As a youngster in England, Clare Harrison was on horseback every chance she got. So when she and her husband Peter moved to Connecticut, they began looking for a spot in the country that would work for keeping horses.

The Harrisons were able to envision what could be without focusing on what was actually there, because when they found Windover Farm, it was a disaster. The fields were completely overgrown, and the buildings derelict. Clare described it as the window shutters barely hanging on with one hinge. She sort of shrugged her shoulders and said, “we wanted a project.” What they saw was a beautiful setting and endless possibilities.

Photo courtesy of Windover Farm and Mill

Twelve of the 33 acres were woodland, and it was there that the first agricultural venture began with the making of maple syrup (they now sell honey as well).

The next effort would be the dairy barn. It seemed that the easiest thing to do would be to restore its original purpose, but Clare and Peter quickly realized that being tied to the milking schedule was more than they wanted to take on. When a friend suggested sheep, they headed off to Rhinebeck for the New York Sheep and Wool Festival.

The festival itself can be completely overwhelming, so Clare and Peter headed straight for the sheep barns where they split up to make a careful survey of the sheep and pick a breed. When they regrouped, Clare thought that Teeswater might work, while Peter had settled on Wensleydale. In the end, Wensleydale was the choice.

Photo courtesy of Windover Farm and Mill

Like so many sheep, Wensleydale are great landscapers, but then the fleece started stacking up. Did I mention that when this venture started, Clare wasn’t a fiber person? She didn’t spin, or knit or weave, and the sheep weren’t drawing her in that direction. But what to do with the fleece?

Clare and Peter took a vacation that included a trip to Prince Edward Island and the Belfast Mini Mills factory. While building out a mill seemed an obvious choice, given the cost of the enterprise, Clare wasn’t ready to commit.

And the fleece continued to stack up. Finally, the decision was made to establish a mini mill onsite that could process not only her own fleece, but provide a process serving others. Ah, easier said than done! But in time, a permit was granted, and working hand-in-hand with the folks at Belfast, the hay loft of the dairy barn became a sun-filled, compact and efficient mill.

Photo courtesy of Windover Farm and Mill

I’ve been to many mills, including quite a number of Belfast mini mills, so we didn’t do the usual mill tour. And I was there not only to meet Clare, but to go through the last stages of processing for the fleece from the Gotland lamb Linnea. It had been cleaned and picked, but I wanted to be there to watch as the fleece became roving that I could spin.

Clare spreading out the fleece across the belt to make an even layer.

Bruce and I had such a lovely morning with Clare, chatting about everything under the sun. It makes me wish that I lived nearby so I could pop in and give her a hand at the mill when needed, or just sit and knit and talk (yes, she is now knitting and working on her second sweater). If she wasn’t already doing enough (managing a farm, marketing honey and maple syrup, processing pounds upon pounds of fleece, etc., etc.) Clare also takes on custom dyeing jobs for some customers. As with all of the Makers I interview, I brought home two skeins of Clare’s yarn to review; one of natural Wensleydale, and the other a blend of Wensleydale, Merino and Tunis in Autumn Green. I have a pattern for a felted beret that I think will make an interesting look with these yarns worked in stripes.

The blended green yarn became the subject of one of our most interesting and like-minded discussions; Blend, don’t Breed. We were in complete agreement that to get certain qualities in a yarn, it is much more reliable to draw on the important characteristics of a combination of fleece rather than trying to achieve that end by cross-breeding. The results of cross breeding is not a completely reliable method for developing special characteristics in yarn, particularly for small operations (many of the shepherds I talk to have well under 100 sheep, and most under 20). Obviously, cross-breeding is important for strengthening the physical characteristics of the sheep, and that has its own role in sheep husbandry. But a great yarn comes from fully understanding the character of the fleece from individual breeds, and highlighting those characteristics in a blended yarn. This Autumn Green yarn will actually make you swoon.

Another point of agreement was that we are sort of “over” Merino as a knitting fiber. That is not to say that Merino yarn isn’t wonderful….it absolutely is. The problem for both of us is that it’s ubiquitous, and that means it ceases to be special. Obviously it comes in handy for blending the yarn above, and only 15% of the total from the Merino gives the yarn that next-to-skin softness. So too does an additional 15% from Tunis.

Tunis sheep were introduced to the U.S. in 1799 via His Highness, the Bey of Tunis. Thomas Jefferson kept Tunis sheep and evidently preferred them to his Merino both for the quality of the meat and softness of the wool. It is considered as endangered here, but continues to increase in popularity.

By adding both Merino and Tunis, this yarn is not only beautifully soft, but has a wonderful bounce and sheen. Test knitting is forthcoming!