We believe in making beautiful things that nourish the land and its wild inhabitants.

Through rotational grazing, native plantings, and other practices, we're re-inhabiting our 200-year-old Vermont farmstead - enhancing habitat for grassland birds and other wildlife while our Lincoln Longwool sheep grow the lustrous fleeces we transform into yarn, felt pelts, woven goods, and handmade dolls.

Every piece we create is proof that farming can nurture both beauty and biodiversity. We're proud to collaborate with local artisans and to be part of Vermont’s community of small, creative enterprises. Good work and good land grow together.

Our Story

Zoë, the woman behind Vesper Hill Farm.
Zoë as a child, with sheep she raised in her childhood.

Zoë has long found her calling in the ways people and animals work together. She understood from an early age that farming is a way of engaging with the world that keeps us asking questions, connecting with the world around us, and always marveling. Zoë cares for her Lincoln Longwool flock alongside her two human children, a slew of non-ruminant creatures, and entirely too many gardens.

Our Process

Our wool's journey begins in Vermont's rolling pastures and ends in your hands as beautiful, durable goods. The path to get there is filled with care, collaboration, and time-honored traditions.

Growing: Our flock rotates through our fields, improving soil health while growing lots and lots of wool. Meanwhile, we tend our dye gardens, planting and foraging coreopsis, rudbeckia, hawthorne, and many others that will later color our yarns.

Shearing: Twice a year, spring and fall, our sheep are professionally sheared. Fleeces are sorted by quality and by color: the rare black lambswool from yearlings like Cardi and Violet, the silvery gray from mature ewes like Phoebe and Queen Anne, and the creamy whites from Helen, Lemony, and Cricket.

Processing: Our fleeces are sent to various fiber mills around the Northeast, where the wool is scoured,  carded, and spun using traditional methods that showcase its strength and natural luster. These partnerships keep our production local and support the region’s fiber infrastructure.

Creating: Some yarn is left in its natural gray, white, or black color, and some is hand-dyed here at the farm in small batches using materials collected from our gardens and hedgerows. Each skein reflects the soil chemistry and weather of a particular season. We also felt a number of our nicest fleeces into sheepskin felt pelts using traditional wet-felting techniques.

Collaborating: From the mill, yarn travels to skilled artisans at small businesses like Wollecru, Lilly Marsh Studios and Muriel's of Vermont. Every finished piece carries the story of our land, our sheep, and the hands that transformed raw fleece into something beautiful and lasting.

Distributing: We sell our products online and through fabulous Vermont retailers, including Must Love Yarn, Two Sisters Mercantile, and the Old Brick Store, as well as at a few craft fairs. Each sale supports the continuation of our work caring for land and flock and sustaining the network of locally-owned businesses that bring our wool to life.

Two of the flock!

Our Flock

  • A group of sheep and sheepdogs on a green pasture, some with thick woolly coats, some with curly fleece, with a fence and trees in the background.

    Phoebe

    the one who started it all, as seen in our logo.

  • Sheep grazing in a field during a foggy morning with the sun visible through the haze.

    Queen Anne

    old faithful, a truly grand mother and now a grandmother!

  • A young black and white sheep standing on green grass in a field, looking directly at the camera.

    Finch

    beauty queen, sometimes wallflower.

  • A sheep standing in a green field with a group of other sheep grazing in the background, under a partly cloudy sky during sunset, with distant rolling hills and trees.

    Sweet Pea

    never not in my business, generous beyond measure (partially raised our bottle baby this year, in addition to her own twins)

  • Group of sheep grazing in a field with trees and hills in the background during sunset.

    Helen

    never met an article of clothing she didn’t want to sample.

  • A man wearing sunglasses and a cap standing in a field with sheep. One sheep is lying on its back with legs in the air. The sky is partly cloudy with mountains in the background.

    Lemony

    #1 fleece, perhaps, lone wolf in sheep’s clothing.

  • A sheep with curly wool standing on green grass in a farm field, with other sheep and trees in the background during sunset.

    Cricket

    small, busy.

  • A group of sheep with curly wool in a green grassy field.

    Fiona

    most airborne, loudest.

  • A group of sheep with curly wool in various shades of white, gray, black, and brown, huddled together on grass.

    Cardi

    dubious maternal instincts but still charming.

  • Close-up of three sheep with curly wool and black faces grazing on grass in a farm setting with trees and a wooden shelter in the background.

    Violet

    born this way.

  • A sheep with curly brown and black wool standing in a green field with hills and trees in the background.

    Frances

    somehow resembles her badger namesake.

  • A sheep with curly wool lying on green grass, with a metal fence in the background.

    Gloria

    RBF.

  • our martha sheep is a wild one.

    Martha

    wild animal. too wild to pose.

  • A close-up of a black lamb with a white spot on its face, surrounded by several other sheep with curly wool, standing on green grass.

    Louise

    suspicious.

  • Group of sheep grazing on a green field with trees and hills in the background at sunset.

    The wether crew (George, Frog, Toad, Calvin, Hobbes, Fox, Stuart, Mr. Little, Raisin)

    living up to their reputation as the friendliest and most reliable fiber makers in the flock!

Local vendors who carry our goods: