We are a family owned and run business, located on the sparsely populated Montana Rocky Mountain Front, where the vast, wrinkled Great Plains rise sharply to the rugged backbone of North America.

My husband and I are descendents of homesteaders who came to Montana in the early 1900’s. We raise fine-wool sheep on our 3000-acre ranch, with 1000 acres of our land devoted to wildlife. Our region is considered to be in the top 1% of prime wildlife habitat in the United States. Ranching practices and traditions in our part of the world have supported the natural world and you can see evidence of this in wooded riparian areas, rolling grasslands and abundant wide open spaces.

With this habitat designation comes some interesting challenges. Throughout the year, it is not unusual to have grizzly bears, mountain lions, coyotes, eagles and other wildlife as regular visitors. The combination of the predators mentioned and sheep creates problems from time to time. The situation is fairly manageable, however, with careful monitoring, electric fences and the addition of a guard llama named Rascal.

We take great pride in our flock of Beaverslide Merino sheep, grown under wholesome and humane conditions. Our animals live in an essentially extreme climate, so their wool is noticeably “loftier” than that which is imported. Our breeding program now includes Australian Delaine Merino genetics as well, from the purebred rams that we purchased four years ago. These genetics are now well established and this has dramatically improved our fiber length, while retaining the already present, soft, fine qualities of our wool. You will find that most of our selections retain some natural lanolin and are wonderful for “next to the skin uses” and for felting projects.

Our worsted weight, 3-ply fisherman, 1-ply light sport, organic products, batts and roving are all processed at a small, family run woolen mill, 260 miles North of us in Alberta, Canada. Our 2-ply fisherman’s weight line is processed in Maine, at a mill established in 1821. We've not visited the mill in Maine, as it is so far away. We have, however, been to the mill in Canada many times and can assure you that it is environmentally responsible and produces quality products the old-fashioned way. The wool is processed naturally, in contrast to larger mills, which often treat the wool with harsh chemicals to dissolve vegetable matter, mothproof or superwash. It is also non-carbonized (not heated to extremely high temperatures to destroy plant matter). Wool doesn’t burn, but carbonizing apparently alters its molecular structure and creates a harsh product. In an effort to avoid this over-processing, a few flecks of straw remain in the product, but are easily removed as you knit.

Much of the equipment at these mills dates back to the 1800’s. The yarn is “mulespun”; a process developed during the last half of the eighteenth century. Mule spinning gives yarns characteristics all their own. Yarns spun on frames have a constant tension, and are spun and wound continuously, while mule spun yarns are drawn, spun, relaxed, then wound about 6 feet at a time. The draw allows for a more uniform product, and the relaxation of the tension allows the yarn to “fluff up” more. Many experts consider the mule to make the very highest quality of handwork yarns. Yarns processed at these mills are also dyed in the wool for wonderful uniformity of color.

We offer 47 selections of 2-ply worsted weight yarn. It knits to a gauge of approximately 4.5 to 5 stitches to the inch on size 6 or 7 needles. It is 90% fine Beaverslide wool and 10% kid mohair. The fine, kid mohair adds a soft sheen and enriches the color, without the scratchiness associated with mohair. It also adds strength and is sometimes referred to as "nature's nylon". There are approximately 241 yds. per 4 oz. skein. Included in this line are muted heathers, solids and 6 "all natural" choices. Our traditional fisherman weight line includes 14 color blends that knit up at about 4 stitches to the inch on size 8 or 9 needles. We also offer 20 rustic, rough-spun McTaggart Tweeds, also in a fisherman weight. These are a bit heavier and knit up at about 3.5 stitches per inch on size 8 - 10 needles. Both yarns are made from 100% fine Montana wool in 2-ply. Both types have about 200 to 210 yds. per 4 oz. skein. We recently added 5 natural selections in 3-ply Aran weight, including 2 organic choices. This weight knits to a gauge of about 3 to 3.5 stitches to the inch on size 8 - 10 needles, with approximately 160 yds. per 4 oz. skein. The dyed fisherman selections feature color blends that are unique to and designed by our little company. Each one is a heathered blend of two to four colors. These colors were inspired by the natural world, here in Northern Montana.

To make my long story short, we love our life here on the Front. We enjoy sharing a bit of our life with you and thanks for checking out our webstore! If you have any questions, I will be happy to try to answer them.

Warm regards,
Leanne

Beaverslide Dry Goods P.O. Box 153 Dupuyer, MT 59432 leanne@beaverslide.com Phone: (406) 472 3283 Fax: (406) 472 3399