Nan raises 1200 superfine “Saxon” merinos just south of Oatlands, in the middle of Tasmania, and the wool that her sheep grow is turned into hand knitting yarn by a company in NZ—Design Spun. Her farming focus is on the ethical treatment of the animals and the landscape in which they graze. Her trademark in a production sense is a concept known as “nutritional wisdom”, in which sheep are given the opportunity to graze a wide diversity of native as well as exotic plants—and thereby learn about the nutritional and self-medicating benefits of different forages. Because nutritional wisdom is in part a learned behaviour—knowledge passed by mothers to their babies—Nan runs all the sheep in a single large mob, keeping all family groups together for their entire lifetimes. In order to foster the diversity of plants that this system relies on, Nan maintains a fairly low stocking rate, encouraging diversity through abundance.
Nan's beautiful, super-soft White Gum Wool yarn comes in 3 weights: 4-ply, 8-ply and a chunky bouclé. We are so proud to offer White Gum Wool as part of the Augustbird range. Browse our current in stock yarns below.
Check out Nan's website whitegumwool.com.au to learn more about White Gum Wool and keep up to date with what Nan is up to.