwined with the Lake District region, they have been fiercely protected by some of their fans. Beatrix Potter actually bequeathed 15 farms (about 4,000 acres) with Herdwick to the National Trust which continues to maintain the flocks. They also have begun to show up in the US, although no thoroughbred sheep have been imported. All American Herdwick are cross-bred.
Herdwick Ewe, Holidaypics photo.
Shepherdesses like Judith are working hard to up-breed the American Herdwick. The first flock established in the US was developed from imported semen used for artificial insemination (AI). It is unclear what other sheep were included in the early mixes, but from 2013-2020 the US borders were closed to imported semen. That meant that when the old semen ran out, the sheep became too inbred. It takes years and years to develop a flock through AI and Judith estimates that at this point her own flock is about 50-60%.
I failed to get a photo of her dog — it was dogs that got her into the world of sheep while she was living in Arizona. Her plan was to train dogs for herding, not herding sheep herself. Her “day job” at the time was with the USDA (Dept. of Agriculture), conducting research on honey bee pheromones. (Check out her paper on The Scent of the Waggle Dance ).
As is often true, life hands us changes when we least expect it, and Judith returned to the east coast to care for her parents. Over the first winter, she was asked to care for 5 Katahdin** sheep from Maine. And that, in the end, pushed her in the direction of the Herdwicks.
One of the struggles of keeping sheep is how to humanely manage the flock. Up-breeding necessitates culling. For Judith that meant finding an abattoir that would handle the sheep carefully. It’s a long drive to the site in New York to be sure, but worth it for her peace of mind.
At present there are 13 ewes on Judith’s farm. All respond to her voice, and some, like Lucy, wag their tails and rush over to greet her. Even the reticent ones will come if there is a chance for a treat.
It’s not only slaughtering that causes anxiety for the shepherdess. None of us are getting any younger, and Judith wonders now long she will be able to provide the best care possible to her girls. She also has to think very carefully about whether or not she will do more up-breeding. I absolutely sympathize with her struggle. It’s not only the hands-on care that is at issue these days; right now there is a hay crisis in the region that is causing many shepherds to have to reduce their flocks. July was the 10th driest July of recorded time in Connecticut, with only 2″ of rain, while July 2021 produced a record 9″. Farmers usually get 3 cuttings of hay each year, but this year, only one. Money aside to purchase what expensive hay is available, it’s likely not even possible to supplement feed for some of the flocks because of such limited supply. The yellow, orange and red on the map for Massachusetts and Connecticut represent the range from abnormally dry to extreme drought. Farmers of all kinds are hanging on by their fingernails.
After a few tries, this Herdwick fiber seemed to relax with a short backward draw with a bit of twist in the drafting zone. It wasn’t my original intent to spin this fine a yarn, but since I have a good bit of fleece, I’m now starting to dream of a 3-ply sock yarn. While this sheep is described as coarse, the other 40-50% of different breeds in the mix for this fiber has rendered it reasonably soft. In addition, this fleece has been dehaired, so what you see here is the downy undercoat without all of the coarse kemp. About 5 ounces of the Herdwick fleece I have on hand is a very dark grey, so I’m thinking it will make a nice tweedy yarn. And once again I’m over my head in “planned projects.” I haven’t sat at the wheel for over a month now since I started working on the boot toppers and the Gunnister purse (none of which are completely finished), but I have hopes of moving on from them in the next 2-3 weeks.
One of the other things Judith and I talked about was how important it is to treat each fiber in an individual way. Her yarn is coming out in the bulky range, and she’s planning on making a rug. Mine might be socks. It is the unique and artistic qualities of Herdwick that sings to both of us.
Meanwhile…
Ok, UNCLE! Yes, I give up. This hot mess is what was trying to be the Gunnister reproduction purse. By the time I finished the ribbing, I had dropped 10 stitches, and while trying to pick them up managed to make it worse than I would have if I had actually tried to make a mess. I will try again (at some point) with a larger needle size and slightly heavier yarn. It’s more important to me to understand how it was made than to make a true reproduction. I’ll leave the reproduction for someone even more obsessed than I (I’m sure there must be someone out there).
So you already know what’s on my needles, and at least one of the toppers will follow me to Scotland next week. Whatever gets done on the plane is likely to be all the knitting accomplished there. I expect I’ll be having way too much fun to sit down long enough to knit. What I’m looking forward to more than anything else is seeing folks I’ve met on my last two trips. I can’t wait to catch up on the news.
Until the next time, keep calm and knit (spin, weave, crochet, embroider) on.
*John 10:27
**Katahdin sheep are hair sheep bred in the US solely for meat (rams can reach 250 pounds). One of the benefits of this breed for the shepherd is that the sheep shed their hair and do not need to be shorn. Michael Piel of Maine developed the breed in the second half of the 20th century by crossing St. Croix sheep from the Virgin Islands (a hair breed) with a variety of other sheep, preferentially crossing to enhance the meat quality, fertility and flocking instinct as well as the predominance of the hair coat over wool. Without the need to shear, these sheep represent a lower cost option for the commercial producer.
A beautiful article about my beautiful friend. 🧶🐑♥️