Vermont (ad)Ventures!

August 01, 2022

Hello on this Hawaiian BBQ chicken pizza Monday!

Day 3 of our adventure takes us to Vermont:

We stayed overnight in Putney so there will be lots more said about that! We didn't venture far, either - the Inn is right across the street from GMS!

Ah, Green Mountain Spinnery!! So many cool things (you can read more on their web site!). They are a cooperative mill and shop that uses antique equipment (and parts!) to produce their yarns from domestically-sourced fiber. They're fairly small but do a lot! Their tours can often take you nose-deep in the inner workings of a spinning mill. The folks there are super friendly and informative as well!

One of my favorite stories about this visit is about when I finally found the perfect yarn for The Ruana - GMS's Mountain Mohair, a stunning blend of wool and mohair in a variety of gorgeous colors. The mohair takes the dye slightly differently and adds a lovely shimmer and strength to the yarn. I started scooping up a bunch of skeins in Raspberry - again, stunning!!

But there weren't enough skeins in the same dye lot to make The Ruana. The person in the store went back into the mill to find out if they had any back there. And they did! We all went back there, and someone in the mill had gone up into their loft and started tossing cones of Raspberry Mountain Mohair down to us!! It was awesome to see these come flying out! I forget how many I got, but there were more than 2!

(Side note: I ended up making The Ruana, and never wore it. It just didn't play out like I had thought. I ended up making something else with this yarn not too long ago and still have some left over I think. I should dig that out and contemplate something lovely for the colder weather!)

You might remember my test knitting a sweater pattern for GMS last summer in their Lana yarn, which was lovely (and beyond my usual price point, so I was very glad for the opportunity!). It was a great pattern, I was able to make some good recommendations, and someday I will finally sew the clasps on it and wear it in the cooler weather!