Kristen Judkins grew up spinning and knitting, but didn’t have her own fiber farm until she won some angora goats in an online essay contest. Join us for a chat about all things fiber and learn about the small mill where Kristen also processes roving and yarn for other shepherds. You can find Kristen’s work
Farming & Gardening
13: Linda Doane, Shepherd of Shetlands
Linda Doane is a national treasure in the shepherding world. After sampling some imported Shetland fleeces, she decided she had to have a flock of her own. The problem? No one was raising this breed in the United States. Working with a Canadian partner, Linda and her husband Tut imported the first flock of Shetland
3: Tammy White, Fiber Farmer at Wing & A Prayer Farm
Like so many farmers, Tammy White does a lot. She’s a fiber specialist, raising sheep, angora goats, alpaca and other non-fiber animals as well. She’s a teacher and facilitator, opening the farm to workshop participants and taking her classes on the road. She’s a baker, a gardener, a marketer. She’s a collaborator and co-conspirator with
Starting an organic sheepskin tannery
When we couldn’t find a non-toxic option for tanning sheepskins from our flock, we decided to go full-scale DIY and start our own organic sheepskin tannery. Vermont Natural Sheepskins is the first commercial, organic tannery in the USA. In this video episode, Sarah shares how she and Rick decided to take the initiative to start
Our flock: a mixed bunch of different breeds
Over the years, we’ve kept different breeds in our flock, as our knowledge of sheep and wool has grown. Starting with a specialty breed, the Navajo-Churro, was fun and informative, but marketing the specialty wool was difficult. After a few years we explored Shetlands, and most recently got a couple of retired show sheep who
Getting started with sheep farming
When we bought our house in 2006, we knew the building was sound, but the land needed improvement. What to do about the ice-slalom of a driveway? How could we plant a vegetable garden if the front yard was full of pine trees that blocked out the sun? The idea of driving a tractor on
Fall Update, 2011 – A Lot to Look At
It’s been a busy fall season at the farm, and this is the fall update 2011. After taking most of the summer “off” (due to our decision not to breed last fall) we have been to a slew of fiber shows. The Tunbridge World’s Fair was a great success despite the impact of Hurricane Irene.
Winter into Spring – Time to Take Stock
With pouring rain outside as we go from winter into spring, it’s time for another farm update. After the fall shows and shearing were completed, we settled in for Winter. We had already decided not to breed this year, given the economy and a lack of interest in breeding stock, so there was no ram
Shearing Day 101: Preparation Makes Things Easier
Shearing Day is an exciting and busy event on the farm. We get to harvest beautiful fiber, and it is an ideal time to check each animal closely and administer health treatments such as vaccines and hoof trimming. This is an also opportunity to take photos for the breed registry and for our own records.
Autumn Update from Our Sheep Farm
The flock is well and has been growing nicely through the season. We filled out lambing with two more sets of twins, from Anisette (Kahlua and Kamora) and Manta (Chaleco and Camisa), and a large single ewe lamb from Caramel (Macciado). Manta’s ram lamb is a killer color/pattern combo: reverse badgerface with a cinnamon fleece.