Blog - Flying Goat Farm

Posted on July 11, 2019July 11, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Autumnal Yarn Collection

I’m working on my Autumn yarn collection that will make their debut at the three fiber festivals in September and October. I have a booth at Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, Fall Fiber Festival at James Madison’s Montpelier and Rhinebeck Fiber Festival. I’m still deciding which yarn will be the featured yarn at which festival. As you can see these are fingering weight yarns. They make excellent socks but I also love this yarn for making shawls. Click here if you would like to join my mailing list so that I can let you know about new colorways, patterns and which of these yarns will be available a specific show.

Posted on July 10, 2019August 1, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

4 skeins + a pattern = a kit

yarn pattern kit for shawl — 4 skeins of Zephyrette luxury yarn blend of alpaca, cashmere and silk

I love this combo of Zephyrette skeins. Our Zephyrette is a blend of baby alpaca, silk and cashmere and is heavenly to knit with. This Strisce pattern is really car or TV knitting. It is mostly a garter stitch shawl with some lace at the bottom edge. It is an asymmetrical triangle shawl and can be worn is a variety of ways. This kit comes with the pattern and 4 skeins of yarn, all you need to do is add needles. You can get the kit here.

Posted on July 8, 2019July 8, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

a view from the spinning wheel

It’s the Tour de Fleece! This is a spinning event where hand spinners spin everyday of the Tour de France. It is a fun event and I love the sense of community around it.

view from the wheel — view from my wheel

For the first 3 days, I spun 4 ounces of hand dyed Blue Faced Leicester top and plied some of it into 132 yards of worsted weight yarn.

Want to join my team? Go to Ravelry and join in this forum. And if you love this roving, you can grab some in my online store.

Posted on July 5, 2019July 5, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

couch knitting on hot summer days

I love to do my knitting on the couch watching/listening to a guilty pleasure on the TV. Here’s a fun and easy 2 color brioche cowl knit in the round. Full disclosure…..I did have to redo this first attempt at least 4 times to fix mistakes as I learned this new technique. Yarn pictured is Rum Raisin LiViLy Cormo Worsted and Synergy mint green Worsted. You can grab some of this in my online store.

Posted on July 3, 2019July 3, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

knit more wherever you are

Our lives are so busy. It’s important to take some time to do repetitive tasks like knitting or crochet. And why not do it in public? If you can work 10-15 minutes a day on your project, it will get done. So this month knit in public! I’m knitting my Zephyrette Top designed by Corrine Wacher. Obviously I’m using my Zephyrette yarn (a luxurious blend of baby alpaca, cashmere and silk) It’s like knitting with kittens!! Go grab some for yourself in my online store.

Posted on July 2, 2019July 2, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Cashmere from our boarder goat: Blackberry

Spinning with cashmere fiber — *Dark Sable Cashmere from our Boarder: Blackberry*

I love this feel of this luxurious cashmere fiber. I am combing the cloud in order to get rid of some of the veg matter that I don’t want to spin. You can get some for yourself in my online store.

Posted on July 1, 2019July 2, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Wear Wool Socks

Really? It’s summertime! It’s going to be in the 90’s today. If you are going to wear socks, then put on wool socks. Why? Because they wick moisture away from your skin. They absorb lots of water and they still remain cool on your feet. I have lots of cool colorways in sock weight yarn. Grab some in my online store to make a pair of your own!

Posted on June 28, 2019June 28, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Behind the Scenes

This week I’ve been busy making new colorways for the fall shows. I’ve also been filling in some of your old favorites. These will be available at the fall shows: Shenandoah Valley Fiber Festival, Fall Fiber Festival of Virginia and at Rhinebeck. You’re not local to those shows? Send me a message and we can sneak one or two out to you.

In the meantime, visit our web store to see what is on our shelves.

Posted on June 25, 2019June 25, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Love Knitting Shawls?

Do you struggle to pick yarns and colors that will make that shawl really shine? I put together shawl triads just for you. I combined fingering weight yarn skeins in colors that work together for a really great shawl. There are some with only sparkly yarn, some with a little bit of sparkle and some without sparkle at all. You can find the triads here.

Posted on June 19, 2019June 19, 2019 by Gusman — Leave a comment

Sweater Inspiration

Alto DK weight yarn array of colors in a star pattern

Have you started your Rhinebeck sweater yet? If not, think about using this wonderful yarn for your next sweater. It is our Alto. The yarn is DK weight and is a blend of superwash BFL wool and silk. It is very shiny and it has a wonderful drape. You can find it in our webstore.

This sweater was knit with Alto in the Lightning colorway. It was designed by Corrine Walcher of Gingyknits. It is great to wear. It is so soft and has a great drape-y hand. There is a cabled lace on the side seams and down the sleeves. The pattern is available here on Ravelry. It is called The Land of Silver Birch.