HARRISBURG — A local group once again took first place at one of the most popular contests of the Pennsylvania Farm Show. The 38th annual Sheep to Shawl competition winner was Montour County’s Time Warp. Later, their colorful shawl was auctioned off for a near record $2,650.
WKOK’s Mark Lawrence spoke with team Time Warp’s captain Katherine Dashner about the intricate task, “So, you’re not just weaving a simple blanket here?” “Heck no!” she said. “Seven times champ right?” he asked. “Six times in the last seven years. So, we don’t want to jinx it. We’re going to do our best and the rest is in the judge’s hands.”
Each six-member team must shear a sheep and craft a shawl out of the wool and yarn in two and half hours. Dashner explains her team’s process, “Carl comes out and shears the sheep. The fleece is then looked at, judged, and comes back into our hands. We start carding. As soon as there is enough carded, we can start spinning. As soon as there is enough spun, Libby starts weaving and then it just goes.”
Dashner says each team’s shawls have their own special theme, “We have barley, hops, and handspun theme. The theme is based on the colors of the beer that microbreweries in Pennsylvania are producing.” (Alex Reichenbach)
