Our Story

Freshisle Fibers started as an extension of my fibre hobbies.

I have been knitting since I was a little girl and learned to spin in the mid 1990's. My grandmother, my great aunts, and my mother knit. My great grandfather, and the generations that followed, always had sheep on the family farm.

When the sheep were sheared in the spring, the fleece was sent away and the farmers received cash and often, yarn, back. About the same time that I was learning to spin, the prices for the fleece dropped so drastically that the farmers were receving pennies for the fleece, and in some cases, the shearing and shipping costs were more than they would actually receive for the wool.

Many sheep farmers on Manitoulin, including my uncle, were actually burning the fleece just to be rid of it!!!

As a 'new' spinner and an 'old' knitter, I just couldn't bear to let all that beautiful wool go to waste. I rescued some of the fleece, washed it by hand, spun it, dyed it, knit with it, and fell in love with this wool. I thought that there just had to be a market for Manitoulin Island yarn and specifically Suffolk wool.

My husband and I spent most of one summer visiting different woolen mills and researching what could be done with the fleece. We discovered a wonderful mill that could take all of the fleece, wash and process it for us into a truly unique yarn. The mill we chose uses no harsh chemicals in the processing so our yarn still contains some lanolin.

Freshisle Fibers began by offering Suffolk wool yarn on eBay and selling to local knitters and friends. In the spring of 2005, it was time to expand into a web site and offer our yarns to a larger audience.

We currently collect fleece from various sheep farmers on Manitoulin Island and send it to a woolen mill for processing. In the spring of 2006, we were able to offer a single ply and a softspun yarn from mixed breed sheep of Manitoulin Island.

Freshisle Fibers Suffolk wool yarn and Mixed Breed yarns are hand dyed by me, with lots of help from my husband (wool winder) and father (wool winder and gatherer of natural plant materials for dyeing). I especially enjoy working with natural dyes.

Freshisle Fibers is continually changing. I enjoy dyeing new colours and designing patterns for our yarns. My small hobby has grown and it's exciting to think of its future.