Visitors at Arrowvale Campground and Collins Farm in Port Alberni got a behind-the-scenes look last weekend at how clothing is made.
The farm, in partnership with the Alberni Valley Fibre Guild, hosted a “Sheep to Shawl” event on Saturday, May 10, where visitors could follow the wool from the sheep’s back through the process of skirting, cleaning, carding, spinning, weaving and finally knitting it into a wearable item.
The morning started with a sheep shearing demonstration by Vancouver Island shearer Garrett Jolicoeur. After volunteers skirted and cleaned the fleece, they demonstrated the process of carding some pre-washed and dried fleece. Inside the campground’s main office, Vancouver Island fibre producers held spinning, weaving and knitting demos.
Volunteers were helped out on Saturday by some “keen and eager” members of the local 4-H club. A “long-time member” of 4-H herself, Arrowvale Campground owner Ann Collins says the 4-H club is a “fantastic experience” for kids.
“It teaches public speaking skills, and there are so many opportunities for workshops and classes,” she said.
A few dozen people attended the event throughout the day, including several campers from the farm’s campsites who came to check out the demonstration.
“We had a family from Germany who came to watch the shearing,” said Cathy Bagley, president of the Alberni Valley Fibre Guild.
This is the first time the guild has hosted such an event. A group of spinners gets together once a week at Arrowvale, and it was Collins who brought up the idea of hosting a Sheep to Shawl at one of these spinning sessions.
“It seemed like such a good fit, as an activity for the guild,” said Bagley. “It’s such a learning opportunity for this guild, because it’s something that we all have to do together.”
The event was a learning experience for Collins, as well. Although Arrowvale Campground has plenty of animals, they don’t have any sheep. The farm “borrowed” several sheep for the shearing demonstration on Saturday. But Collins has recently taken up knitting and crochet, which has also piqued her interest in acquiring some sheep for the farm.
“A Sheep to Shawl is an opportunity to bring people out to the farm,’” said Collins. “We find that more and more people are drawn to that farming lifestyle. This way, they can come camping and experience farm life without having to actually own a farm. They can own a little piece of land here for a few days.”
Collins says the turnout for the Sheep to Shawl event was “excellent” on Saturday.
“We had a lot of people come out here,” she said. “It’s really thanks to the Fibre Guild — we wouldn’t have been able to do it without them.”
