Long Thread Podcast: Tamara White, Wing & A Prayer Farm

Tamara White always has one eye on the skies. Whether she’s getting her sheep ready for shearing, welcoming visitors to classes and events on the farm, or watching over the yarn in kettles of natural dye, there isn’t a moment when the weather isn’t on her mind. Although rain and heat make hard work of tending a flock of 100+ sheep plus calves, chickens, and other livestock, Tammy sees her work as a collaboration with Mother Nature.

Most yarn production farms consist of hundreds of animals of a single breed, enough to produce consistent batches of single-breed yarn. Tammy’s way is more difficult, but more fun. In addition to her original small group of Shetlands, she has an evolving mix of breeds: sometimes Clun Forest, sometimes Teeswater, and most recently Valais Blacknose, a recent Swiss import dubbed the “world’s cutest sheep.” Wing & A Prayer Farm’s yarn line includes a number of fiber blends, not only to incorporate the farm’s different wools but also to bring the best traits of various breeds together. Creating yarns this way also invites collaboration with other shepherds and a number of small mills to whom she trusts her batch of wool.

The collaboration with nature continues in dyeing the yarn. A self-taught dyer, Tammy creates as many colors as she can with plants that she can grow in her garden or forage on her property.

To support her farm and community, Tammy takes on a wide range of other projects: making soap and pies, selling eggs, hosting classes, and selling breeding stock to other shepherds. It’s an enormous amount of work, but Tammy talks about her farm with such joy that it hardly sounds like a chore.

Links

Wing & A Prayer Farm website, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Patreon
Natural dyeing, felting, soapmaking, and other scheduled workshops
Find a schedule for the farm shop or make an appointment to visit the yarn shop and apothecary
The story of Valais Blacknose sheep at the farm
New England Farm & Fiber Festival
Find yarn, fiber, soap, and merch in the farm’s online store

This episode is brought to you by:

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Brown Sheep Company is a four-generation family business bringing you high quality wool and natural fiber yarns. We spin and dye U.S.-grown wool into hundreds of vibrant colors at our mill in western Nebraska. Our mill has something to offer for every craft, from our well-known knitting and crochet yarns to wool roving for spinning and felting. We offer U.S-made needlepoint yarn as well as yarn on cones for weaving. Learn more about our company and products at BrownSheep.com.

The Michigan Fiber Festival—Michigan’s largest sheep and wool festival—is a vibrant world of fiber arts. Discover five days of classes with nationally recognized teachers in spinning, weaving, lacemaking, dyeing, felting, and rug hooking. Enjoy three days of shopping. Delight in shearing and fiber arts demonstrations. Enjoy a truly immersive experience. Join us in August at the picturesque Allegan County Fairgrounds (you can even camp on site!) Find more details at michiganfiberfestival.info.