On the last weekend in March, the European Wool Exchange (EWE) event travelled to Ireland for the first time. EWE acts as a bridge between wool breeders, processors and end users and have a particular focus on using European wool to improve wellbeing. They help establish and grow a circular economy for wool by connecting end users back to the sheep, the farmers and the origins of the products they enjoy. Here is a link to their website: https://ewe.network/

It was a real triumph for the event to be hosted in Ireland and this was all down to the dynamism of one Irish lady, Sharon Wells. https://www.sharonwellsart.com/ Sharon and her small team brought about an unforgettable weekend that brought so much joy to the locality and rural surrounds – this is before I even mention the wide variety of groups exhibiting, all of whom shared one commonality; being passionate about wool, sustainable processes and showcasing the variety of creative and practical uses currently ‘on the go’ for this home produced material.

9^th April each year is set aside to celebrate and promote European Wool Day. Delegates, demonstrators and exhibitors from across Europe gathered in Tralee, Co Kerry for this event. The event was filmed and the video was launched on European Wool Day. Here is a link to the video if you would like to check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZY4q8_R5qeWsO_vlA3_RjA

My friend, Jane and I represented the International Feltmakers Association (IFA) https://www.feltmakers.com/ at the event. We were there to promote our Association – Jane is our Regional Coordinator for the island of Ireland and I am the Course Coordinator for the series of educational courses offered by the IFA. Here’s Jane and I, working hard at our stand:

I thought it might be fun to take you briefly through a small number of the stands that were at the show.

First of all, there was a joint exhibition held by Feltmakers Ireland and The Irish Guild of Spinners Weavers and Dyers. This was a lovely quiet space for people to relax and enjoy the exhibits as the other rooms were thronging with visitors. Here is a link to a video Feltmakers Ireland made during the event. You will find it embedded in this page on their website if you would like to see all the lovely pieces. They also had a stand at the event and were busy teaching workshops and promoting the guild (Jane and I are both members) throughout the day: https://feltmakersireland.com/2026/03/30/recap-feltmakers-ireland-at-the-european-wool-experience/

Thank you also to Liz in the Irish Guild of Spinners, Weavers and Dyers who provided a link to their video exhibition. Here it is, if you would like to take a peak:

https://weavespindye.ie/2026/04/16/european-wool-day-2026/

Afterwards, we were chatting to the hotel staff who said that the day had been the busiest one on record so it is understandable that we did not get a chance to leave our stands for very long. Just before we closed the doors I got to take a quick run around the various stalls and checked out some really interesting projects.

First up is the Wool Store https://www.woolstore.ie/ the majority of Ireland’s fleeces are sent abroad for processing. This means that wool fibre needs to be imported to meet the country’ textile needs. Wool Store is a small wool processing facility which is working to reverse this trend. At the moment it is equipped to focus on the provision of high quality washing, picking and carding services for small farmers and textile enthusiasts and they are working hard on securing funding to take this further by settig up a full scale scouring plant and woollen mill. You will find more about this on Katarina’s website. Here she is photographed with her friend Emer who was helping her on the day:

Next up was the Wool Wise Project. https://curraghmorefarm.ie/wise-wool-project This project is community based in County Kerry and it aims to raise awareness about wool waste and promote the use of Irish sheep wool. Sheep farmers are constantly being told that their Irish wool is worthless. For decades it has been more expensive to shear a sheep than to sell its fleece. It is considered a ‘waste product’ in Ireland and this is very sad as most of the wool products we buy in our shops are made from imported fibre. The Wool Wise Project aims to highlight this and the benefits of the beautiful home grown raw material. Here is Kerry working away at her stand:

I couldn’t resist taking this shot of beautiful produce made with Galway Wool, Ireland’s indigenous breed. Historically other breeds were wiped out but that is a story for another day.

Next, I had a quick chat with the two ladies on the Fibreshed stand https://fibreshedireland.ie/ The group was founded in 2022 and is an independent affiliate of the global Fibershed movement which I understand, started in the USA. I am sharing the Irish chart that I have sourced from their website which best describes their vision (and a photo of the two ladies of course!)

I could not omit NewKD Craft Circle https://newkd.ie/craft-circle-a-warn-hug-from-the-community/ as it will be close to many of our hearts. They are a creative group which attracts anyone who is interested in the arts and crafts. It is an inclusive group where everyone learns from each other so it is a great social space. Most recently the group collaborated with other craft circles in their area to make 21 handmade knitted and crocheted blankets which were gifted to end-of-life patients in palliative care. Their generosity is humbling. Here are two of the ladies at their station:

I touched base with Jean Moran of Irish Hand Weaves as she was busily working on her loom. You can see some of Jean’s beautiful work on her gallery: https://irishhandweaves.ie/gallery-page-description-and-grid/

Olann & Seol (Irish words meaning wool and loom) are a couple (Fern and Jork) who run a small family business in Co. Kerry. Fern is from Canada and is a weaver. Jork hand builds the looms. If you like you can check out their activities through this link: https://olannseol.ie/ Here is Jork with one of his beautiful looms:

This is one for the knitters among us! I was really attracted to this stand, first by the name Stolen Stitches, then by the beautiful work. Carol Feller, who owns the brand, was very busy dealing with customers so I just managed to take a quick photo of part of the stand. But I have just had a quick look through her patterns and I had to share her link https://stolenstitches.com/pages/about-us Be sure to check out her patterns (there’s a lot of them so perhaps have a cup of tea or coffee to hand while browsing!)

Dooleys Wool took my fancy, initially because we share a surname and then because they hailed from the same area as my husband’s people. They use locally sourced wool fibre in their bedding, Duvets, pillows, mattress toppers and, through collaboration with Magee 1866 Weaving, stunning blankets. I have a wool duvet and it is very cosy. Here is a link to their business, if you would like to discover more about this company. https://dooleyswool.ie/

Liz from the Irish Guild of Weavers, Spinners and Dyers https://weavespindye.ie/about/ was our neighbour at the show. We were so busy during the event that we only got to chat afterwards at the final dinner.

There was also a very interesting project which focussed on wool fibre from sheep in the Rathlin Islands. The micron of the fibre is very high and it has not been feasible to use it for textiles. The fibre has been found to be very suited to rope making. There is a short supply chain as the manufacturing process is completed within the UK. The company’s name is Sustainable Rope and here is a link to their company: https://sustainablerope.com/pages/about-us

I like to set myself a challenge when I am felting at events so I asked Kate for a small sample of rope to see if I could use it in a piece. I wanted it to represent its origins on Rathlin Island so I made a small shell. I dismantled the thick rope and hid the sections inside the shell. It felted in beautifully. I thought it would be nice to give it to the two representatives (they agreed custody for 6 months of the year together with visiting rights!) but I took a few quick photos before I did this:

Finally, I got to chat to a beautiful lady named Sabina. Sabina originated from Romania and she settled in Ireland with her husband a number of years ago. To quote her:

“one day, I saw the most beautiful Romanian blouse – the kind worn for generations by women in my homeland. Just looking at it, I felt like I was home again.

Two years later, over 3,000 metres of thread, and countless hours of hand embroidery – sometimes until my fingdrs bled – I finally finished my own Romanian peony blouse, with Saint Andrew’s Cross and the shepherd’s hook motifs stitched into every piece of the blouse.

In Romanian culture, the peony symbolizes sacrifice and the shepherd’s hook means ‘the lost sheep returns home’”

What better way to finish the visit to the event than to share Sabina’s stunning work with you.

It wasn’t all hard work (if I can call talking about wool and felting hard work!). Enda (hubby) brought us off for a bit of sightseeing around Kerry on our free afternoon. It was a glorious day and I thought you might like to see a little glimpse of our beautiful island:

We met this lovely couple on the way home while stopping off at the Barack Obama Plaza for refueling. So all I can say is goodbye from us all!