Royal Cornwall Show

We took a school trip to the Royal Cornwall Show on 10th June. Sophie came with us and we decided to spend time looking at the animals. Sophie has an interest in wool and knitting so this is where we decided to start.

Llamas were first and this chap seemed to like having his picture taken!

There were examples of the Llama wool which had been spun into knitting wool and then woven into cloth, see the picture above.
Sophie was fascinated by the Alpacas, especially the ones which had been sheared. I did not realise just how long and thin their necks were! Sophie watches a daft programme on Ceebbies called Nibble and Scratch about two Alpacas and she loved the fact that she was seeing the real thing. These two above were leaning slightly and in unison and stayed there for ages.

Again, there was examples of their wool having been spun and knitted into garments. and it was amazing just how soft the wool is. Very expensive too.

We then went to have a look at the different breeds of sheep.

Did not get a chance to write down the breads of the sheep but I really liked the hair style going on here!

The fleece on this sheep was sooooo thick he must have been really hot as it was quite a muggy day.

There were a couple of spinning wheels which Sophie had never seen before and would have liked to have seen it working, but it was only for sale, pity.

A table top loom was being used and I explained to Sophie what was happening. During half term we had visited a place in Devon called Coldharbour Mill where we looked at how fleece is taken from sheep to fabric. I shall post more about that another time.

The yarn was gradually growing and weaving the yarn into this piece of cloth looked fun. Could have watched all day but time was ticking.

There were bags and bags of raw fleece straight from the sheep which local weavers and spinners could purchase if they wanted to. Sophie was really surprised to see this and asked lots of questions. I think that day was really very educational for her.

Tomorrow I shall talk about the flower tent.

xx