On May 3, NJF will be fielding a sheep-to-shawl team at the MD Sheep & Wool Festival competition! What’s a Sheep-to-Shawl competition, you ask? Teams, consisting of a sheep, shearer, fiber prepper, 3 spinners, and 1 weaver, compete to produce a finished shawl from sheep…to shawl. All in 3 hours. You can read more about the MDSW competition here.
The team’s 2026 theme is Jersey Fresh, to honor our state’s fiber growers and local textile artisans. The team will be dressed as farm market vendors, offering farm-fresh fiber.
We were inspired by our Harvest Project, a new initiative offering fiber artists a communal garden space to connect with the land, to experience their craft from seed to textile. The Harvest Project engages with local makers to nurture a diverse and equitable community of fiber crafters. Participants come together to share knowledge and to cultivate gardens of natural dye plants and plant fibers such as flax, ramie, and cotton.
Our Sheep-to-Shawl team comprises members of Fibershed affiliates from Rhode Island to Georgia, united by our common passion for local and sustainable textile arts. The team captain is Jessie Vallee-Vasquez is a spinner, along with NJ fiber artist Kae Gregis and MD fiber artist Abby Bland. Our weaver is Clara Boberg from RI. Clara is a textile artist and works with the Southern New England Fibershed. Keisha Cameron of High Hog Farm, is traveling all the way from Georgia to be the fiber prepper. Keisha, a farmer and artist, dyed the warp for the competition. Our handspun warp was dyed using plants that she grew on her farm.
Our shawl incorporates warp handspun from fine Shetland sheep from Hardscrabble Farm in NJ. For the weft, our competition sheep is Frisby, a moorit Shetland from Half Channer Farm in Mount Airy, MD. We selected Shetland wool for both warp and weft for its natural color, fine hand, and fiber integrity for long-lasting wear. Abby visited with shepherd Erin Griffiths to meet her flock and to choose our competition sheep. She selected Frisby for her good temperment and dense fleece fleece with nice loft and open staple. The open staple means that veg matter will fall out easily, which should mean less time carding.
Leading up to the competition, the team spent weekends practicing. Even for experienced spinners and weavers, the time constraints of a competition requires a lot of coordination!
The team’s final practice was enlivened by Abby’s 3-week old bottle baby goat.
The Jersey Fresh shawl design represents our interplanted network of growing fields–of fiber animals, dye plants, friendships, and a shared vision. Because the weaver bears the most pressure during the competition, we prioritized a draft where the design came through in the warp, rather than complicated treadling. The twill melange draft we chose for the competition is from Daryl Lancaster, who is a Community Supporter of NJ Fibershed. The The weaving draft was worked over and fine-tuned to offer a design that is complex and harmonious; a tribute to the farming life.
If you’ll be at MDSW this weekend, we hope you’ll come cheer on the team on Sunday! The competition is in a new location for this year: in the big auction tent closer to the entrance.
