# Virtual Sheep to Shawl contest (my first time)



## fibrefarmer (Apr 24, 2018)

I FINALLY got to participate in a sheep to shawl contest. It's been 20 years of waiting for one to come to town, and this year I got fed up and helped plan one, but with a twist.

The goal of the contest is twofold. 
1. to take local wool and, in limited times and conditions, transform it into cloth via hand spinning and weaving. 
2. to promote local wool and fibre craft in the community.

The big problem is, these contests are done at huge events with thousands of people coming in and out. There are usually teams of 6 in tight quarters, working steadily for 5 hours to produce the finished shawl. With fluctuating guidelines, there was no way to do this.

So we went virtual. 

Each team had 30 hours total. The fleeces were randomly allocated, all from a local farm. We got together in a way that each team felt comfortable, but each team worked separately and made the shawls over several months. From there, we make the shawl, but on top of that, we need to produce some educational content that will share our love of yarn with the world. 

Here's our team






I hope you enjoy it as much as we enjoyed making it. This is the shorter video, there's a longer one on my channel if you want to learn more details of the different processes. Or you can ask here, I lurk in these forums most mornings while I have my coffee.


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## Danaus29 (Sep 12, 2005)

Very cool! Thanks for sharing this.

I think it's great that you planned and held your own contest.


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## sharkerbaby (Jan 15, 2016)

Love this! I watched both videos with rapt fascination. I have never seen the whole yarn journey from source to product in such a concise and interesting manner. Thanks for this.

Did any of the other teams do a video? I would love to see them if they did.


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## DW (May 10, 2002)

Love it!!!


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## rbelfield (Mar 30, 2015)

this was amazing to watch! very cool!


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## stars at night (Mar 12, 2021)

sharkerbaby said:


> Love this! I watched both videos with rapt fascination. I have never seen the whole yarn journey from source to product in such a concise and interesting manner. Thanks for this.
> 
> Did any of the other teams do a video? I would love to see them if they did.


so much fun!! I really miss the community of a group!


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## fibrefarmer (Apr 24, 2018)

sharkerbaby said:


> Love this! I watched both videos with rapt fascination. I have never seen the whole yarn journey from source to product in such a concise and interesting manner. Thanks for this.
> 
> Did any of the other teams do a video? I would love to see them if they did.


The submission deadline was yesterday. I know a couple of teams did a PDF with photos and story. But I'll know more in a few days what everyone else did. I'll post them here when I get them.

Never having done this before, we weren't sure how to make the storytelling part equal opportunity. It has to tell a story and hopefully inspire people to learn more about yarn. But we didn't want to exclude anyone for not having tech skills - so we made that part vague and we are going to see what others can create. 

I'm excited to see what they do.


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## fibrefarmer (Apr 24, 2018)

stars at night said:


> so much fun!! I really miss the community of a group!


I know what you mean.
Most of the yarn people in our guild are extroverts, but also in a high-risk group so they weren't comfortable getting together. There was a lot of phoning around last year and many zoom meetings. Too many for an introvert like myself. 

I like this idea tremendiously. Virtual yarn sports. 
I really got to know the members of my team better and learned a lot from them. But it felt good being a part of something bigger with all the other teams also working towards the same goal. 

Unlike the in-person events, I love that we have a digital record we can share for years to come. 

I can't wait to find out what we come up with for next year. Maybe not a contest as the judging and prizes part was a bit stressful. But something to build community while helping people stay in their comfort level. I know it's going to be a while before some guild members feel okay about gathering in large groups again. This kind of thing helps them stay connected while staying in their comfort zone.


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## altair (Jul 23, 2011)

More people should do this, this is lovely!


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## alida (Feb 8, 2015)

I really enjoyed watching the processes, and the fun everyone seemed to have. This also makes me miss my Monday evening crafting class, a lot.


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## fibrefarmer (Apr 24, 2018)

alida said:


> This also makes me miss my Monday evening crafting class, a lot.


Yeh, those gatherings are so important for keeping communities strong.
A lot of people in my guild have regular craft-a-longs on zoom every week. I think that's a nifty thing.


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