Adventuring with Sheep

I’ve recently read two wonderful books about sheep, one written by a shepherd and one written by a spinner and knitter. Do you need a book to inspire you as spring is springing? To get you ready for the first fleece fairs? Both of these books are great company.

Debbie Zawinski had an idea to walk the highways and byways of Scotland collecting fleece from native breeds of sheep to spin into yarn and then knit into socks. Now anyone that isn’t a spinner, knitter or avid walker might think this is crazy, but those who are will think this sounds like bliss.

The book is divided into 10 breeds of sheep and each chapter tells the story of Debbie traveling to the part of Scotland where the sheep can be found, finding the sheep with the help of people she encounters, gathering a bit of fleece and spinning it. Sounds straight forward, but as anyone that travels knows, it never is.

The stories and photographs of her travels are mesmerizing. I’ve gone back and looked at the photos many times since I’ve finished reading the book. I’ve never been to Scotland and now want to go more than ever. She doesn’t gloss over her frustrations or the crappy weather in her stories, but that makes the whole book more enjoyable.

My favorite bits are the connections she forges with the people who help her find her sheep, ferrying her to islands, directing her down lanes or across fields and applying the much appreciated tea and cake while talking sheep.

It’s interesting that Debbie spins her yarn on a stick. There are no discussion of wheels or types of spindles. She uses a spinning stick and makes wonderful yarn as she walks.

The 10 sheep she visits and spins are: Shetland, Scottish Blackface, Hebridean, Boreray, Soay, North Country Cheviots, North Ronaldsay, Castlemilk Moorits, Bowmont and Cheviots. She closes each chapter with a sock pattern designed and knit out of each breed and inspired by her trek. There is an eleventh pair of socks knit with a bit of each breed.

She writes as someone who knows the joy of solitude, picking out and relishing the details of weather and landscape. This book is exactly the sheepy type of adventure I’d like to experience.

The Shepherd’s Life: Modern Dispatches From an Ancient Landscape By James Rebanks

James Rebanks is a Lake District shepherd. It’s not exactly the pastoral Lake District of painting and poem, the beauty is there, but this Lake District is also the one that has housed shepherding families for hundreds of years. It’s not an easy or lucrative life, but a life rooted in family, place and hard work.

Like his father and grandfather before him, James raises Herdwick sheep. He writes thoroughly, dissecting the seasonal work of raising sheep, the good, the bad and the bloody.

He writes in a style that is more liked linked essays than chapters, glimpses of landscape and seasons of life on the farm. He also tells his own history, that of his family and his corner of the world.

He knew from a young age that he wanted to follow his father and his grandfather and stay to work the family land. He did go on later to get a degree from Oxford while continuing to work on the farm between semesters. He writes about his life with awe and humor, about how his work and countryside are connected to a bigger world and to shepherds all over.

The book is filled with joy and love and a strength and wisdom pulled from land, sheep and family.

Both of these books have a lot in common with the spinners and fiber artists I know. They have sheep at their center.  They are infused with passion, dedication and a connection to all of the people who work with fiber going back and forward in time. They are both excellent reads.