Vegetarian Blankets, Clothing, Accessories and Homeware made from wet felting the shorn fleeces from our Whiteface Dartmoor sheep
Meet the Sheep
When we choose a name for a lamb, we choose one that is inspired by its Mama's name.
Acorn has a special place in my heart, in his first year he was cudding (not able to chew the grass properly) and he wasn't keeping weight on. We wintered him in the barn so I could keep an eye on his food intake and he was back out in the field with the other boys by spring. He always comes over for a little cuddle.
His Mama is Ivy and his Papa is Thor. Big sister is Angel, big brother is Finbarr.
Angel was the most gorgeous, very rounded, lamb, she is the only lamb on our farm that has fed from her Mama Ivy whilst laying down ... and sometimes sleeping, I mean why waste energy in standing when one doesn't need to. Angel's Papa is Bumpnut (who we sadly lost a few years ago). She continues to be completely laid back and chilled, always having time for cuddles and affection.
Angel is Mama to Aerial and big sister to Finbarr and Nettle.
Ariel is always ready to welcome me on my rounds each day, her Papa is Thor and her Mama is Angel. With two very friendly parents she couldn't be anything else but scrummy.
Bella has beautiful black markings on one eye that resembles eyeshadow, giving her a glamorous look all ready for a role in the movies.
Bella's Mama is Lily and she is another of Thor's gorgeous offspring. Bella always has time to say hello and to give cuddles, she is one of our younger ewes.
Bella is named after a friend's daughter, they share a birthday.
Bluebell has a special story, when she was just a week old we noticed that she was beginning to loose weight. Bluebell's Mama, Snowdrop, had mastisis and wasn't letting Bluebell feed.
Every four hours we milked Snowdrop so that we could feed Bluebell with her Mama's precious milk which is just what Bluebell needed and it also allowed Snowdrop to get well again. After about a week of bottle feeding we noticed that Bluebell had begun to feed from her Mama again.
Bluebell's Papa is Bumpnut and she is Mama to Lulabelle, her siblings are Daisy and Nettle.
Bracken is a twin, his sister is Heather, he is smaller than the other boys. His Mama is Holly and his Papa is Thor.
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Daffie is the only ewe that seems to attract the flies badly and every year she ends up with a small patch of flystrike that we need to treat. Bless her, this means that she often has a bit of fleece shaven because of this. It has meant that she is very wary when I get too close and will often run off in the opposite direction.
Daffie's Mama is Lily and her Papa is Thor, her little sister is Posy and little brother is Acorn.
Daisy is one of our shy ewes, she will come and say hello but isn't convinced that she wants to be scratched or cuddled.
Her Mama was Snowdrop and her Papa Thor. Big sis is Bluebell and little brother is Nettle.
Finbarr is named after a very good friend of ours that was in intensive care with sepsis over lockdown. He was in the middle of an important surgery when Finbarr arrived and the new life brought hope to us all. Finbarr's Mama is Ivy and his Papa is Thor.
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Fizzy is in so many of my photos, she loves giving kisses out, I adore her. Mama is Twinkle and Papa is Thor, Grannie is Hope and little sister is Sparkle, such a gorgeous family.
Halo is our youngest Ewe, she wintered in the barn with Acorn so I could keep an eye on her feeding. Sheep are rather ageist and the older ewes will always push their way to the front of the queue for the hay.
Halo's Mama is Angel and her Papa is Thor, big sister is Aerial.
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Heather is a twin with Bracken, she is a bit spooky and I am working with her to encourage her to feel more trusting.
Heather's Mama is Holly and Papa is Thor.
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Hermes is our youngest Ram named after the Greek God, he lives up to his name and he is full of mischief, in his eagerness for strokes and attention he has been known to give a little bump with his hard head.
His Mama is Lucky and his Papa is Thor.
Holly arrived at Ropewalk Farm as a young lamb along with her twin sister, Ivy.
She is Mama to Bracken and Heather.
Hope is one of our older ewes, she is 10 years old and was also retired a few years ago. Hope arrived in lamb and gave birth to the gorgeous Jolly, the first lamb born to us at the farm. Hope is quite the matriarch and is Mama to Joy, Snowdrop, Jolly and Twinkle and Grandmama to Fizzy and Sparkle.
Indigo was named by my daughter, her Mama is Joy and her Papa is Bumpnut. As many of our sheep are she is so very affectionate. Her babies are Scarlet and Violet.
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Ivy came to us as a 6 month old lamb, probably scared to find herself in new surroundings. We also have Ivy's twin sister Holly. She is a wonderful Mama to Angel, Finbarr and Acorn
Joy arrived at our farm as pregnant Mama, Lucky was her first lamb and she has been a truly wonderful Mum since. Mama to Lucky, Indigo, Red and Robin.
Jolly was the first born on our farm in 2017, so he has become our mascot. Jolly is like a big teddy bear and loves to be cuddled. His Mama is Hope.
Leaf is a gentle soul that loves a scratch, all the boys are very gentle and calm. Leaf's Mama is Lucky and his Papa is Thor.
Lily arrived at Ropewalk Farm as a young lamb.
Lily is Mama to Daffie, Posy and Bella.
Lollie has been quite shy until now, more and more she comes to have a sniff and say a little hello, getting braver each time.
Her Mama is Lucky and her Papa is Thor, big brother is Leaf and little brother is Hermes.
Lucky arrived on my birthday in 2017, we called her Lucky because had we not been present at the birth she probably wouldn't have survived because her Mama Joy wasn't very good at cleaning the film from her face to ensure that she could breath. It turns out that the black markings on a whiteface dartmoor sheep are also considered lucky. Lucky has been a wonderful Mama herself to Leaf, Lollie and Hermes.
When Lulabell was a tiny lamb, her Mama Bluebell kept jumping out of their pen and was not able to jump back in. Poor Lulabell was left rather hungry on numerous occasions. We built a two storey baracade around Mama and her beautiful baby and all was well.
Nettle isn't as forthcoming as some of the others, but he still likes a good scratch.
His Mama is Snowdrop, Papa is Thor and sisters are Bluebell and Daisy.
Patience is our oldest sheep at 11 years old, she arrived as a pregnant Mama and is Mama to Wren. Patience is very shapely after birthing so many lambs before she came to us. We decided that it was time for her to retire. She loves to bask in the sunshine when all the others are looking for shade.
Posy wasnt so sure about cuddles, but likes them more and more.
Posy's Mama is Lily and her Papa is Thor. Daffie is big sister and Bella is little sister.
Rafi is named after a friend's baby, they arrived in this world at a similar time. Rafi has been a little shy, but has learnt from the other boys to be affectionate and is becoming more confident.
Rafi's Mama is Wren and his Papa is Thor.
Meet Red ... his Mummy is Joy and his Papa is our gentle Thor. He is a very gentle soul, like all our boys. Red loves a cuddle and is often first to come and say hello.
Scarlet is very sweet, she is not as forthcoming as some of the others, but she does quietly enjoy a scratch.
Scarlet's Mama is Indigo, her Papa is Thor. Little sister is Violet and her Grandmama is Joy.
Siskin was absolutely tiny and very fragile when she was born, she was a twin but her brother sadly didn't make it. Lambs are born with a film over their face and Wren was so busy with Siskin that she didn't clean her little boy's face. Unfortunately I wasn't there when they were born so I wasn't able to intervene and clean his
face to enable him to breath.
Siskin was so fragile that she wore a dog coat for the first weeks to ensure that she could stay warm.
Sparkle is such a joy, she and her big sister Fizzy and Mama Twinkle are so very affectionate. Papa Thor and Mama Twinkle have passed down their gentle genes.
Thor is a real gentleman and so very handsome, in his many years on our farm he has never once stamped his foot or tried to butt anyone. Even when he is courting the ladies he manages to keep his hormones under control and continues to behave in a delightful manner.
With such a gorgeous temperament he is the perfect daddy.
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Twinkle shines like a star, she is so cuddly and always has time to say hello. Her Mama is Hope and her Papa is Bumpnut. Twinkle is five years old now and has always been very affectionate, all her babies are as just the same.
Violet was a bit shy initially, but now she loves a scratch, her Mama is Indigo and Papa is Thor. Grannie is Joy and big sister is Scarlet.
Wren is a wonderful Mama to Siskin and is very much like a loyal puppy, she will paw me to get my attention and loves to be scratched. Wren has a black mark above her left eye.
Wren's Mama is Patience and her Papa is Bumpnut.