Our wool

I brought over 3 non-descript rescue sheep soon after buying our 5 acre piece on Gabriola Island almost 20 years ago. We were completely unprepared: no fences, a small shelter, armed with a hastily written note from one of their caregivers on how to deal with bloat. It wasn’t uncommon in that first year to see our sheep lounging about on the patio outside the house, or being shepherded back to our property after inventively making their way to the road and forest beyond. How much has changed! I discovered WOOL after our first shearing. Carding, spinning and weaving soon followed. We brought in Shetlands, then discovered rare breeds and started raising Cotswolds (still one of my all time favorite wools). When life turned left and changed I downsized my flock, but couldn’t let go, and went right back up, this time with Romneys and Shetlands. Today, we have downsized again, intentionally so, and my hope is to bring Cotswolds back to our farm. My little studio is filled with beautiful wool, and I send off shipments of raw wool to woolen and worsted mills and receive back beautiful yarns and rovings. I weave, dye yarn and rovings, knit with needles and on a small knitting loom, and generally play with wool whenever I can. Our sheep are happy animals, with room to wander and graze, and the best hay to munch on when pastures go to sleep. Happy healthy sheep make beautiful wool, and that is what we offer at Fiddlehead Farm.

Our Natural Skin Care

I have suffered from eczema on my hands since I was a child. 22 years ago I took a class offered at a community centre in Vancouver on handmade soap. I have never looked back. Except for the occasional bout neither have my hands. For the last 20 years i have sold soap mainly by word of mouth. No fancy colors, plain packaging (or really small brown paper bags), hand cut into basic fit-in-your hand size bars. And people keep coming back. Then I discovered handmade lotion, and even better: handmade deodorant that actually WORKED!

3 years ago I started following my husband to the farmer’s market here on Gabriola and on his rounds selling our seeds (www.sweetrockfarm.ca). Of necessity my production began to grow. I offer to you my own basic skin care regimen. What I use and what my family uses every day. Soap, deodorant, lotion. The muscle rub isn’t quite used daily, but getting there! Here, you can give an overview of a project or product. To get visitors interested in clicking the Button Block below, you can talk about your creative process and where they can find more of your work. Additionally, the Gallery Block above helps you engage visitors by letting you show multiple images in a slideshow.