Ever think winter is the slow season on a fiber farm?
In some ways, it is. The animals spend more time in the barn, shearing is still months away, and the fiber from our sheep, goats, llamas, and alpacas is at Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, Vermont, waiting its turn to be spun into yarn — a process that can take anywhere from 5–10 months.
That’s a long time to wait.
So while our yarn is at the mill, I keep busy.
The Angora Rabbits
Angora rabbits shed year-round, so winter doesn’t slow them down one bit. I continue my weekly gentle brushing to gather their fiber and keep my bunnies healthy and comfortable.
One of the things I love about angora is how easy it is to work with. I spin it directly on my Louet wheel without any extra preparation — no skirting, no carding, no washing. It goes straight from bunny to wheel. It’s simple, soft, and incredibly warm.
That steady routine of brushing and spinning is one of my favorite winter rhythms.
Spinning, Blending & Dyeing
While this year’s fleece is at the mill, I work with roving from last year’s batch. I blend it with our angora and spin it into yarn.
Winter is also when I pull out the dyes. I hand-paint some of our natural-colored yarn skeins and some of our roving. Sometimes I leave it as roving, and sometimes I spin it into textured, funky Art Yarn. This is when I give myself permission to experiment a little — to play with color and texture and make one-of-a-kind pieces.
And this year, I started teaching our little grandson how to use the spinning wheel. That may be my favorite winter project of all.
Planning Ahead
Winter is also planning season.
I make sure we’re on the spring schedule for both the sheep and angora goat shearer, and the alpaca and llama shearer. Their calendars fill quickly, and once spring arrives, everything moves fast. Getting organized now makes the whole year run more smoothly.
It may look quiet outside, but I’m already thinking ahead to warmer days.
Felted Soaps, Dryer Balls, and One-of-a-Kind Creations
Another big winter focus is building up inventory for summer farmers markets and the busy shop season. Cold days are perfect for felting — warm water, wool, and creativity make winter feel productive and cozy.
I make felted soaps by wet felting our fluffy roving over my handmade bars of soap, then adding a needle-felted design to each one. They’re practical, long-lasting, and have become a customer favorite — a little bit of everyday luxury wrapped in wool.
I also make wool dryer balls. The inside is packed with shorter wool that couldn’t be made into yarn, and the outside is covered with soft roving. They’re wet felted for durability, and I add needle-felted designs to some of those as well. It’s one of my favorite ways to use every bit of fiber our sheep grow.
Beyond soaps and dryer balls, I’m always creating other felted and needle-felted pieces too — small seasonal decorations, ornaments, and one-of-a-kind wool creations inspired by farm life. These special pieces don’t usually make it into our online store, but you’ll often find them at markets or in the farm shop. I love letting the wool guide the process, which means many of these items are truly unique.
Winter is the perfect time to stock up and experiment before market season begins — turning our flock’s beautiful fiber into useful, beautiful things to share.
A Surprising Confession
After more than 35 years of raising fiber animals…
I have never learned to knit or crochet.
I know, that may surprise you!
But my joy has always been in raising the animals, tending the fiber, spinning, dyeing, felting, and creating from the raw fleece outward. I love being part of the beginning of the story — the growing, the gathering, the transforming.
And then I get to watch what all of you create from there.
Winter may look quiet from the outside, but here on the farm, it’s full of fiber, color, planning, and possibility — all while we wait for those beautiful skeins to make their way home from the mill.
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