Celebrate Ranch-Raised Wool with the Smith River Vest

When I was offered the opportunity to work with a brand-new yarn from Ranching Tradition Fiber, I jumped at the chance. I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Kami Noyes in the past, designing the “Roots in the Valley” shawl using her Tobacco Root Valley Targhee and creating a booklet about her history with wool culture through the years.

Kami has grown from a girl helping to bottle feed lambs, and on to her interest in arts and crafts during her growing up years. She is a self-taught fiber artist and wool and yarn producer. The owner of Ranching Tradition, Kami is a fifth-generation rancher working in the Tobacco Root Mountains of southwest Montana. She is the sole organizer of the Copper K Fiber Festival, where we first met. The festival takes place at the historic family barn, which dates back to the 1800s and was built by the Parrot Silver and Copper Company. I grew up on a family farm, worked throughout college at a historic museum, and am the daughter of a custom timber-frame builder, so I immediately felt a strong pull to this event hosted in a remarkably well-preserved historic agricultural setting.

Get a closer look! Click any image to open it in full-screen mode and read more about Kami and her sheep.

Fifth-generation rancher Kami Noyes raises Targhee Rambouillet sheep in southwest Montana. Photo by Kami Noyes, courtesy of Ranching Tradition Fiber Some of Kami’s happy herd grazing on the family ranch at the edge of the Tobacco Root Mountains. Photo by Sara Gilman, courtesy of Ranching Tradition Fiber Kami’s Targhee sheep. Photo by Kami Noyes, courtesy of Ranching Tradition Fiber Tobacco Root Valley yarn in a range of colors, inspired by the natural beauty of Montana. Photo by Kayla Mehlhoff, courtesy of Ranching Tradition Fiber

When Kami told me about her new Smith River natural-colored Targhee yarn, I was eager to get my hands (and needles) on it! Her newest yarn is a blend of her wool along with fiber gathered from other local Montana producers, which are combined at the mill to create a lovely, warm gray DK-weight wool.

Smith River Targhee. Photo by Kami Noyes

After spending some time with Smith River, I was inspired to create a garment that represents the value of connections—the connections of a woman to her family history, to the land she lives and sustains life on, and to the other women who team up to create wool—and the collective spirit of creativity where we all meet together to make functional items made of locally produced fiber.

Joanna’s Smith River Vest is worked bottom up from the hemline, first the back and then the front. It has a high-low hemline, with the back three inches longer than the front.

In designing this vest, I sought inspiration from the simple, clean lines of a work apron, using side ties to secure and customize the fit. This design is a tribute to the people who work together to preserve tradition, ranch responsibly, and share the wool culture of Montana with a wider audience at large. I hope I have done it justice.

Happy knitting!

–Joanna

Subscribers can access the Smith River Vest in the Farm & Fiber Knits Library.

Further Reading:

• “Tough as Targhee: Finewool of the West”
• “Ranching Tradition Fiber”

Joanna Johnson is the author and publisher of knitting storybooks. She and her husband, Eric, operate Slate Falls Press from their home studios in Loveland, Colorado. Find out more about their books on their website, slatefallspressbooks.com.