small things

Vermont Grand View Farm {giveaway}

gorgeous!
The first time Kim, of Vermont Grand View Farm, emailed me, I found myself completely enthralled by the photos of her farm.  It’s now a dream of mine to visit one day.  In the meantime, I will have to be satisfied by knitting with yarn from her Gotland sheep.  Kim is here today to share a little about herself and her farm and all that she has to offer.  You can also find her at her blog and on Instagram!

Kim
Hi, I’m Kim Goodling, shepherdess, knitter, fiber artist, homeschooling mom, wife, Christian, and innkeeper.

My husband and I moved to a 200 year old Vermont cape early in our marriage to bask in rural living and God’s beautiful creation. We started a small homestead with a large garden, a few hens, and three small children running barefoot in the field. Here we began a homeschooling journey, which has lasted 23 years.

gotland
Sheep entered my life in the middle of a “mid-life crisis”. It was one of those times when you say to your husband that you want to live a good, full life-one with no regrets-one filled with “dreams come true”-one where you work the land with your hands and feed your family from the soil. A life where you recognize God’s calling to be a good steward, a shepherd over all he has blessed you with, as He is our shepherd. Soon after purchasing our first four sheep, we began looking for a farm with outbuildings, a place to store hay, and a place for sheep to get in out of the weather and to lay their lambs. That’s when Vermont Grand View Farm became home to our family of five.

gotland2
Since then, I have learned much about shepherding, homesteading, wool, and fiber art. We began with a flock of Romney sheep, and in 2014, we added Vermont’s first flock of Gotland sheep to our farm! Through 10 years of living with sheep, I have learned much about life. Through my blog, Living With Gotlands, I share all the life lessons my sheep have taught me.

gotlandyarnKnitters and spinners around the world support our flock of sheep by purchasing their wool. We sell Gotland wool yarn and roving, and Romney yarn on our newly launched online store, the Gotland Wool Company. In the late summer, we also offer yarn CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares to those wanting to invest in the care and feeding of our sheep.

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farmstay
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We open our farm to farmstay guests who want to experience rural living, who want to feel the dirt between their toes, experience starlit nights, and breath in the fresh air. Families and individuals stay with us to learn about sustainable farming, take a fiber art class, or to just refresh and rejuvenate from their busy lives.

I hope you will spend some time with me either on our blog or here at the farm. I would love to introduce you to country life, farm raised yarn, and living with sheep.
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giveaway yarn
Please enjoy browsing our new shop! Type in smallthings in the coupon code to receive a 10% discount on your total purchase. Coupon good from April 11-18, 2015.

In honor of the season upon us: I am offering one winner a pint jug of our own 100% pure maple syrup and a skein of yarn with a little bit of wool from the whole flock-25%Gotland and 75% Romney wool, spun in worsted weight 2 ply with 250 yards to the skein.

For your chance to win, leave a comment on this post. Comments are closed and the winner is Elizabeth, who commented, “beautiful farm! thanks for this opportunity would love to try that maple syrup and work with such a beautiful wool yarn!”

Thanks, Kim and Vermont Grand View Farm!

farmstays and gotland yarn

Reader Interactions

Comments

  8. Wow! Love the pictures and story! Our son, who is fully blind, would LOVE something like a farmstay experience! I had never heard of that. He is always full of questions about how things are done, so we will definitely have to look into that.

  9. Okay, I am blaming this on sleep deprivation! When I first read the title of this post I thought “Yes, I would love to win a farm in Vermont. Sign me up!”
    Now I will go back and re-read more carefully. LOL

  12. Oh this would be such an awesome thing to win! I have been wanting to try her yarn and maple syrup is our main sweetener around here so we would love to have that!

  13. Thanks so much for the giveaway! Maybe we’ll have to look into these sheep for our farm!

  14. What a beautiful setting! And what is a YARN CSA? I know what a CSA is, but one with YARN? I’m loving that idea!

  16. I grew up in N.H. our neighbors tapped their trees. Nothing like fresh maple syrup! Wool looks gorgeous!

  18. I’m looking forward to checking her online store and reading her blog. I’m a long time knitter, over 50 years, and always eager to try new yarns!
    Love your blog and visit with you and your family every day.
    Junek

  19. I hear Kim interviewed on the Wooful podcast a few weeks ago. Was so inspired by her and her fiber journey. Would love to win some of her yarn. And maple syrup – yum! 🙂

  20. Oh my,My Grandfather Emanuel,tapped his own maple syrup for years,the taste and smell will carry with me forever.I used to what him set up,the bucket hanging,Squirrels getting in the way,the rewards were well worth the effort.
    I visited Vermont Grand View Farm, very nice fiber yarn is beautiful,I peeked at her spun Yarns and they are too!Lots of color and so organic.Imagine knitting up a gift with those.
    When I was younger I helped my Uncle with sheering once,It was kinda comical because they are a big wooly sheep ,then you shave them,They look like a foreign animal.I know they really like having all that wool off.
    Thank you for sharing Kim and her family’s awesome journey raising sheep.

  25. What a beautiful place, and such sumptuous yarn!
    We too got started with sheep in the middle of a ‘mid-life’ crisis, or rather, my husband did–he’s the shepherd, I’m still the chef.
    Our youngest had just gone off to college, and so we had all of this time formerly spent traveling to sporting events and feeding a young athlete that needed to be filled with something else. Enter the sheep.
    Thank you (and Ginny!) for sharing this!

  26. Oh my goodness – what a lovely farm and giveaway! I want to go there too :-). Thanks for the chance to win!

  31. What a joy! Thank you for sharing the beauty of your land, your farm, your sheep and your life and faith! I look forward to checking out your blog to read of the lessons you have gleaned from being a shepherd. What a dream, gathering and processing maple syrup! Amazing!

  36. This yarn is so beautiful and their farm is simply stunning! How inspiring to see a family working together on their dreams. I would love some of this yarn!

  39. Kim- what wonderful photos and especially knowing that your family has lived into your dreams and built on them. Your yarn looks lovely and I’m keeping your info close. I’ll enjoy finding out more about some of your courses and stay-overs. Lynn

  41. My husband took me out of the mountains to live by the sea. My dream life would be to live in the mountains and have a lifestyle such as that. That wool is gorgeous and nothing beats Vermont maple syrup. Would love the opportunity to win.