Conner Prairie’s annual Sheep to Blanket is happening April 20-22. During the weekend, guests to the museum will have a chance to experience first-hand the complete process that takes wool from the sheep to a blanket.
“To me, the importance is that we are connecting an everyday product to its source, in this case wool blankets to sheep,” said Dale Tomasi, Conner Prairie’s Manager of Agriculture, Gardens and Foodways. “On a given day, staff can talk about sheep, even point to them in the field, but this is the only program where we make all the connections from shearing, to washing, carding and spinning.”
The process starts with sheep shearing. Sheep need to be sheared in the spring. Since they do not shed their wool, the shearing is for their comfort and health. Dale Culp, who has sheared Conner Prairie’s sheep for over 20 years, will demonstrate shearing the sheep safely.
“The sheep shearing is payday for the shepherd's year’s work,” said Kevyn Miller, Conner Prairie’s Livestock Manager. “It takes a full year for the sheep to grow the fleece and every day of that year is important to the quality of the fleece. If the sheep get into cockleburs, the fleece is ruined. If the sheep get sick, the fleece has a weak spot in it and is ruined. So you see that every day is important to producing a high quality fleece.”
Culp and Tiger, his Border Collie, will also lead demonstrations in sheep herding.
“The Border Collie demonstration is usually popular,” said Miller. “This wonderful breed of dog has been bred to drive sheep for centuries. In Scotland the newspapers report on sheep dog trials, what you would call herding contests, much as we report on basketball in Indiana. The contests involve gathering in from a field, driving into a small pen, and sorting sheep. Our weekend will give just a small taste of what dog trials are like.”
Conner Prairie’s textile staff will show what happens with the wool after it is sheared. Guests can try their hand at carding, or cleaning, the wool and felting it to make it warmer. Guests can also attempt during demonstrations in spinning, weave and dyeing of the wool.
“My favorite part is that our textiles department gets to really show off their talents and become the focus for a day,” said Tomasi. “If you look at the history of Conner Prairie, a lot of our early programming was built around textiles. While all our programming focuses on the guest experience, I think this program helps our textiles department celebrate their history and contributions to Conner Prairie.”
Sheep to Blanket is free with Conner Prairie admission of $11/adults, $10/seniors and $7/youth and free for Conner Prairie members.
Animals Up Close – All about Sheep!
During Sheep to Blanket, Conner Prairie’s Animals Up Close will feature sheep. This daily activity, happening at 12:30 pm in the Conner Barn, focuses on some of Conner Prairie’s different animals. Guests can meet the animals up-close, including the museum’s rare and historic breeds.
“We will be able to discuss the life cycle of sheep that gets them to the time of shearing,” said Kevyn Miller, Conner Prairie’s Livestock Manager. “There will be handling of lambs, ewes, fleeces and, if he’s in a good mood, even the ram! The lambs are cute and cuddly, and are much safer to handle than many other species”
Throughout the day, guests can visit the Conner Barn to interact with the animals. The barn features a variety of baby animals, including lambs, chicks, calves and goats. Guests can watch chicks hatch from their egg, milk a goat and pet the lambs.
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