We don’t know about you, but we’re still riding the high from the Sheep Show weekend!
So what is The Sheep Show?
Held annually in Bendigo, The Australian Sheep & Wool Show is three days of “all things sheep and wool”. It includes the biggest fibre market of its kind IN THE WORLD, so crafters flock to the event annually.
There’s a Woolcraft competition and exhibition (of which Bendigo Woollen Mills is one of the prize sponsors) where you get to see some amazing skills on display. As a bonus, visitors get to see a huge range of sheep from around Australia (as this is, at its core, an agricultural show), watch some shearing and sheep dog trials, and much more. It's also the time MANY people visit us at Bendigo Woollen Mills, as we're 5 minutes from the show itself.
Snapshot from The Annual Australian Sheep & Wool Show
(Image Source: Sheep Show Facebook)
The Sheep Show impact at BWM
In July 2026, close to 2,000 yarn lovers visited us across the three show days! Hundreds of you took advantage of the half-hourly shuttle bus that ran between the station and the show, with a stop at BWM.
It was amazing to be able to welcome so many of you through our newly-renovated shop doors. Since last year's show we've almost doubled the size of the store, which made it more about squishing the yarn and less about squashing between other shoppers. We've also given the shop a serious makeover, so it's lighter, brighter and has a range that now extends to books, bags, buttons and more.
From the team's perspective, we loved chatting to everyone about their future project plans and, of course, seeing all your fabulous knits. (When you come for Sheep Show you take the opportunity to wear your favourite creation, as you know you'll be in a crowd that appreciated the work and commitment behind it!)
Our "back room" was extra-busy all weekend, with lovely folk fossicking through our stash and finding plenty of yarny bargains. It was great fun hearing what you planned to make with your finds.
Our sensational retail team were ducking in, out and around, restocking shelves and jumping from register to register to check people out via three (and sometimes even four!) registers.
There were plenty of overflowing shopping baskets, so we have made a note to have even more baskets ready next year!
Some crafty visitors who were proud to pose in their makes!
Which yarns & patterns were most popular this year?
So for those who like the inside scoop, were there any special favourites in yarns this year? Lilt Silk Mohair and Wollemi 8 Ply (our farm-to-yarn single original Corriedale) were the top-selling yarns over the weekend, closely followed by Rustic Tweed 8 Ply, soft Whisper 8 Ply & Luxury 8 Ply.
While thousands of patterns sold, the most-loved patterns flying out the door were three of our newer top-down releases:
- The Aurora Jumper PT 8737
- The Ria Colourwork Yoke Jumper PT 8708
- The Isabella Top-Down Yoke Jumper PT 8706
If you braved the busy Sheep Show days, it was an absolute pleasure to welcome you to the mill over what we consider the best weekend of the year.
We were inspired by your projects, your excitement and your love of all things creative. We can’t wait to do it all again next year…the team should ALMOST be recovered by then!
From the bottom of our yarny hearts, thank you for visiting us!
