Modern Woolgathering
Woolgathering was the old fashioned version of walking through a yarn shop. But, instead of rushing through their knitting, shepherds gathered wool slowly and soulfully with a knitting mindset we can learn from today.
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Woolgathering was the old fashioned version of walking through a yarn shop.
Farmers would wander their fields for hours, gathering tufts of wool at a time in order to spin and turn into woolly yarn.
This practice took hours and had little to no monetary gain. All in the name of collecting wool and making every bit count.
It didn’t take long for the word’s meaning to turn negative, meaning a foolish waste of time. But instead of imagining a lazy farmer who could be getting so much more done, I can’t help but respect those woolgatherers.
What is woolgathering?
In the mid 1500’s, woolgathering was a passive hobby. The heart and soul of woolgathering was to slowly wander up and down old fence rows that kept their sheep and gather tufts of wool. I can imagine a shepherd whistling a calm but happy tune while walking his fences, children following as they pick wildflowers along the way.
Within one hundred years, woolgathering developed another meaning: daydreaming. Over time, to say someone is woolgathering, it was seen as derogatory. He was foolish, purposeless, and had a wandering mind.
In today’s world, woolgathering isn’t a word you even see or hear used. But, according to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary, it means an indulgence in idle daydreaming.
With the internet and rise of social media, I’m not surprised at how many of my knitting friends monetize or have been pushed to monetize their craft. And so many of us feel the pressure to knit faster, knit for everyone, and develop better systems and tools to do so, don’t we?
How to be a woolgatherer
Obviously, most of us don’t have sheep. We work daytime jobs and have birthday parties and don’t tend to walk fence rows looking for wool. Oh, but let’s dream!
So how can modern knitters and crocheters incorporate woolgathering into our crafts and lives?
Drive the countryside
Say no to another neighbor’s party and take a Saturday morning road trip instead. One of our favorite things to do as a family is drive out to see fields and hills of sheep and then get ice cream. No, I’m not collecting wool (although if I pass by enough times I might just need to make an offer!) but I’m watching, observing, and for a moment, living amongst the sheep. Pull over and open your windows for the full senses experience.
Visit a farm
If you want to get up close to sheep, find a local farm that lets visitors in. While it’s not quite the same as wandering dirt roads looking for where sheep could be in their own land, it’s a great next step. The plus of this is being able to actually pet them! Enjoy and imagine the whole process from pure wool to yarn.
Slow down your own knitting
Remember the part about woolgathering taking hours and sometimes farmers coming up empty handed? Taking that perspective and patience myself has helped heal the wounds of frogging my knitting once it’s already halfway done, or reworking a whole pattern. Slow and meaningful progress and knitting for the joy of it is better than rushing through for deadlines or algorithms.
>>Check out my slow knitting playlist here.
Woolgather your yarn collection
You don’t have to find yarn tuft by tuft, but practice slowing down your yarn purchases. Slowly and soulfully gather (not hoard) bits of yarn as you’ll use them.
>>Read about spring cleaning your yarn here.
Pin It For Later:
I hope this helps explain the act of woolgathering and how we can take bits of it in today’s fiber world.
Happy knitting!
