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Sheep have been at the heart of Lake District farming for generations but their wool is worth next to nothing. Coniston farmer Maria Benjamin hopes to change that, for some farmers at least, with Lake District Tweed – Sustainably Hefted Cloth, a new initiative that connects the history and culture of wool production in the Lake District with contemporary Lakeland farming. Wool from farmers in 13 different Lakeland valleys is being used to weave individual valley tweeds with designs inspired by the unique characteristics of each valley, the lakes, the landscape, the geology and the former industry. The material will be sold as throws and by the metre representing valleys including Ennerdale, Windermere and Ullswater.

The project is supported by a grant from the Lake District National Park’s Farming in Protected Landscapes Fund and an already oversubscribed Kickstarter fund. Caz Graham travels to Coniston Water to meet Maria and her flock of Castlemilk Moorit sheep, farmer and knitter Sadie Edmondson, weaver Sheila Phillips and textile designer Louise Dixon.