Yarn and Textiles

Our fibershed is wealthy in wool and other animal fibers. Western Massachusetts Fibershed purchases wool from local farms, skirts the fleeces, and drives the fleeces to the mill.

The fleeces are washed and the yarns are spun at Green Mountain Spinnery in Putney, VT, a worker-owned business with years of experience in custom spinning. They are attuned to the finest properties of the breed specific and mixed-breed fleece, and skillfully blend the wool together to create beautiful yarns. Some are plied and twisted into skeins. Others are put up on cones for weaving. We pick up the spun yarns, and Peggy Hart of Bedfellows Blankets weaves the fabric and blankets on her Crompton and Knowles looms in Shelburne Falls.

The production cycle follows the agricultural cycle of shearing on the farms, and does not fit into a calendar year. The composition and colors of each batch of yarn varies from one production cycle to the next.

The gray shades are a blend of white and dark fleeces, ranging from gray to dark brown, which gives the gray yarns a beautiful heathery depth.

The woven fabric and blankets are washed and then are ready for sale.