Kimmet Croft Fiber

About Kimmet Croft Fiber

Kimmet Croft Fiber is a business based on a flock of 40 Merino sheep and a herd of German Angora rabbits. When I learned to knit in 1960, my grandmother taught me to use only natural fibers and would buy me the best wool yarns at her local Yarn Shop. In 1972 I fled to England to escape the chaotic life of a student at U of Wis, Madison. I lived in North Devon for a year on the edge of Exmoor surrounded by sheep. I decided then that I wanted to raise sheep and produce quality yarns. I am proud to offer knitters the softest, springiest yarns made from animals that are rotationally grazed for 6-7 months of the year and are on a constant level of nutrition. This means that the fiber is strong all the way through and does not break or pill. I do the dyeing myself, using only dyes that are completely exhausted in the dye bath. I use formulas that match the Bohus sweaters worn in the 50's and 60's. I am surrounded by marshland, woods and pastures with my own well as a source of perfect water for washing and dyeing my yarns. All of my fibers are spun within 150 miles of home. This is a central Wisconsin local business. I market my yarns at Knitting conferences like the Knit In in Madison, the Yarn Over in Minneapolis, The Sheep and Wool Festival in Jefferson and Meg Swansen's Knitting Camp in Marshfield. In the winter I build up my inventory and get lots of mail-orders for my yarns and kits to make Bohus garments from the the book Poems of Color by Wendy Keele.