Attendees at events like Vogue Knitting Live and New York Sheep and Wool probably know Tabbethia Haubold-Magee for the beautiful bespoke yarn she sells and the popular lanolin-based skincare products she produces. But some of her customers might not be aware that she’s a noted professional shearer who spends most of each spring shearing llamas, alpacas, and sheep on farms and ranches up and down the East Coast. She took time to chat with Farm & Fiber Knits before setting out for the 2025 shearing season.
Farm & Fiber Knits: You’re in the midst of preparing for your annual shearing travel. Thanks so much for taking a break to share some of your story with us!
Tabbethia Haubold-Magee: I’m always happy to talk about fiber!
FFK: How did you get your start in farming?
THM: I lived a pretty regular suburban life growing up, but my parents supported my innate interest in animals, particularly horses. I’ve always lived on Long Island and, when I graduated from college with a degree in animal science, had the opportunity to work for the Cornell Cooperative Extension Service at the Suffolk County Farm and Education Center, a 278-acre agricultural facility. (According to its website, “The Farm’s vision is to connect with our agricultural heritage and to pave the way for a bright, healthy, and sustainable future.”)
While I was working there, we had a problem with dogs attacking the sheep, so I brought llamas to the farm to serve as guard animals; this also became a way to teach children about llamas. There were a lot of South American families coming to Long Island at that time, and we thought it was important to educate farm visitors about animals from those cultures. That’s really when I first got the llama—and the education—bug.
Tabbethia and Solid Rock’s Sir Arthur at the ILR National Gathering of Friends and Champions.
In addition, we developed a youth program with llamas through the 4-H, the youth component of the Cooperative Extension Service (CES); the four Hs stand for head, heart, health, and hands. It was through this that we began breeding, raising, shearing, and showing llamas to give kids hands-on experience.
I established my own farm and herd of animals, and in 1996, I started my own shearing business but continued working for the Extension until 2005. I now have a seventeen-acre farm just a few miles away from the Suffolk County Farm. I still have a close relationship with them and do their shearing every year.
FFK: You’re a professional shearer, known for shearing llamas, but you also shear other fiber animals. Tell us a bit about your upcoming shearing tour.
THM: The season runs from the beginning of April to the end of June. Each year I travel from Vermont to Georgia to shear at all sizes of farms. They could have anywhere from one llama to a large flock. While llamas are my specialty, I do shear sheep, alpaca, and goats as well. Shearing is really my area of expertise and my passion—it’s what sets me apart from other fiber companies. You could say I’m a full-service fiber company: raising animals, shearing, and developing and selling products.
Left to right: Tabbethia with her Cotswold sheep Lily; Tabbethia shearing a Cotswold sheep at Browder’s Birds Farm in New York.
For me, it isn’t just about shearing—it’s about the travel, geography, countryside, farms, unique people, and unique animals. So many life experiences are tied into it: births, deaths, mishaps like a llama getting bitten by a rattlesnake, and so on. There’s always some unexpected surprise, and I roll with it. I love sharing the whole process. I call it “putting a face to the fiber.” This year, I’m also collaborating with John Haffner-Henriques of Knot House Crafts, who will be processing and spinning individual fleeces as part of this year’s Shear and Share tour. People can follow along on Instagram @liyarnandfarm.
To see Tabbethia shearing sheep, watch the short video How to Shear Sheep & Why It’s Important, produced by Isabella Rossellini for the Livestock Conservancy and featuring Tabbethia and Stephany Wilkes.
FFK: Back on your own farm, how many animals do you have right now?
THM: At any given time, I have 20–25 registered llamas, depending on breeding, sales, etc. I also have one Huacaya alpaca, six sheep of various breeds, one angora goat, and plans for adding two cashmere goats. Oh, and a Vietnamese potbellied pig, plus dogs and cats.
FFK: Education has continued to be an important aspect of your work, both on and off the farm, hasn’t it?
THM: Absolutely. At the farm, we do educational tours for niche groups like libraries, home schoolers, Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, textile-related groups, and animal science groups. Interestingly, the Women’s Connection groups are some of the most engaged. (Women’s Connection groups are for women who are at transitional points in their lives, such as widowhood, and are seeking connections with other women. See Resources.) They really respond to the animals and the concept of knowing the story behind the fiber.
Off the farm, we do a lot of events for historical societies on Long Island, such as shearing demos and textile education.
And we are just finishing up a lecture series with the always-entertaining Linda Cortright of Wild Fibers based on her fiber adventures. (The final Zoom presentation is Wednesday April 2 at 7 p.m. See below for more information.)
Clockwise from top left: Tabbethia's Cotswold sheep, Clover, with a basketful of LIYF yarn; LIYF roving; LIYF Honey Almond Lanolin Salve.
FFK: How did you get into the yarn production end of things?
THM: My shearing experience showed me how much fiber goes to waste. Animals are shorn for their well-being, and a lot of the fiber just gets discarded. That was a big disconnect for me. I wanted to find ways to put more fiber to good use as yarn, so I began taking fleeces and fiber that would otherwise have been thrown away and connecting with mills to have it processed.
My mission with the yarns I sell is to connect people with where their yarns come from and emphasize the fact that fiber is not an infinite resource. It’s renewable, but producing it does come at a cost.
My signature yarn was a blend of alpaca, Merino, and silk, which turned out super soft and squishy! Customer demands, fiber availability, and changes at the mill level have forced me to embrace a greater diversity of fibers and become more wool-based. We highlight the specific fibers and their origin on the skein tags so people can feel connected to the source of the fibers, which come from a variety of places—mostly in the United States—and is all milled domestically. We offer four weights—fingering, sport, worsted, and bulky—and we offer a Farm-to-Yarn Collection, which features specific farms.
Left to right: A skein of LIYF White Picket Fence in fingering weight, a blend of alpaca, Merino, and silk; Tabbethia’s wedding shawl in LIYF Bliss.
Visit Long Island Yarn & Farm’s website to learn more, and follow Tabbethia’s Shear and Share adventure on Instagram @liyarnandfarm. See her yarn and lanolin products at lilivestockco.com/shop.
Connect with Tabbethia's Next Knit-Along
Tabbethia and designer Kimberly McAlindin met at a crochet conference in the early 2000s. They share a passion for natural fiber and telling the stories of how yarns come to be. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tabbethia and Kimberly reconnected and knew the time was right for a collaboration—a knit-along seemed like the perfect way to connect yarn producer and designer with knitters.
Both women had recently lost their mothers, and they wanted a way to honor them together. The first LIYF and Rainbows KAL launched in 2022 with Kimberly’s Shoreline Shawl. Her mother’s parting message to her daughter had been, “When life is hard and days are gray, knit a rainbow.” That first LIYF and Rainbows KAL was cathartic for both Kimberly and Tabbethia, as well as the knitters who joined in. The fourth annual LIYF and Rainbows KAL is just wrapping up, and the next one is already being planned. Check the Long Island Yarn & Farm website for details on the LIYF and Rainbows KAL.
Resources
- For more information on the LIYF lecture series with Linda Cortright of Wild Fibers, visit lilivestockco.com.
- Find out more about Women’s Connection groups at womenconnecting.org.