Tuesday on the Yarn Thing podcast: the Green Mountain Spinnery!
Today’s guest was Eric from the Green Mountain Spinnery, located in Putney, Vermont. Green Mountain Spinnery was founded in 1981 and several years ago became a worker-owned cooperative when several employees became part owners. The Spinnery was founded as an environmentally friendly mill that supports sustainable, regional sheep farming and produces high quality yarns, all of which they still do today. Visitors to the New England area can take a tour of the mill on the first and third Tuesday of every month (or you just might convince someone to take you around if they aren’t too busy on any other day!). There, you can learn all about the process of making our favorite material yarn!
All of their lovely yarns are spun from fibers gown in the USA and include:
Mountain Mohair;
Sylvan Spirit;
Green Mountain Green;
These are just three of their many yarns, several of which are completely organic! (An important note Green Mountain is a certified organic mill!) Check out their complete selection here!
In addition to their yarns, Green Mountain has a large pattern selection, many of which are designed by their own employees (Eric included!). They also have several books, the first of which was The Green Moutain Spinnery Knitting Book which was followed by 99 Yarns and Counting. Their newest is an e-book called Green Mountain Weekend with designs from their weekend retreat instructors including Barbara Walker, Nancy Bush, Fiona Ellis, Gudrun Johnston, Alison Green, and Kate Gilbert.
Green Mountain regularly hosts weekend retreats that connect instructors with fiber enthusiasts in an enjoyable weekend in New England. For up-to-date information on their retreats and other events at the Spinnery sign up for their newsletter on the right hand side of their main page and check out their events list and blog.
Last but not least, the weekly giveaway! Leave a comment in the podcast notes using Eric’s keyword to be entered to win your own copy of the Green Mountain Weekend e-book!
You can find Green Mountain Spinnery on: their website, Facebook, and Ravelry and at the Rhinebeck Sheep and Wool Festival!
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Love of Knitting and Love of Crochet
Bijou Basin Ranch
As the foliage brightens, the urge to knit takes over. I’ll look at the vibrant fall colors in the Green Mountain Spinnery collection to celebrate the season.
I’ve heard only good things about Green Mountain Spinnery and want to try out their yarn. I think the best time to visit would be in the fall when the foliage is changing colors, but anytime would be wonderful.
My number 1 favorite thing about fall is the foliage changing colors. I love sitting on the porch watching leaves fall as I knit
We don’t get much change in foliage in California but that just makes me love fall colors even more! Thanks for the great interview with Eric. I started flipping through my copy of “99 Yarns” and found myself nodding in agreement when Eric said each designer had their own styles. I love all the patterns and look forward to the new book!
I moved down to Georgia from NY and I have to say I miss the beautiful Foliage. You just don’t get it down here like you do in NY. I’ve just started getting into knitting and I have to say I’m doing pretty good considering I’ve only made scarfs before. But I’m using the cheap yarn you get at the hobby stores, I would love to get my hands on some good quality yarn to creat some long lasting items other than scarfs.
I missed the beautiful Vermont fall foliage when I visited Green Mountain Spinnery last November, but I did get a tour, and came home with two skeins of beautiful Mountain Mohair yarn. Listening to the podcast brought back how much fun it was to visit Putney and the Spinnery!
Slight correction: the designers featured in “Green Mountain Weekend” are: Suzy Allen, Gudrun Johnston, Maureen Clark, Cap Sease, Amy Christoffers, Melissa Johnson, Alison Green and Beth Brown-Reinsel. The list above is of some of the other teachers who have given classes at our workshops.
Thanks for a great interview – I got to listen to it as I was driving through our beautiful fall foliage! Thanks for the introduction to Green Mountain Spinnery and their lovely yarns and patterns.
Don’t you just love autumn foliage? What a wonderful time of the year. Loved learning about Green Mountain’s history.
Nothing is better then the New England foliage. I am glad that I found out about the green mountain Spinnery, so next time in Vermont I will have to stop by.
Loved the Green Mountain booth at Wisconsin Sheep and Wool. Most of the best foliage color has fallen here in northern wisconsin. That gives me the urge to cast on all sorts of mittens and hats.
We took a vacation to Vermont several years ago to see the foliage and visit some characteristically Vermont places, like Ben & Jerry’s and Lake Champlain Chocolates. Wish I had known about Green Mountian Spinnery back then! Guess I’ll have to go back.
Great show. I am also enjoying the color changes of the foliage here in Idaho.