The Process

  • A woman wearing a blue beanie and black jacket feeds a lamb with a bottle while standing outdoors on a farm with sheep in the background.

    I learned how to care for sheep working lambing seasons for two large ranches. It has never been my desire to have more than 30-40 sheep to keep the flock a manageable size and practice shepherding the way that feels in integrity to my flock. I’ve learned a great deal about my animals through observation and connection with them which I believe allows me to have a healthier flock. I keep flock families intact and never separate the lambs from the ewes. I do not force weaning as I believe nature has its was for a reason.

  • Dead animal carcass lying on grass, partially covered in shadows from nearby trees.

    After years of keeping sheep to help me clear land, I began to consider raising sheep for meat. It has become part of my journey with them to harvest a small percentage of sheep per year. In the future I intend to have a mobile slaughter and offer lamb shares to my community. I am also learning the process of naturally tanning hides. I am most familiar with veg tanning, which preserves the hide with a high tannin tea made typically from bark.

  • A spinning wheel with a sheepskin and a rolled-up ball of yarn hanging on it, placed on a wooden deck with chairs and shopping bags in the background.

    Fiber has ultimately become my focus. I have always wanted to use my sheep’s wool, but never really knew where to begin or really anything about fiber arts. Through a succession of serendipitous moments I met the right person that I bought my spinning wheel from. I worked on this wheel through the winter of 2024. It was very difficult to learn to spin, but I stuck with it and in the Spring attended a fiber art retreat where I learned to better use my wheel, dye fiber and weave.

  • A hand with tattoos holding a twisted bundle of cream-colored yarn, resting on a brown textured surface.

    Ever since I have been making my own yarn and weaving many pieces with both a tapestry and rigid heddle loom. The thing I like to make most is shawls. I do the whole process, shearing to shawl making.