Saturday, October 23, 2010, BASD
Green Mountain Spinnery and Farms Tour
BASD Field Trip to Vermont and New Hampshire
Do you
know where your yarn comes from?
Join other members of BASD on a field trip to:
• Green Mountain Spinnery (GMS) in Putney Vermont
where we will tour the spinning facility (since it is a Saturday, they will not
be spinning, but will give us a tour) in the morning.
• Lunch at either the Putney Co-Op or the Granite
Grille in Fitzwilliam(each person buys their own)
• Three sheep farms in Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire
in the afternoon, including:
Steeple Chase Farm, where Gretchen and her family
raise Wensleydale
cross, some exotic fleece
sheep, Cormo, CVM, and some Merino Crosses, as well as llamas and some heritage
breed chickens; The Hill Farm, where Donna, Morgan, and their family raise
Shetland, Jacob, and Romney sheep, angora rabbits, llamas as well as horses, chickens,
ducks, cows, and pigs; and Boulder Meadow Farm, where Lisa raises Wensleydale
sheep, lamas, an alpaca, and various fowl. Lisa (who runs
production at Green Mountain Spinnery, and judges fleeces at shows) also has a
home-based fiber mill, and teaches and holds dye workshops (both natural and
chemical) at her farm.
This is an opportunity to learn about what goes
into yarn production - see a spinning plant, learn about sheep farming and
various breeds of sheep (and other animals) and the characteristics and best
uses of their fleece.
There will be some opportunity to purchase yarns
(at the Spinnery) and raw and washed fleece as well as dyed locks (at the
farms). The farms also sell various meats raised on their farms.
Check newsletter for signup details.
