About Us

Welcome to Sheep Shed Crafts & The Maison d'Ouessant Fibre Flock

I really became a Shepherdess in 2013 when I got my first few sheep, although I had helped a couple of local farmers with lambing and other tasks since the mid-1990's. I started my craft business in 2015 to make use of my lovely, natural, sustainable, biodegradable and eco-friendly fleece to create home decor items with no harm to my sheep.

I like my clients to know that anything I make from my own fleece comes from sheep that have a home here for life and will never end up as someone’s meal.  Sometimes I use fleece from sheep that don’t live here, but I make every effort to be sure it comes from other pet sheep or at the very least, especially in the case of any dyed wool I purchase, from well-cared for flocks.

I use the traditional crafts of felting and weaving to create felted throws, peg loom rugs and seat pads and decorative wool wreaths. In addition, I sometimes make keepsake/memorial pieces for sheep owners (as commission pieces), animal sculptures and wall art.

I also sell felted items, which I hand cut and hand finish, from British Wool felt off-cuts kindly provided by The Woolly Shepherd, a company in Somerset that creates sound insulation.  These off-cuts would otherwise be wasted so this has proved to be a great way of making use of that and helping the environment.

Maison d'Ouessant Fibre Flock
There are 21 sheep in my flock, 16 of whom are Ouessant, the smallest naturally occurring breed in the world.  The ewes are about 46cm (approx.. 18”), rams 49cm (approx.. 19”) when full grown and have lovely characters. They are hardy sheep with a high quality, long fleece with a dense undercoat that comes in black, white and brown, with a few variations.  The variety of natural colours makes it a popular fleece for spinning, felting and weaving.

Along with the 16 Ouessant sheep, (Ava, Crystal, Mary-Kate, Patrick, Jean-Paul, Molly, Belle, Rionach, Morwenna, Marcell, Owlett, Skye, Astra, Clio, Noggin and Jimmy) there are 5 other sheep in the flock.  There's Buddy the Herdwick, Sugar – a Suffolk cross who was born here on the farm,  as were the Suffolk cross triplets, Siggy, Tristan and Treacle.  They each have their own personalities but all share a love of Rich Tea biscuits and feed time!  They will all live out their natural lives here with me as the Maison d'Ouessant Fibre Flock.

If you would like to know more about how it all began, the sheep, life on the farm and Pip The Pheasant, the book telling the story - To Some They’re Just Sheep - is available in the shop.