Category Archives: fiber

Excited for the Great Northern Yarn Haul

What a year for us to have decided to focus on getting more visitors on the farm, eh? We’ve given a lot of thought to the risk factors in having farm visitors this year. Matt has risk factors, so we know we need to be careful. But that said, visitors will be walking outdoors withContinue reading “Excited for the Great Northern Yarn Haul”

Responding To A World Without Festivals

Recently, I wrote about our anxiety about the cancellation of VT Sheep and Wool Festival and Rhinebeck. I’m glad the festivals were cancelled – we simply cannot risk joining each other in crowds during a pandemic. We’ve spent several weeks reimagining our sales efforts. We can’t rely on folks to come find our yarn, touchContinue reading “Responding To A World Without Festivals”

Review: “Fibershed” by Rebecca Burgess

I just finished reading Fibershed: Growing a Movement of Farmers, Fashion Activists and Makers for a New Fiber Economy.  Reading this book was like reading a book I wish I had written – I am completely on board with the author’s concerns about our current clothing system and vision for a new one.  I hope thisContinue reading “Review: “Fibershed” by Rebecca Burgess”

Lamb Enterprise Calculator

I recently read a conversation on the Vermont Sheep and Goat Association listserv on the topic of calculating a profitable lamb production enterprise.  Some producers hadn’t calculated their production costs, while others weren’t sure what market prices looked like. For our lamb enterprise, I calculated our cost of production and then did a bit ofContinue reading “Lamb Enterprise Calculator”

Cloverworks Farm in the Media

If you’ve ever ridden in the car with me, you probably know that I’m a bit of a public radio buff.  I am a huge fan of VPR, and particularly of Brave Little State, which is a podcast about questions about quirky Vermont topics.   Recently, a question I asked was featured on the program! MyContinue reading “Cloverworks Farm in the Media”

Our BFL Yarn is Here

I am so happy with the BFL yarn that came back from Battenkill Fibers this year. In past years, our BFL clip has been too small for me to send it to a mill.  Bluefaced Leicesters are bred to have light fleeces.  In the UK, this was done with the idea of reducing the fleecyContinue reading “Our BFL Yarn is Here”

The Yarn is Here

Most years, I have sent my wool to the mill with the expectation that my yarn might come back just a few weeks before the festivals I regularly attend.  Usually, that was just enough time to count it and dye it while Mom might knit a sample or two. This year is different.  Our mill,Continue reading “The Yarn is Here”

The Reality of Yarn

Don’t get me wrong.  Playing with yarn gives me great joy.  I love the texture, the sheepy scent, the slight dust of it.  I love the whole sensory experience and I am always happy to have more yarn. This year, instead of having our yarn made into pre-measured skeins at the mill, we elected toContinue reading “The Reality of Yarn”

An Ice Storm

Last night, we could hear the logging trucks trying to drag their loads up the temporary road.  At the top if the hill, the skidder helped pull the truck onto the ice-covered road using its chained tires.  The logging job is almost done, but our logger is scrambling to get the crop off the fieldContinue reading “An Ice Storm”