A number of smaller artisanal wool producers are springing up all over Canada, particularly in western Canada, where grazing lands were traditionally the domain of beef and dairy cattle.
Colourful and tempting yarns from brands like Noro, Debbie Bliss or Scheepjeswol are available in Canada, and create beautiful products that are fun to knit with, give even the average knitter great results, and can create stunning garments. However, these yarns have travelled a long way, contributing as they go to greenhouse gases just with the distances they have travelled. For Canadian knitters who want to use more natural fibres, and be more ecologically friendly, there’s no need to look farther than their own backyards!
Sheeples Yarns Makes Happy People
One such operation is Sheeples Fine Fibres in the Manitoba Interlake region. Run by Kim and Joe Strekker, the company's small flock produces some of the finest wools ever seen. Kim lovingly tends her flock, expanding it yearly through judicious breeding with her rams. The lambs are kept separate until grown enough to manage being in the larger flock, which is protected by their guard llama and sheepherding dog.
A trip to the Strekker’s farm, just north of Inwood, is a treat – seeing the lambs, visiting the flock, and touring the production facility. Kim and Joe shear all their own sheep, then wash, card, pin-draft and spin all their own yarns. They are able to dye the yarns any colour you wish in their own facility. They also will create custom blends using their wools, and shearings from other animals (such as alpacas) on customer request.
Kim prefers, where possible, to keep the yarns from each of her sheep separate in their own small batches. This maintains a colour and texture consistency in the natural yarns. Knitting with the Sheeples product is a dream, and the finished products are phenomenal. Margaret Dean of Mount Wilson, NSW Australia, recently received a baby blanket for her grandson made from ‘Frankie and Johnny’s roving. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it in Australian wool – it is so amazingly soft, like a cloud. My grandson just loves it, and it’s keeping him toasty warm.”
Cold Winters Create a Finer Wool
The extreme cold of the Manitoba winters is no detriment to the product either – quite the opposite in fact. Kim is happy to demonstrate, offering a feel of some wool sheared when the flock was located in Southern Ontario, compared to the feel of the wool sheared after a couple of seasons in a Manitoba winter. “The cold makes them grow a softer, fluffier fibre, where in Ontario it was coarser. It makes for a superior yarn.” One touch and you’d agree.
Kim and Joe market their product direct from the farm, and through local craft shows and demonstrations. You may check their website for future events, or contact them via email about product availability.
Custom Woolen Mills: A Working Wool-processing Museum
In addition to Sheeples, other Canadian wool producers are on the market as well, such as Custom Woolen Mills, in Carstairs, Alberta. Dubbed as a ‘working museum’, the mill uses machinery dating as far back as 1886 to produce woolen and exotic fibres; carded wools, rovings, spinning rolls, batts, wool yarns, knitting kits, socks, comforters, mattress pads and hand-woven blankets. Customers are welcome to come check out their shop and facility, taking self-guided tours. If you are unable to make the trip, online shopping is available through their website, with a variety of yarns, knitting kits, and finished products to choose from.
Birkelands Batts and Balls Bring Wool to Life
A long-time favourite with the knitting crowd in British Columbia is Birkeland Bros. Wool in Vancouver. In 1939, the Birkeland Brothers Olaf and Mike arrived in Vancouver with their first carding machine, setting up shop at 3573 Main Street in Vancouver. The firm is still going strong 71 years later, thanks to the hard work of three generations of Birkelands. The Birkelands not only provide finished wools and yarns for projects, but also Ashford machines and products for the home-spinner and weaver. The colours of the dyes are amazingly vibrant, firing the imagination. The possibility for weaving and felting projects, as well as knitting, are infinite.
So, next time you’re looking for something new and different to add to your yarn stash, we encourage you to look closer to home – you will be pleasantly surprised by the quality and beauty of our own Canadian wools.
Jacqueline Cassel-Vernon - Resident of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, and a born prairie girl at heart. World traveler, having explored parts of Europe, Australia, ...
