The collection of the Sheltozero Veps Ethnographic Museum named after Rurik Petrovich Lonin features sheep shear trimmers donated to the museum by Anastasia Grigoryevna Kondrashova, a native of the village of Rybreka, in 2005. The shears consist of two metal strips fastened with two rivets. The edge of the working part is pointed. In the 1970s, the shears were bought in a shop in the village of Rybreka at a price of 43 kopecks. In addition to the shears, Anastasia Grigoryevna donated to the museum a number of household items, among which were two spindles and wool cards.

There could be ten or more sheep and rams in a Veps farm. The Veps kept small cattle for meat and, of course, wool. As a rule, the animals were trimmed twice a year — in spring and autumn. The annual cycle of cattle care was divided into housing and pasture periods. The housing period lasted almost eight months — from the Intercession and until about Yegoriev day.

Specific scissors were used for shearing. There was a special shearing technique. Skillful housewives did it quickly, easily and naturally. The wool was trimmed in whole layers. It could be stored in canvas bags or baskets in a cold room, in a barn or in a special room (seni). Wool was processed at home: first, it was carded, and a tow was created, which was fixed with a large nail on a distaff (the spinning tool was made from a single piece of wood — the root and the trunk). With the help of a spindle, a woolen thread was pulled out of the tow. Then the thread was wound from the spindle into large skeins — this way the wool was prepared for the next stage — washing. Well-dried, clean wool was rolled into balls and was ready for knitting.

First of all, socks and mittens were knitted from wool. Interestingly, men often knitted socks and mittens designed for fishing and hunting, and did it with a single needle. If socks and mittens were knitted by a woman, then it was necessary to get rid of the female spirit, for example, by boiling them in a coniferous solution. This guaranteed good luck in men’s affairs: fishing and hunting.