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From Sheep to Shawl

Weaving competition on Saturday at Surrey Museum
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You’ve heard of extreme sports. How about extreme textiles?

On Saturday, May 21, the Surrey Museum hosts its annual Sheep to Shawl competition, where three teams from Lower Mainland spinning and weaving groups who will card, spin, ply and weave a shawl in just four hours.

The competition goes from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Judging of the shawls will occur between 3:30 and 4 p.m.

Admission and entry to exhibit galleries is by donation.

The Sheep to Shawl or Sheep to Coat contest has occurred throughout sheep-producing countries around the world for hundreds of years.

“It’s a wonderful way to showcase the expertise of local weavers and spinners and give the public a rare opportunity to watch this unique process in action,” says Linda Montague, textile programmer at the Surrey Museum. “Many people in our modern society haven’t any idea how fabric is made. This process goes back thousands of years.”

In addition to watching the spinning, weaving and sheep shearing, there will also be sheep crafts for kids and an opportunity for families to visit the Textile Studio and Hooser Textile Library.

Visitors of all ages can try their hand on the Museum’s spinning wheels and looms with tips from the museum’s experienced textile volunteers.

The Surrey Museum is located at 17710 56A Ave.

For more information, call 604-592-6956 or visit www.heritage.surrey.ca