It’s important for the shearer to know that the wool is going to be spun into yarn. He or she shears them differently, they are trimmed in neater rows and the artist or spinner collects them into large plastic bags, each one with the sheep’s name on it. When it goes to the mill – it usually takes six months to come back – the wool and roving is all clearly marked according to the sheep that produced it.

Maria moves from sheep to sheep scooping up the clean wool, discarding the rest.. Here, she works with Tom on Pumpkin.