WWW: Alternatives to Superwash (and why); Vikings and Wool; Lamb-Cam

I would love this article for its punny subhead, regardless of the content, but it is actually a fascinating read.

“No Wool, No Vikings – The Fleece That Launched a Thousand Ships“ – on the importance of wool to the Viking culture.

Following up on a discussion I had on Twitter a couple of weeks ago, a terrific post outlining alternatives to superwash wool. (There are several reasons you might wish to avoid superwash wool: environmental, or to do with the fabric. Superwash wools tend to be stretchy, and in larger, seamless pieces, they are inclined to grow more than you might expect, and even lose their bounce-back.)

Speaking of sheep, St Fagans Natural History Museum in Wales is launching a “lamb-cam” on March 1st, which will provide a live stream of their rare-breed ewes through the lambing season. Be prepared for wonderfulness. There’s also a blog that will provide updates, and a Baa Chart, which will track births.

Image copyright Ian Lawson, from the BBC website.

Eye-candy of the highest order: a photo essay on the production of Harris Tweed fabrics.

The photographs are a small selection of those taken by Ian Lawson, who worked with the Harris Tweed authority over ten years to capture these images. They will be on display at two galleries in the U.K. this year, one in Penrith, one in Stornoway.

Happy owl.

We’ve written before about the initiatives to created hand-knitted (or crocheted) nests for orphaned baby birds, but I was utterly captivated by the photographs in this story of a Canadian knitter who got involved while recovering from an injury. and it’s not just birds that are benefitting…. squirrels and hedgehogs like them too!