Our fiber story.
it all starts with the sheep.
Sheep are the heart of our farm. When we decided to raise animals, sheep flew to the top of the list because of their versatility. They are small enough for two people to handle well (usually), they grow wool, are amazing pasture renovators, can be milked, and are cute and fluffy to boot! We narrowed down our breed options based on several considerations and landed on Shetland sheep. We have had Shetlands since 2020 and love the variety of colors and markings they have, their smaller size, fiber quality, and big personalities! We added a small flock of Finn sheep in 2023, who also have beautiful fiber in a range of colors. The Shetland and Finn wool will be blended together starting in 2024 to continue adding to our available yarn and other fiber products.
the process.
Once we shear our sheep each spring, we work on preparing the wool to go to the fiber mill, by “skirting” it! This involves laying out and looking over each fleece individually, removing any areas that have a lot of debris, such as hay or manure, or have become felted or matted. Once each fleece is skirted, it gets weighed and put into a color group. Because our sheep span such a range of colors and patterns, we group the wool into a few different batches to highlight the natural colors. Typically we have a gray, brown, and black batch, which determines the color of the yarn we get made. After the skirting, weighing, and sorting, the wool is finally ready to go to the fiber mill! We then drop off our wool at one of our local Vermont fiber mills to be processed into finished products like yarn and roving.
the finished product.
A few months later, we get a notice from the fiber mill that our order is ready for pickup! That is always exciting news for a small fiber farm. Picking up the fiber from the mill is the culmination of the previous year’s worth of work birthing, raising, feeding, and shearing our sheep. Being able to see all of that time and effort transformed into a tangible outcome is extremely fulfilling and makes it all seem worthwhile!
here’s where you come in!
After we get our fiber back from the mill, then it is ready for its final transformation — with your help! Fiber artists, knitters, crocheters, hand spinners, needle felters, weavers, and any other wool crafters are the quintessential next step in the life cycle of our fiber. We absolutely love to see what form the wool from our sheep will become in the hands of our amazing customers near and far! How will you use our farm-raised fiber in your next project? We’d love to see it! Tag us @fernriverfarm in any WIPs, COs, FOs, and the like!
