Finishing date: December 2023. Photographed by Natalia Salazar in December 2023.
My Oslo Mikrospinneri Perleull jumper. With the ukulele as a throwback prop, of course (although the cold made it hard to keep it tuned). I love the yarn, for the shades they make it in, but also: it’s spun from a mix of villsau wool and mulberry silk.
Villsau is a traditional western Norwegian breed that is very self-sufficient, it can handle very rough and remote terrain and herds of them have historically spent the summers grazing on western Norwegian islands and mountain plateaus. If used for that type of extensive, low intensity grazing, the sheep are an integral part of a very resilient cultural landscape high in both biodiversity, carbon storage and many other important ecosystem functions.
The villsau wool is very warm, but a bit rough and its fibers are comparatively short. The short fibers makes it hard to work with in the machines that are used for spinning and weaving today, which is why it is hard for farmers to sell the wool. It’s an incredible resource that doesn’t get used due to conditions in textile mass industry.
Which is why I JUST HAD TO buy and make this jumper when I came across the villsau wool in Norwegian Spirit, my favorite yarn store in Bergen. I love that there are entrepreneurs like Oslo Mikrospinneri willing to experiment with techniques and materials to make sure that the incredible resources from Norwegian cultural landscapes are used sustainably and without waste. It’s innovation with tradition. And the jumper is SO warm, SO cozy. I love it.
Below: Jostein’s very friendly villsau sheep out on the island of Fedje.
Katja Malmborg 