AugustLee Gramig, with self-dyed Aubergine Sunset yarn
AugustLee Gramig (she, her) is a student from Louisville, Kentucky, in the Wendell Berry Farming Program of Sterling College (WBFP), located in Henry County, Kentucky. She is a fiber artist, quilter, writer, gardener, and pet caretaker. Although she doesn’t currently work on or operate a farm, she learns on the WBFP’s 200-acre educational livestock and pasture-based farm as well as on neighboring operations. She is laying the foundations for a fiber business, currently featuring hand painted yarn and embroidery floss. She counts embroidery among her favorite fiber arts. Past embroidery projects include the Chicken Collection, the Hamlet Collection, and the Meditative Collection, and her newest collection is titled Buds for Life. She also provides commissioned embroidery on all manner of items, from hats to aprons to shirts to bags. AugustLee’s Etsy shop and her website The Emerald Garden Girl show the range of her talents.
Her Senior Year Capstone Research Project (SYRP) combines farm planning with the makings of an academic book reflecting on the concepts of homeplace and community membership. Her short term goal is to either rent or buy a small parcel of land in Henry County, Kentucky, where she will establish a homestead with a self-sustaining garden, poultry, and rabbits and build out a fiber-based business. Her long term goal is to expand the fiber operations to include multiple species as well as to work toward creating a farm store for local products.
AugustLee’s mission is to honor traditional and heritage knowledge of agriculture and agrarian culture by producing food and fiber for family and community. Her farm plans include best management practices in ecological, low-impact farming; proper nutrient and watershed management; and rotational grazing–all geared toward honoring a partnership with the land and water. Ultimately, her mission is to be a good community member and good land steward. AugustLee will do her best to model responsible land stewardship and keep learning from the agrarian community around her.
