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.

view
farmstay
VTgrandviewfarm
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.
VTgrandviewfarm1
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

  1. What a wonderful life, the energy you need to sustain all you do amazes me!!! I wonder if I could…..thanks for the giveaway!!

  4. Wow! Just amazing! My girls and I are reading Miracles on Maple Hill in school and it goes through the process for making maple syrup. I would love to take them to the farm at some point.

  5. We just moved to RI and plan to check out Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine soon. It’s the only states I haven’t been to yet. Now I have a place in Vermont to investigate!

  7. What a LOVELY home & life you have created on your farm! There is nothing quite like life in New England, or the maple syrup!!!
    Thank you for sharing with us all.

  8. I feel inspired by your story! I’d love to knit my new born baby boy a hat with your yarn.

  10. What a lovely farm! I love the idea of staying with and learning from someone who has experience. And the yarn is gorgeous!

  15. Great giveaway! Kim’s yarn is beautiful…..a delight to knit with and feel!!!! Your farm is beautiful!!!! Blessings to you, Ginny and Kim from Kansas!

  16. Oh what a beautiful farm. I would love to visit and help with the animals! Thanks for such a lovely giveaway!!

  19. such beauty in those pictures. You can feel the love in your post and invite to the farm. WOW now I can see why you want to go visit one day. I am a city girl but like looking at the country. I keep telling my hubby that one day I want to go all rural on live off the land one day. He laughs at me cause like I said I am a city girl. we have 8 children, only 7 live with us. thanks for sharing you world with us….

  21. Still a novice knitter so I don’t know that I’d do justice to such beautiful yarn but…why not! Thank you!

  25. Oh my goodness….just the retreat/hands on experience my husband and I could use to renew after an especially difficult winter!

    Super generous giveway ~ I’m happy to be introduced to your blog and new shop! xo

  27. I love your blog. We have traveled and stayed in Vermont a few times. It’s a beautiful state. I would love to visit , we are true Maple Syrip lovers! Your yarn looks beautiful too. Thank you for offering a chance at this great give away!

  28. My daughter went to school in Vermont (UVM) and I loved visiting !
    So many local crafters and so much beautiful scenery.

  31. SmallThings!! Thank you for this introduction. Just learning about how healthy tree sap sweeteners are. Your farm is so beautiful. Bless you in all you do.

  32. What a fun post – I loved seeing these lovely views and “meeting” Kim. We hope to go to Vermont in a few years on vacation as I want to visit the folks I bought my spinning wheel from. Please enter me in the giveaway. That yarn looks swoon-worthy and our family adores real maple syrup.

  33. Beautiful farm, what a great place to visit someday. The yarn looks so soft. And who doesn’t like syrup?

  34. What a dream life this would be! Grandview Farm seems like a fabulous place to live or visit. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this featured guest post. Thanks for sharing!

  40. What a beautiful farm, I’d love to win your giveaway. Most of all I’d love the wool, never having fingered Gotland wool before it will be a highlight of my spring. I’ve begun making buckwheat pancakes and topping them with warm real maple syrup so you see both parts of your giveaway will be treasured (if I win).

  45. Oh my goodness…..I absolutely love everything I see here!!
    Thank you….going over to your blog now!
    Corinne

  47. Oooh…the children an I studied about Vermont last week…which included a snippet about maple syrup. How cool would that be to get real syrup from Vermont?! And the wool…oh my. I would have to plan long, long, long to find just the right project…

  50. I love your blog! I wish I could go back in my many years of raising Romney’s and do it more like you :))
    I’m retired now but would LOVE to see and touch and knit with a Gotland/Romney cross plus a jug of true Maple Sugar ~ heavenly.