What happens after the sheep is shorn?

Before we visited the sheep farm this past Saturday,

my husband, boys and I stopped into this nondescript building

near the traffic circle in Greenwich, NY, to the east of our home.

It's the new home of Battenkill Fibers Carding and Spinning Mill

where they produce "artisan quality natural-colored and dyed
yarn using traditional semi-worsted milling machinery."

We were all mesmerized by the whirring and spinning!

As part of the Washington County Fiber Tour,
visitors were invited in to learn what it takes to go
from fresh-shorn fleece to processed and dyed yarn.

The mill is filling a huge need here in upstate NY
by providing a service that small hobby farmers
used to have to send out of state for, and that was
only if they deemed it a financially-viable step.

We all got a free skein of partially processed yarn (on the right).
Both it, and the natural sock yarn (on the left) that I bought,
are going to get the Kool-Aid dye treatment at some point.

I also parted with some of my hard-earned cash

on three skeins of yarn seconds in these great hues.

The imperfections appealed to me --

a lot like homespun leading to a bit of variety

in the stitches of the finished product.

Can't wait to go back!