6¢ Wool Industry

The 6¢ American Wool Industry stamp (US #1423) was issued on January 19, 1971, in Las Vegas, NV. It was printed by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing with 11 perforations.  

Wool has been used in Europe since 10,000 BC and Cortez brought it to America in 1521. This stamp commemorates the 450th anniversary of that event. 

There are over 1000 sheep breeds in the world. Merino or Rambouillet make fine wool used in clothing because it is so soft. Romney or Blackface breeds make thicker wool and are used for interior decor, carpets, bedding, upholstery insulation, and protective clothing for firefighters and soldiers. 

In 1789, King Charles IV of Spain gifted 6 Merino sheep to the Dutch. Then these sheep ended up in South Africa and were sold to a British entrepreneur John Macarthur who took them to Australia. 80% of the Merino wool used in fashion today is produced in Australia. 1.2 billion sheep produce almost 2 million kilograms of raw wool for home and clothing. Other leading producers are Argentina, New Zealand, South Africa, the US and Uruguay. 

Wool can vary in color, texture, and length depending on the breed of the sheep, the country they come from, the food they eat, and even the weather they live in. 

The interesting feature of wool is its composition. It is made mainly of a protein called keratin which is also in human hair, nails, and other animal fibers. It gives elasticity, strength, and the ability to withstand bending and stretching over time. If you looked closely at the fiber under a microscope, you would see that the fibers have overlapping cuticle scales that look like shingles on a roof. These scales protect the inner layer of the fiber known as the cortex. In the cortex are the main keratin fibers bundles to form a helix.  Past the cortex is the medulla, the central part of some wool fibers that account for the crimp or waviness of the fibers. This crimp gives the fiber its insulating property by trapping air and enhancing warmth. 

The average diameter of wool fibers is measured in microns.  A micron is one-millionth of a meter or approximately 0.000039 inches. This is a standardized way to measure the thickness of fibers. This thickness determines the quality and characteristics of wool. Finer fibers (softer)  have smaller measurements and coarser fibers (rougher)  have larger ones. Fine wool is used in clothing because it is softer and touches the skin which means it will probably not be itchy. The coarser the wool (with the higher micron count) is more suitable for fabric that needs to be durable like rugs, blankets, upholstery, and coats. Micron counts can differ from wool taken from different parts of the sheep. Wool from the neck and legs are usually coarser than the back.  

Many of my friends know that I’m a passionate knitter and my favorite fiber is wool. There are Fiber festivals all around the United States throughout the year but my favorite is the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival which usually takes place over a weekend after Mother’s Day. The festival features Sheep Shows to rate various breeds of sheep, and herding dog demonstrations. hundreds of fiber vendors, a fleece (fiber from different sheep)  auction, and even a Sheep to Shawl competition. During the Sheep to Shawl competition, registered teams of 6 people have to shear a sheep, comb the fiber, and then spin it on spinning wheels. The spun fiber is then used on a weaving loom to create a shawl. The finished shawls are auctioned off at the end to raise money for charity. Thousands of people attend this event each year.

Spring Time

I love spring! I love seeing the flowers bloom. It is a sign of rebirth and new growth. Spring makes me feel happy and excited about life. 

Unfortunately, it is also a time for pollen which means itchy eyes, sniffling, sneezing, and sounding hoarse. 

I thought I’d share with you some pictures of flowers from my yard. 

Sock Madness 18 Rounds 1 and 2

I just finished my socks for Round 2 and submitted them. Now I’m just waiting to see if it was approved.

I love a good challenge and my friend, Patte, says I’m product-oriented. So, I like getting something finished even if I dislike the process of getting there.

I’ve learned a lot of new skills and techniques so I’m happy I gave it a try. It is a free challenge so I had nothing to lose. I made 3 pairs of socks over 24 days which really surprised me. Of course, I didn’t do anything else that needed to be done. After I finished each pair of socks, I had some free days before the next round so I tried to catch up on some things.

Now, I think I’m over the challenge and will step back if my socks are accepted. There may have been some mistakes and I just don’t have it in me to knit another pair of them and hope I don’t make another mistake. If I do move to the next round, I’m not sure I want to spend the time making another pair of socks that doesn’t fit anyone I know. The required size is turning out to be so huge. I’m ready to knit something fo myself that I can wear.

Here are socks from Round 1 and Round 2:

Postcard Show

Yesterday we went to the Postcard Show hosted by the Tropical Postcard Club. We got there around 10 am when it started and stayed until 1 pm. It ended at 4 pm but we had to get on the road before then. It was so nice to see our postcard friends. I thought there was a good turn out and I was glad to see a couple of our stamp club friends come to the show. 

Don found lots of treasures that he couldn’t live without. I surprised him and bought 4 boxes of postcards from another friend for his birthday. Of course, our car is packed to the gills as we make our way back to our summer home and I felt like I needed a shoe horn to fit anything else in the car! We will miss our postcard friends but we will be back in 6 months for the winter. 

Sock Madness 18 Qualifying Round

I’ve decided to try a new adventure and I signed up for Sock Madness this year. It is a Ravelry challenge that involves knitting socks. You have to pass the qualifying round to get assigned to a team and then compete. I think each round gets more difficult and the deadline gets shorter.

Qualifying Round: You are sent an email with a specific pattern. You have to knit it exactly as written with specific minimum requirements. After you finish, you have to take specific photos and upload it to your project page. Then you email the judges with a link to your project page. If it is before the deadline, they let you know if you see any mistakes or if you are approved to move to the next round.

So, I knit the Hydra Scales socks which was completely out of my comfort zone. These socks are knit cuff down and I usually knit toe up. These socks called for 64 stitches and I usually knit mine on 52. These socks had a heel construction that I’d never done before. I have to Kitchener stitch the toes which I hate doing. Plus it included stripes and cables.

My first submission: I had cables on one sock going in the wrong direction but was told it was easily fixable by using a duplicate stitch. I wasn’t sure if I should fix it but I did.

My second submission: I did some overthinking and thought all the cables were going the wrong way so I duplicate-stitched all of the cables. They let me know that now I had multiple cables going in the wrong direction and they saw that one sock had a leg that was too long (too many repeats) and the foot was too short (not enough repeats) and that I would need to reknit that sock. I almost gave up but I was many days ahead of the deadline and what would I do with these wonky socks so I fixed it. 

My third submission: I reknit the second sock. They approved it and I moved on to Round 1.

I am proud of myself for finishing the qualifying round. Now I’m working on Round 1. I’ll let you know how it goes.

Things I’m Learning:

• New knitting techniques.
• I’m faster than I thought I was.
• I’m better at Kitchener Stitch than I used to be.
• Knitting one sock at a time isn’t that bad.