Woollapalooza - Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, the booth promoting how awesome wool is and the spinners were nice as well, but not the best part of the Woollapalooza that I happened upon Saturday.

Once I decided I need to pry myself away from the spinners due to the fear I might pick up a new addition, I was quickly drawn to a crowd sitting on some bleachers right by where the sheep are kept. "What was going on?" I thought to myself. That's when I saw this . . .






Did I mention I had died and gone to wool heaven???

Yes my friends, that is wool from a sheep that had been sheared just moments prior. After that demonstration they pulled out a lamb to get a hair cut as well.




This however didn't leave as impressive of a coat . . .



After the demonstration, I asked the the shearer, whose name is Harold Davis, a few questions. Well, I just intended for it to be a few questions. About an hour late we were still talking. I learned a lot about shearing sheep and the industry - amongst other things - from that conversation. Harold asked me if I had seen the full-grown sheep or just the lamb being sheared. "Just the lamb," I told him. Given my interest level he recommended I come back for the next demo. Trust me, there was NO way I was going to miss it.

(Please note: This is ammature video taken with an iPod. I am all too aware of the "specialness" of this video.)





From my earlier conversation, Harold had mentioned some important things to remember when handling a sheep. Stay relaxed with them. However, as you can see from this video, some have attitudes and when that happens you have to act accordingly. 

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to post the original footage which had a lot of good information about the progression of sheep shearing tools over the years, etc. (I will be posting this on my Facebook profile so if you are a FB friend keep an eye out for it!)

Here are some of the interesting facts I learned that day that I had to cut out of the original footage and from my earlier conversation:

• It takes 4 lbs. of wool to make an adult suit

• Sheep only have to get sheered once a year

• Amongst the processes the wool goes through post shearing, lanolin is extracted for use in various beauty products used day-in and day-out.

• Very little money is made off of a sheep's wool. Apparently, unlike many years ago, a sheep is more profitable being sold for slaughter and the sale of wool is a secondary revenue generator.

• A shearer usually gets $4/head.

• There is a wool mill in Illinois that is one of the largest mills throughout the country despite the fact that Illinois is not home to a large number of sheep


Aside from the many pictures and video I took, I was also given some wool to take home with me for show and tell . . .




And, this is what was left over the demo . . .



Since I could pretty much go on and on with pictures from the demo I think it is best I stop posting pictures.

It truly was an interesting and education experience - oh, and pretty damn cool! I'm glad that fate put me in the right place to see it.

Until later . . .