THE wool industry should dump its stuffy stud masters and get the knitters, felters, creative crafters and fashionistas to lead its renaissance.

What I mean is, they should let women run the show.

I know this is sexist and nave and optimistic, but why not?

The blokes have had a fair shot for almost 200 years and did a nice job when things were new and easy and war created demand.

But the competition among fibres is hot now and, as with politics, when the heat's on, well you know who's in the kitchen!

Which brings me to the former Australian Wool Innovation chief executive Brenda McGahan, who was last heard appealing to women to vote in last year's poll run by the wool grower-owned research and innovation institute on the industry's future direction and where the wool growers' promotion money should be spent.

She wanted 70 cents in the dollar to go to post-farm research (fashion and promotion and fibre development) and 30 cents to go to the on-farm research.

But the old rams of the industry locked horns and, well, Brenda didn't hang around.

She moved to greener pastures.

At the Australian Sheep and Wool Show in Bendigo over the weekend, the Women of Wool showed the sort of chutzpah the industry needs.

At their invitation comedian Jean Kittson had a 200-strong lunch audience in stitches.

The Women of Wool also ran the woolcraft section and fashion parades.

Their focus was palpable.

They drew plum fashion designers plus crafts people and craft tourists.

I met for example librarian Susan Landy, botanist Peter Jobson and pharmacist Helen Lovitt-Raison, who travelled from Perth for the show.

"We come to network, to look at the fibres and do a little bit of shopping," Susan said.

This was Peter's fifth show. (OK, so maybe some blokes could help run the industry too!)

He used to drive from northern NSW to attend.

Now he flies from the West.

He declared it among the world's big league of wool shows, alongside the Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival near Baltimore in the US and the New York Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck, in upstate New York.

I came upon Noelene Hammond, of Murrabit near Kerang, who knitted and crafted her way to a life membership of the Royal Children's Hospital.

She was a prolific maker and seller of fundraiser scarves, wraps and adornments to support the hospital that saved her son Richie, now 36, from succumbing to leukaemia when he was three.

"I don't care whether it's wool or nylon.

"It just needs to be textiles," said Noelene, iterating the challenges wool faces.

Bendigo mayor Rod Campbell, 61, fronted up in his pure-wool, made-in-China suit to spruik the show to passers-by.

His dad, Colin, was the wool operations manager at woolbrokers Dennys Lascelles Wool Store in Geelong, now the National Wool Museum, so Rod knew wool in its golden fleecy good years.

But was Rod wearing wool socks? No, he said, adding something about their unsuitability with his orthotics.

Someone please send the man a pair of wash-and-wear wool socks.

And could we please give women a go at running the industry.