Episode 15: Kim Goodling and Sue Blacker – Gotland sheep, building a fiber mill, raising kids on a farm and rare breeds.

Summary: I’m very excited to share the fifteenth episode of the Woolful podcast. Today we get to meet two fiber folks, both women with a special love for Gotland sheep and both with unique fiber journeys that have taken them to interesting and inspiring places…Sue Blacker of Blacker Yarns and The Natural Fibre Company and Kim Goodling of Vermont Grand View Farm.<br> <a href="http://portfiber.com" target="_blank"></a><br> Sponsor: This episode is sponsored by <a href="http://portfiber.com" target="_blank">Portfiber</a>, a wonderful shop in Portland, Maine, specializing in one of a kind, hand-dyed fiber and yarn. Casey has curated an incredible collection of spinning fiber including yak, Chiri, Alpaca, Polwarth and hand-dyed blends. You can visit Portfiber in person when in Portland Maine or shop online at <a href="http://portfiber.com" target="_blank">portfiber.com</a><br> <a href="http://woolful.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/portfiber.png"></a><br> Fiber folk 1: Kim is a passionate ambassador and breeder of Gotland Sheep, dyer, entrepreneur and hardworking mom. She runs a beautiful farm in Vermont where she hosts farm stays and a great selection of fiber related classes. She recently launched her online shop of Gotland yarns and fibers at <a href="http://gotlandwoolcompany.com" target="_blank">gotlandwoolcompany.com</a> You can find her at <a href="http://grandviewfarmvt.net" target="_blank">grandviewfarmvt.net</a> and on Instagram <a href="http://instagram.com/vtgrandviewfarm" target="_blank">@vtgrandviewfarm</a>.<br> <a href="http://woolful.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/kim.png"></a><br> For this week’s “Man on the Street” I asked a handful of fiber enthusiasts to answer a question, shared by Cady in our Raverly group. “What advice would you give to someone just starting their fiber journey?” We had some amazing replies from Sonja, Samantha, Beatrice, and Abby.<br> Fiber folk 2: Our next guest, Sue has a pretty amazing and adventurous fiber journey, beginning with her flock of Gotland sheep and life as a fiber farmer in the UK, where she runs her fiber mill, <a href="http://www.thenaturalfibre.co.uk/" target="_blank">The Natural Fibre Company</a> and specialty breed yarn company, <a href="http://blackeryarns.co.uk" target="_blank">Blacker Yarns</a>. She puts an incredible amount of work into spreading the word and love of Gotlands and other rare sheep breeds. You can find her at <a href="http://www.thenaturalfibre.co.uk/" target="_blank">thenaturalfibre.co.uk</a> and at <a href="http://blackeryarns.co.uk" target="_blank">blackeryarns.co.uk</a>.<br> <a href="http://woolful.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/sueblacker.png"></a><br> The winner of last week’s giveaway, is Madeline Fidler! You’ve won the Radius pattern collection from Dreareneeknits and two skeins of Radius Yarn Bulky from Knitterly. Congratulations!<br> This week’s giveaway is sponsored by <a href="http://www.blackeryarns.co.uk/" target="_blank">Blacker Yarns</a>, and we’re giving away 5 skeins of their <a href="http://www.blackeryarns.co.uk/knitting-and-crochet-yarn-ranges/westcountry-tweed/westcounty-tweed-natural-grey-dk-knitting-yarn.html" target="_blank">Westcountry Tweed</a>. All the fiber from this yarn comes from within a 100 miles of the Natural Fibre Company mill in the UK, made with intentions to have the smallest footprint possible. To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below.<br> <a href="http://woolful.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/westcountrytweed.png"></a><br>  <br> Music by Jónsi<br> Transcription to follow shortly…<br>