Maine-Grown Yarns: We've got 'em!

We're excited to announce that we're expanding our selection of Maine-grown yarns at The Goat! Stocking these special yarns aligns with our business vision of supporting other Maine small business owners. We also like to have something for everyone at The Goat — and some of you really want woolly-wool yarn from Maine sheep that's minimally processed!

We used to stock a gorgeous worsted-weight Shetland yarn from a farm in Lincolnville, but unfortunately that farm is no longer in operation. This story is all-too familiar for small farms, including Maine's fiber farmers.

Since then, we've been on the look-out for yarns to fill that hole in our collection. This winter, Myranda researched local, Maine-grown yarns and reached out to farmers to discuss options and pricing. One of our Local Goats, Pat Harpell, co-founder of The Maine Fibershed, has been a fabulous resource towards this effort.

What's a Fibershed?
The Fibershed movement began in California. Much like the local food movement, a Fibershed is a geographic region where fiber is grown, processed, made into yarn and textiles, and is ultimately composted. There are Fibershed affiliates all over the United States and beyond, promoting "the development of regional fiber systems communities, including economic and non-economic growth, in the form of building relationships and new global networks."

The Maine Fibershed’s mission is to educate and connect people to maximize the health of our environment, protect Maine’s natural resources, and shorten supply chains. With so many farms and mills closing in Maine, one of the goals of the Maine Fibershed is to support the fiber farming community by connecting farmers with end users like businesses (that's us!) as well as directly with consumers.

This past summer, Iris interviewed Pat about the Maine Fibershed on the 26th episode of The Goat's podcast.

Stacey's Spinning Haven
Pat connected us with Stacey Wilson as a great person to begin with. Stacey owns and operates a small mill out of her home in Milford, Stacey's Spinning Haven, and produces roving and batts for spinning as well as yarns, all from Maine-grown fiber. 

One thing that's really special about Stacey is her enthusiasm and passion for the fiber arts, and commitment to milling fiber from smaller fiber farms. This means less wool goes to waste and more profit goes back to the farmers. (Some of the larger mills have a minimum required number of fleeces.)

We now have several options in the shop from Stacey, including Maine Alpaca Blend DK, an "extra" eco-friendly blend of fibers that might normally be discarded. Need spinning supplies? We've got naturally-colored as well as hand-dyed options in batts and roving!

Browse our collection of Stacey's Spinning Haven yarns, roving, and batts here!

Catawampus Farm
Recently we received our first shipment of yarn from Catawampus Farm in Minot, Maine (unboxing video is below!). We're really excited to have this Maine grown yarn option available, as several of our Goat Staffers have already used (and love!) this yarn.

Janet Beardsley raises several fiber animals on the farm, and now operates a small mill on-site where she processes raw fleece into carded fibers suitable for handspinning. Janet raises Jacob sheep, a heritage breed, Cormo sheep, and angora goats that produce mohair. 

We're now stocking Catawampus Jacob yarn, 100% Jacob wool, in both sport and worsted/aran weight — a beautiful woolly-wool yarn. We also have the Cormo / Mohair blend in both DK and sport — the mohair adds softness without making it fuzzy.

These four yarns, plus the options from Stacey, have rounded out our Maine-Grown Yarn selection really nicely!

Try yarn that's Maine-grown!
Need ideas for what to make? You might want to start with a single-skein project like a hat or mitts to "taste test" a few of these beautiful yarns — knit with them and see which you prefer. 

And if you want sweater recommendations for showcasing our Maine-grown yarns, we've got plenty of those too! Get in touch if you'd like ideas!