Cabriole Farm

Cabriole Farm gets its name from a ballet term, and from a French word meaning a "little goat jump" - Shepherdess Joanna Porter loves both ballet and goats!  She began raising goats in 2004 and switched to sheep in the Fall of 2011. We visited the farm in late October 2017.

Joanna was a crocheter and started spinning when she had goats.  When she wanted to add sheep to her farm, she researched breeds.  She chose Finnsheep for numerous reasons: these sheep tend to be a bit smaller with a smaller tail that doesn't need to be docked; less fleece on the face making it easier to sheer; a primitive long stable with a wavy crimp; the fleece is lustrous but isn't overly greasy; and the breed has lots of different color fleeces.  After she got her sheep she began knitting which is the craft she enjoys the most at the moment. 

Joanna works part time away from her flock.  When she is home, she is building on to her small home, while her sheep enjoy a spacious greenhouse barn, (naturally, of course!)

For the upcoming winter, Joanna has culled her flock, keeping only those sheep that are good breeders and produce the fleece she wants so she can take some time to design knitting patterns.  (She has a few patterns on Ravelry already, under the name of Stylish Ewe Designs.)  Through the winter, she will have 5 ewes (Finnsheep tend to produce multiple lambs), 2 wethers (neutered males), and 2 rams. 

Cabriole Farm produces breeding stock and fleece, some of which Joanna has spun into yarn at a mill in Aroostook County.  She has very little mill spun yarn left at the moment, but she has some raw fleece and handspun yarn still available.  We have some of her mill-spun skeins on our website, as well as her handspun.

Cabriole Farm is located on a private road in Plymouth. If you are interested in seeing more of what is happening there, you can go to its Facebook page as well as contacting Joanna through email at joannaporter1@gmail.com.