By: 
Meg Matthews
 Updated: 

Meg Matthews with Arkansas State Parks shows us how Ozark Folk Center State Park artisan Jeanette Larson goes from sheep to shawl.

Watching the artisans in the craft village at Ozark State Park do their thing is like taking a ride in a time machine. There’s no app for any of this stuff. Jeanette’s specialty is fiber; she creates beautiful rugs and shawls by hand. But her involvement in weaving doesn’t begin and end with a loom. She has a hand on every part of this process going back to the very start. Jeanette grows her own wool here at her farm, where she has a herd of Jacob Sheep.

These days you can find Jeanette in her shop at the Ozark Folk Center Craft Village. This is where she takes her sheep’s fleece, cards it and then puts it on her spindle. With the yarn she has created, she then puts it on her loom and begins the final process of making a finished product. If this sounds like something you would like to do – you are in luck. Jeanette teaches classes about how to do this exact thing. You’ve heard of farm to table, well this is sheep to shawl. A lesson in re-thinking the link between what we wear and where it comes from.

Check out our event calendar with spinning classes and workshops. Ozark Folk Center State Park is a fantastic place to stay as well. Nestled in the Ozark Mountains near Mountain View, our unique cabins offer a pleasing blend of homespun decor, modern comforts, and friendly service, whether you stay for a night or a week.