Oh those sheep! They just keep making fleece. Estes Park Wool Market adventures

Oh those sheep! They just keep making fleece. Estes Park Wool Market adventures

For me, there is not much better than a day spent at the Estes Park Wool Market. It has been several years since it happened and I missed it. So I donned my N95 and headed up the mountain on Saturday. I saw so many people I haven’t seen in person for years. I chatted with fellow teachers and friends from the fiber world of Colorado and beyond. I ran into students I’ve only talked to online, students from past retreats, and even some Instagram friends and followers.

One reason for going was to get a fleece to use for teaching at SOAR in October. (Spin Off Autumn Retreat is run by Long Thread Media). I know. I’m teaching at a spinning retreat. But I’m not really teaching spinning. I’m teaching spinners how to use their handspun for tapestry weaving. I did manage to find many great fleece candidates, quite a few of which were already sold. But I came home with one complete fleece and three partial fleeces. Two of those are at least in part for the SOAR classes. Triumph! (Buying a fleece can feel sort of scary.)

The Vatnsdæla á refli Tapestry

The Vatnsdæla á refli Tapestry

Jóhanna Pálmadóttir has been working on a 46 meter-long tapestry since 2011. It’ll take 5-6 more years to finish the last 12 meters. To be sure she has had plenty of help. But the scope of this incredible project is rather mind-boggling and I didn’t really believe it could exist until I saw it in person.

The tapestry is based on one of the Icelandic sagas, the Saga of the People of Vatnsdalur. This saga took place in the area of Iceland where the tapestry is being stitched. It is the location of Jóhanna’s farm, the church she grew up in, and the monastery where the tapestry will live once it is finished.

The project is being stitched in the former women’s school in Blönduós, Iceland, Kvennaskólinn. This is also the site of the Icelandic Textile Center. Over the years, Jóhanna and her team of local embroiderers have taught many artist residents at the textile center, local residents, and tourists how to stitch.

Icelandic sheep: the fleece and my experience spinning it

Icelandic sheep: the fleece and my experience spinning it

I went to Iceland in part to explore their sheep and especially the wool that they produce. Icelandic sheep are the only breed on the island. When the Vikings settled Iceland around 870 CE, they brought sheep with them. It has been illegal for centuries to bring any more to this island meaning this breed has developed in isolation. According to Robson and Ekarius*, this is one of the world’s purest livestock breeds.

Icelandic sheep are grown primarily for meat but those of us who are spinners know that their wool is prized for strength and beauty. In Iceland there is a company named Istex that manages most of the wool clip of the country. I shared a tour of the scouring facility in Blönduós on my blog HERE a few weeks ago.

These sheep are shorn twice a year. The shearing in the fall when they’ve just come down from the mountains where they spend the summer is the best wool. This is because it is cleaner. The second shearing is in February or March before lambing after the sheep have been in the barns for the winter. This wool is mostly used for carpets. Sheep barns look like this and you can imagine that the sheep are busy bumping into each other and dragging dirt and hay across each other’s backs for many months.

Myth and fact: yarn in the grocery store in Iceland

Myth and fact: yarn in the grocery store in Iceland

Everyone said you could buy yarn everywhere in Iceland including at the grocery store. This is both true and not true. While I did find yarn in some grocery stores, definitely they don’t all carry this staple. But then many didn’t carry gluten free staples either.

I found that the grocery stores in Reykjavik in the city center did not have yarn. For that you should go to the Handknitters Association of Iceland. You can also pick up a handknit sweater while you’re getting your yarn.

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Icelandic yarns for knitting (and tapestry weaving!)

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Icelandic yarns for knitting (and tapestry weaving!)

Icelandic sheep are the only ones that live on the island. As such, their genetics are well preserved. The wool there is mostly processed by Istex, the company that makes lopi yarn in various sizes. There is Alafosslopi (bulky), Lettlopi (worsted), Einband (laceweight), and Plotulopi (unspun wool used for knitting) along with a few others.

I bought Einband for tapestry weaving. More on that later in the post. I also bought a few skeins of Lettlopi to try my hand at some Icelandic/Nordic mittens. The pattern is Emma’s Ice Flower Mittens (Ravelry link). I forgot how much I enjoyed stranded colorwork. And I have to say that this yarn is outstanding for this kind of garment. Oh my goodness but this Lettlopi grabs. These stitches aren’t going anywhere.

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And you think YOU have a yarn stash problem? A visit to Istex where they make Lopi yarn.

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And you think YOU have a yarn stash problem? A visit to Istex where they make Lopi yarn.

Istex is the business that processes most of the fleece in Iceland.* I am quite sure I have never seen so much wool in one place.

There is only one scouring facility in Iceland and it is in Blönduós where I did my artist residency. Istex is the largest wool processing organization in Scandinavia and exists in Iceland in a couple different locations. In Blönduós they do the scouring and at the end of that process, the fleece is baled in 300 kg lots for shipment either to Europe to make carpet in the case of the lowest grade winter wool, or to the next Istex facility to be spun into yarn.

Huge bags of wool arrive from all over Iceland awaiting processing. I have no idea how much wool was here waiting, but countless bays like these full to the ceiling plus shipping containers outside.

The Icelandic Nature: Wild beauty

The Icelandic Nature: Wild beauty

I love being outdoors and Iceland is a place I can revel in amazing views, wildlife, and the wild swings in weather. The first post I wrote about exploring the landscape of Iceland is HERE. It included photos of the Northern Lights.

Since then I’ve enjoyed exploring more of the northern part of the country and wanted to share a few of those adventures. There are a lot of photos here and I hope you enjoy them. I had to choose from so many, but these were some of my favorite spots. I made these trips with the best of friends and though you don’t see them in the photos, know that I was enjoying time with three of the best humans I have ever known.

I love open views, horizon, and feeling like I can see forever. I grew up in New Mexico which is like a warmer Iceland in many ways. I love being able to see the horizon, to view mountains in long stretches, and of course I love being above treeline in my current home state of Colorado. When I visit relatives in places like Michigan and Mississippi where there are a lot of trees, I get lost easily and I feel hemmed in. Many people have commented that the photos I’ve posted on social media of this trip look very stark, but I love that feeling of open space.