Wool days

On Memorial Day Weekend, May 23-25, at Old Sturbridge Village in Sturbridge, Mass., celebrates “Wool Days.” Farmers will shear the sheep, and OSV historians in costume will demonstrate the wool textile process, from scouring and carding the wool to spinning, knitting and weaving the handspun wool yarn into blanket. Visitors can try hand carding the wool, and then see how the Village’s historic water-powered carding mill does the same job much faster.
When sheared, the OSV sheep each produce about five pounds of wool. They are a heritage breed descended from sheep brought by Spaniards to the U.S. Gulf coast in the 1500s and closely resemble the 19th century sheep breed commonly found on New England farms in the 1830s.
For information, call (800) SEE-1830 or see osv.org.