I was pleasantly surprised to be asked to participate in the Wisconsin State Fair Hall of Breeds this year. I thought that the chance to share the FFSSA display kit, and some of my projects would be a great way to expose the public to Shetland sheep. I was not prepared for the vast numbers of people that filed through the sheep barn, and was a bit overwhelmed by the interest that my little sheep generated while we were there. It was 4 days of fun doing what I love.....talking about Shetland sheep.
The most popular comment that my husband and I heard time and again was, "Oh my gosh, they are sooooo cute". The most popular question was, "Are these babies or is that their full grown size?" (I brought 2 growthy yearling ewes and 2 Apil lambs) The one comment that got the whole crowd smiling and giggling was, "Oh look, she's wagging her tail". Now I know that none of this has anything to do with their fleece, but I wasn't there to push fleece, I was there to get Shetland sheep in front of the public and they LOVED it.
I did manage to have a table of roving, yarn, and some knitted, woven and felted items, and there were a lot of comments about how soft and nice they were, the favorite item being Sabrina's little felted mouse, Eek, with the little Brahma hen and her nest being a close second in terms of popularity. I did a little spinning, which fascinated the children and brought back some fond memories for some of the adults.
Most of the parents took such pleasure in showing the kids the sheep, explaining that we sheared off their wool, then washed it, and made this (the would show them the roving) then they spin it on this, (pointing to a spinning wheel) and then the wool is made into yarn, and they would point out the yarn and then you can knit, weave or crochet one of these (they would point to the finished products). By having all that stuff right there in one place, I provided an opportunity for parents and children to make the connection between the animal and the end result and that was so unexpected, but very rewarding.
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| Kids.......I love them and so does Alabama. See the lady in the bottom left of this picture? She's explaining to this little boy that the wool is used to make things. She lost him about 2 minutes into the explanation, but she was so happy to have the chance to teach him about sheep and what can be done with their wool. It made me smile. |
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| This little older lady was so taken with Alabama and she was the perfect ambassador for the breed all 4 days. Each person got a lesson on why it's so important to clean and sanitize your hands after touching each sheep. (they had no idea) The Fair had hand sanitizer everywhere. |
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| Display table and "feelers" (people that feels things) big grin |
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| More crowd shots |
