Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island

If you purchase through a link marked *, we will receive a commission.
Colorful underwater world of felt

 Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island from the Belfast Mini Mills

Did you know that the undercoat of musk oxen provides the finest fibers from which wool can be spun? Quiviut is the name of the product, and we met the wonderfully soft wool made from it on our trip through Prince Edward Island in August at Belfast Mini Mills. The small spinning mill in the eastern part of Prince Edward Island also spins wool from sheep, but also from such exotic animals as alpaca, llama, camel, yak, mountain goats, angora goats or hares, buffaloes, huskies, samoyeds, golden retriever dogs and other breeds even Persian cats. Their spinning machines are so fine that they even process plant fibers from bamboo, hemp, flax, silk and synthetic fibers. Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island are made in this small spinning mill.

 

Belfast Mini Mills
Wool and Felt from Prince Edward Island - Belfast Mini Mills

 

Wool is spun in Belfast

The tiny town of Belfast and the farm it owns are a little off the Transcanada Highway, just a few miles inland from the line that connects Charlottetown to Woods Island Ferry. This makes it perfect for a short trip on the trip through Prince Edward Island and can be well planned into a tour of the island.

 

Colorful underwater world of felt
Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island - Colorful underwater world of felt

 

Unexpected visit

We make this little detour to the farm where Belfast Mini Mills is located. We actually signed up, but nobody seems to be expecting us. And so we wander a little aimlessly across the farm. In an enclosure on the edge of the forest we see sheep and other animals running around. “Aha, the wool suppliers,” I think. And then all of a sudden we see a woman in work clothes dragging feed for the animals in heavy buckets across the yard.

We introduce ourselves and she claps her hands over her head. "Oh, good heavens, nobody told me you were coming." A small, white and fluffy dog ​​scurries around my legs, which he sniffs attentively. We explain to the woman who still doesn't quite know what to do with us, who we are and why we are here. She finally calms down and says: "Usually my sister does this, but she is still asleep. Then I'll take you through our spinning mill, even though I'm not as familiar with it as my sister. The spinning is her job on our farm. "

 

Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island - felt gull
Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island - felt gull

 

Colorful wool from musk ox and other animals

She leads us into one of the farm buildings, in which there are various rooms. In one of them there are piles of fleece waiting to be processed. Our guide switches on one of the machines and we are already watching as finely combed strands emerge from a dense tuft of animal hair. Another machine turns these strands around itself, and the result is wonderfully soft woolen threads.

The material that is currently being processed is expensive quiviut that is delivered from the far north of Canada. Unlike sheep and other wool suppliers, musk oxen cannot be sheared. Their undercoat is collected once a year - in places where they scrub their fur or by combed out their fur. Unlike sheep wool, musk ox wool does not shrink when washed at hot temperatures. In any case, it feels wonderfully soft and delicate under the fingers.

 

Dyed wool
Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island - dyed wool

 

Who would like to process this themselves?

On shelves are long strands of finished wool in a variety of shades. from red to orange to yellow, from blue to turquoise to green everything is there. One of the threads is clamped in another machine, which winds the thread on coils in complex patterns, as we finally see them in the sales room in the exhibition shelves. And we see caps, thick gloves with colorful patterns, which were knitted from it.

 

Warm hats, gloves and scarves of self-spun wool
Wool and Felt from Prince Edward Island - Warm hats, gloves and scarves made from self-spun wool

 

Sheila shows us her kingdom

In the meantime the door to the sales room opens and the twin sister of our guide comes in, who breathes a sigh of relief and introduces us: “This is Sheila. She can certainly explain more to you than I can. ”Although I think she did an excellent job and, as a layperson, gave me a good insight into how wool is made. I still have one question for Sheila, because there are beautiful felt pictures on the walls. I ask them where these come from and how to make them.

A felt course on Prince Edward Island

She laughs and says: “The next time you come, bring some time for a felting class. These are works that were created during our workshops. Then I can show you how they are made. ”Perhaps you would like to deal with the production of felt pictures while on vacation? This is definitely a good opportunity to take a deeper look behind the scenes of your travel destination. In any case, our visit to the Belfast Mini Mills wool farm on Prince Edward Island was great fun. Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island are nice souvenirs.


 

Do you already know:

Source: On-site research. We thank Prince Edward Island Tourism for inviting us on this trip.

Text: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline
Photos: © Copyright Monika Fuchs, TravelWorldOnline

Wool and felt from Prince Edward Island

Monika Fuchs

Monika Fuchs and Petar Fuchs are the authors and publishers of the Slow Travel and Enjoyment travel blog TravelWorldOnline Traveller. You have been publishing this blog since 2005. TravelWorldOnline has been online since 2001. Your topics are Trips to Savor and wine tourism worldwide and Slow Travel. During her studies, Monika Fuchs spent some time in North America, where she traveled to the USA and Canada - sometimes together with Petar Fuchs - and spent a research year in British Columbia. This strengthened her thirst for knowledge, which she pursued for 6 years Adventure Guide for Rotel Tours and then for 11 years as Study tour guide for Studiosus Reisen tried to breastfeed all over the world. She constantly expanded her travel regions, but curiosity still gnawed at her: “What is beyond the horizon? What else is there to discover in this city? Which people are interesting here? What do you eat in this region?” These are the questions she is now trying to answer as a freelance travel journalist (her articles have appeared in DIE ZEIT, 360° Canada, 360° USA, etc.), among others. travel writer and travel blogger answers in many countries around the world. Petar Fuchs produces the videos on this blog as well as on YouTube. Monika Fuchs from TravelWorldOnline is below Germany's top 50 bloggers in 2021 Other Information about Monika and Petar Fuchs. Recommendations on LinkedIn from tourism experts Further recommendations from cooperation partners and tourism experts Professional experience Monika on LinkedIn