Solitude Wool creates breed-specific yarns and fibers. We source fleece exclusively from small farms in the Chesapeake Fibershed.
Started in 2006 by shepherds who love wool, we work in small batches.
Our mission is to promote sheep of many breeds and support sustainable agriculture. We are lucky in the mid-Atlantic to have many farms raising and preserving diverse breeds, some endangered, some heritage breeds as well as more popular ones. Different breeds grow amazingly different types of wool, most that you won’t find in commercial yarns.
We strive to excite and educate knitters, spinners and all makers with yarns that feel alive and retain the character of the fleece and type of wool. We hope you love working with our yarn.
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Currently Solitude Wool has seven “Woolies” working to create our yarns plus all the farms we buy wool from,
the custom mills that spin our yarns, designers AND help from a number of fabulous customers who volunteer. Here are the usual Solitude Woolies that you might connect with:
Along with Sue Bundy, Gretchen started Solitude Wool in 2006. Gretchen raises Romney sheep (seen in photo) in Loudoun County, Virginia, and she raises the bar by beautifully dyeing Solitude Wool's yarn and fiber with natural dyes and weak acid dyes. It would take too long to list all that Gretchen does at Solitude Wool. Let's just say she is the managing partner….
Along with Gretchen Frederick, Sue started Solitude Wool in 2006. In Loudoun County, Virginia, Sue raises Karakul sheep, which are often underappreciated, but NOT on Sue's farm! And if there is one thing Sue is not, it's underappreciated. Sue has mentioned retiring, but we other Woolies (Solitude Wool folks) have said this is verboten -- at least until she teaches us all she knows about sheep and wool, and since she knows so much that means she has to stay with us forever and ever! Plus, Sue likes to wash wool, and she is the G.O.A.T. when it comes to wool washing! We just can NOT give that up!
Debbie was the first to join team Solitude Wool in 2008, doing a bit of everything from skeining to bagging roving to labeling. Back before the fancy equipment and the palatial warehouse space, Debbie was cranking out skeins of Solitude Wool yarn by hand. When the upgraded equipment arrived, she set it up, and over the years she did the skeining training for new Woolies. Now, she's running the Shipping Department, writing thank you notes for online orders, and safely sending Solitude Wool's breed-specific yarn & fiber off into the wild wooly world.
After retiring from the Navy, Kathy set sail for the fiber arts and became a certified knitting teacher. She raises alpaca and cashmere goats in Loudoun County, Virginia. In2017, Kathy turned her sailing knots into sheepshank knots and hopped on deck at Solitude Wool, becoming Solitude Wool's Chief Knit Nut, Wool Procurement Officer, and Captain of Knitting, leading educational voyages deep into the sea of wool, and the ocean of knitting patterns. All aboard!
Kim's interest in breed-specific wool yarn & fiber led her to Solitude Wool, where she became a *dye*-hard fan, long before she became an official Woolie in 2015. Rumor has it that Kim became a Woolie just so she could nab Solitude Wool yarn fresh off the skeining machines. Now, Kim's pulled that very same wool over the other Woolies' eyes -- when she's not writing silly fluff -- she's in charge of putting new Solitude Wool yarns & fibers, dyed or undyed, into inventory. Hmmm, do those numbers seem low . . . . . again?
Decades ago, Moira met Gretchen to learn about natural dyeing, and what to do with yarn that comes on cones. After having her fiber path loop back this way, Moira's now an essential Woolie who takes Solitude Wool cones fresh from U.S. wool mills, and wrangles the yarn into skeins so Gretchen can then dye more Solitude Wool yarn. Moira eagerly perpetuates the cycle for wool fiber that makes Solitude Wool what it is, WOOLY!
Cindy's curiosity for the fiber arts led her to Solitude Wool, and now she enthusiastically helps from start to finish. If it weren't for Cindy's energy and organizational skills, Solitude Wool would be in disarray. Plus, her smile brightens up the place, making it so much easier for all us Woolies to see our stitches!
