Farm to Yarn: Armscote Manor Portland Wool
Deborah Williams and family have lived at the Manor with its surrounding 25 acres for nearly 30 years. During this time they have become conservators and stewards of the land, extending the formal and informal gardens, creating a lake to attract migratory birds, a canal, heritage orchards and nutteries. 15,000 trees have been planted to provide shelter for nesting birds and other wildlife and the wooded margins and hedgerows of the property have been left to wildlife and wildflowers.
You can shop for these plump 100g skeins of Armscote Manor Portland Wool here. Each skein has approximately 380y/350g and the light worsted weight yarn knits nicely at a gauge of 20 stitches per 4 inches. Availability is limited as we receive only one shipment per season. Sweater shown is the Karersee pullover, pattern available for purchase here on Ravelry.
We're so excited to receive these beautiful skeins of yarn from the 2023 clip of Armscote Manor's rare breed Portland sheep. This special yarn has a lovely origin story we'd like to share with you in this blog post.
Armscote Manor is located in the rural sparsely populated region of south Warwickshire, England, The manor house dates from the 1600's when it was built by wool merchant John Halford.
Deborah first decided to have sheep on the property in order to keep the grass down. In line with her commitment to biodiversity, she settled on the Portland, a rare at-risk breed that almost became extinct in the 1970's. She soon fell in love with these gentle animals and today Armscote Manor continues to maintain a single flock of conservation-grazed Portland sheep, one of the oldest known breeds in England. Armscote Manor is proud to be part of the effort to bring back this endangered breed.
The creamy white yarn made from this special fleece is soft, light and bouncy. It is a joy to work with and produces heirloom garments that will last for generations--a knitter's dream!
