Lambing course anyone? Early this year we held a fantastic lambing course at Beechhayes Farm home of Ruth & Nick Strange of Blackdown bangers fame (you will knowwhat I mean if you have tasted their sausages!)
The next lambing course is Febrary and will book up fast so if you want a place book via the main Woolly Shepherd website.

Commissions also being taken for cushions and cushion covers.......example here made from Wensleydale hand dyed wool.

I know alot of people read this blog, so come on folks lets have some comments on what you would like to see or know about!!

Rural Living Show 2007 at Kings Hall Taunton was fantastic as usual! Having demonstrated pegloom rugmaking last year to great interest I was invited back to demonstrate this craft for a second year, and this year I chose to demonstrate how to make a funky cushion cover and a white woolly handbag.........pics to follow when they are finished!
This went down very well and lots of people came to ask endless questions which was brilliant! I also had people come especially to find me which was very nice and several came to order commissions which was even better. The event is in aid of the South West childrens hospice which is a very good cause!
Pictured is my stall at the event!
I have decided to give up keeping most of the sheep to concentrate my efforts into teaching about wool and sheep and to increase production of woolly things from local wool and other ethical fibres.....more about this soon too. However we do seem to have at last jumped the final hurdle in the importation of some more Ouessant sheep from Brittany and they will hopefully arrive in the next couple of weeks. This has been an amazing feat of endurance taking into consideration all the problems with various animal diseases we have had this year. I am travelling with the sheep and will let you all know the outcomes and post pics of them when they arrive! Watch this space!

Woolly Shepherd Courses are booking fast, especially the peglooming ones! Courses are also run in other venues such as the wonderful wool shop Spin a Yarn in Bovey Tracey Devon and the wonderful pics are of my last lot of students work............so if you want to learn this traditional craft and have a new hobby take a look at the link to the Woolly Shepherd website where you can book a course and pay securely online! We also have a lambing course in February with amazing very experienced instructors, and we already know that last years lambing course aided some of the participants to save lives! I also run courses in sheep keeping, wool processing and peglooming in France.......get in touch for details

Wow what a week! We had a visit from 'Muddy Matches' and they arrived in this!!!!! Its quite something else!!
I will not bore you by telling the story of the day........its on their marathon blog
In the evening we went to the best pub in the world......well I think so! The Culmstock inn, renowned for good food, good beer and good and unusual company!!! ( in the last few visits I have encountered Joss Stone and her large dog who tried to eat my dinner and local racehorse trainer Martin Pipe.) If you happen along there take note.....it does not accept plastic!

Woolly Shepherds woolroom! Thought you ought to see where I do my dyeing and the large pots I use. I also have a wonderful sink that was rescued a few years ago from the local tip. Completing my recycled 'finds' is the spindryer and elecctric 2 ring worktop cooker liberated from the recycling centre at South Molton in Devon.......a place always worth a visit if you are in the area, the town is nice too. Of course the radio is there so I can listen to a bit of loud music without being told to 'turn it down' by my children (what is the world coming to!!).

Chicken tonight!!!!.................for human and fox! We have been raising 11 SASSO table chickens from dayolds and on Friday our first 4 were killed at the local poultry abattoir down the road.......yes I know I should be doing this myself but for £2 a bird to wait 45 minutes for the live birds to come out oven ready, complete with bagged giblets and not a feather in sight is too tempting! They weighed 5lb each and 3 were consigned to the freezer and one to the fridge for sunday lunch. On Saturday morning disaster struck and before we knew it the fox had stealthily killed 4 and taken 2 of our remainining 7!( in broad daylight and so quietly the dogs didn't even hear!)
Waste not I plucked and filleted the two dead bodies into bags of curry meat and the remaining 3 are being despatched tomorrow before foxy returns with his friends for more takeaways!
The chicken in the fridge was cooked for lunch today and eaten before I could whip my camera out but it was wonderful, the best I have ever had and you can see from the picture a bit left for tomorrow!