Goat Knoll - Cashmere goats and cashmere fiber from an Oregon farm
Farm Products
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Goat Knoll is a 50 acre farm owned by Paul Johnson and Linda Fox. We raise cashmere goats and Shetland sheep. The farm is located just south of the small town of Dallas (not The Dalles!) Oregon. Dallas is 20 miles west of Salem, Oregon's capitol city. The farm is partially forested and has a few unimproved pastures. Most of it was covered with woody brush including poison oak, scotch broom, scrub oak and blackberry vines. Now, thanks to the goats, the brush is under control. We've owned the land since 1978, but moved back here to stay in 1996. When we moved here we brought along 3 cashmere goats, 3 sheep and a pampered, brainless house cat. Our herd has grown considerably since then. It varies from 50 - 150 goats and 8 - 15 sheep. We still have the brainless cat. |
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| Cashmere Goats. The farm produces a nice crop of kid goats each spring (from 20 to 50), some of which are available for sale. We have adult bucks and does for sale most of the time. During October - December, we usually have bred does for sale. We enjoy a variety of colors of goats and make breeding decision partially to keep a variety of colors on our farm. We breed for a fine, stylish cashmere with enough length to enable easy spinning and to produce a strong yarn. The goats are extremely healthy, grazing most of the year on natural food. In the winter we feed a good quality hay. The goats are free of disease (CL, CAE & soremouth) and require minimal care from their human beings. To see what we currently have for sale check out our goats for sale. |
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| Cashmere Products. Around February 1st each year, we harvest the cashmere from our goats and have the raw cashmere fleece processed by fiber mills that separate the valuable cashmere from the coarse goat guard hair. It is washed and processed into rovings (for spinning) and yarn according to our specifications. We generally have available cashmere rovings in 5 colors and 100% cashmere lace-weight and 3-ply yarn in several natural (and some un-natural) colors. We also sell cashmere lace scarf kits which include cashmere yarn and a simple lace knitting pattern. These products are for sale at the farm, at various shows we attend and by mail. Check out our Farm Store for details on products available now. At right is a selection of 2-ply lace-weight yarn, in 2 ounce skeins. |
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| The Sheep. We also keep a few Shetland sheep. We shear them each spring. We process some of the wool ourselves, washing it and hand spinning it into a bulky-weight yarn. Some of the wool we have processed by a mill into rovings for spinning. We dye the yarn and create make-it-yourself hat kits which include yarn and a simple knit or crochet pattern. Our sheep wool makes an interesting and lively yarn. This yarn works well for fast projects made on larger knitting needles and crochet hooks. It allows you to make up a project quickly for a very personal gift or to keep your own body parts toasty and bright. The yarn also works well for weaving. |
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Handmade cashmere garments. We have a few handmade cashmere items for sale. These may include cashmere scarves, wool and cashmere socks, caps, woven wool blankets and even a shawl from time to time. Items available are normally one of a kind and we have them for sale when time and the creative whims of the knitter/weaver allow. Check out the Farm Store for the handmade products currently available.
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Printed Materials. CashMirror Magazine, published 10/89 - 12/03 was the only magazine published in the United States (and possibly the world) which was dedicated to cashmere goats. Our farm was the publisher of CashMirror from July 1996 through December 2003. We have a supply of back issues of these magazines for sale. CashMirror contains a wealth of information about raising cahsmere goats, cashmere fiber and stories of people and places involved with cashmere. They are informative and often humorous. We guarantee that not only will you find valuable information, you will also enjoy reading them. You can locate issues containing a particular subject by searching the Alpha index. To browse various issues, look in the Listing of Artciles. We are working on a comprehensive alphabetical index and article listing for the entire 14+ years, but until then, you might want to check out the two limited indexes we have available now: Listing of articles 7/96-12/03 by month. Alphabetical index (by subject) 7/96-6/03 created by Virginia reader Marilee Williamson. We also have two books for sale--Country Tales by Linda Fox, a collection of tales about rural living and Buster the Cashmere Goat, by Paul Johnson, a children's book about an orphaned cashmere goat. Back issues are available from our Farm Store. |
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| Knit Kits (and crochet). We have put together a few kits for you to create your own nifty handmade stuff. There are 2 wool hats to knit or crochet. This yarn is from our sheep, handspun and dyed in various colors. There is also a easy cashmere knit lace scarf kit. Each kit includes enough wool or cashmere yarn to complete the kit, a photograph of the finished product and detailed instructions. Kits are available from our Farm Store. |
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