Heather Sherratt - Weaving a Rich Fabric of Life
By Sally Hansen

Maybe it's her education that enables Heather Sherratt to cope calmly with four simultaneous careers, or maybe her innate abilities to do so led her to pursue a Masters in Philosophy. What matters is that this competent, independent woman is weaving her many talents and interests into a rich, satisfying tapestry of life.

After she completed her degree at the University of Manchester, Heather taught English as a Second Language in Finland for a year. Hungry for more travel, she took a friend's advice and joined her in Toronto in 1970. There she started her first career as a writer and editor, working for a publishing house. "There was so much more opportunity in Canada than in England; you could do anything you wanted to." That first career has stood her in good stead; from her Lanark County log farmhouse she continues to do freelance writing and editing for a variety of clients.

Weaving fabrics has been her long-time avocation, and sometimes her primary means of self support. Always an avid reader, she found that after working all day long as a writer/editor, she needed a new pastime as a way of relaxing. She took a weaving course in Toronto, bought herself a small loom and set off on a lifetime of weaving beautiful fabrics and turning them into unique women's artwear.

In 1978 when she was doing a lot of editing for the Federal Government, for Carleton University Press, and for other publications in the Ottawa area, Heather moved to nearby Fallbrook with her former husband, author Chris Scott. By the '80s, weaving was her full-time second career. She sold her beautiful scarves, vests, ponchos, jackets and coats at craft shows across Ontario.

In 1983 the couple bought Elphin Mountain Farm, a hundred-acre farm located in rural Lanark County near McDonald's Corners, and Heather commenced her third career as a farmer and livestock producer. Originally they raised Jersey cows and sold the cream, and raised pigs and calves on the skim milk. For the last 11 years she has run the farm with lots of help from her daughter, Kirsten Scott.

At one time they had a flock of 60 sheep, but now have about 20. In addition to selling pork, lamb and chicken, Heather also breeds and sells Border Collies. When I wondered out loud about the dichotomy between being an animal lover and food producer, Heather presented me with an apt oxymoron that reveals her practical, philosophical nature. "It's happy meat," she told me. "My animals live in a great, natural environment, eating natural foods; they are basically worry-free their whole lives. I raise meat because I don't want to eat anybody else's - I want to know it's free of antibiotics, growth hormones and other chemicals." My vegetarian step-daughter didn't buy it, but I will.

Which Came First?
The chicken or the egg conundrum takes a back seat at Heather's farm to the more relevant question I pose: "Do you raise lambs to sell the meat, or to provide the wool yarn you weave?" "Both," she laughs, and explains that she sends her best fleeces to P.E.I. to be washed and spun into yarn. It is more cost efficient for Heather to spend her time weaving than spinning her own yarn. And it is her own yarn - at least the creams and browns are. She cross-bred Black Welsh Mountain Sheep with Romneys and Leicesters to produce her own fine wools. She buys yarns in other colours, and sometimes she weaves cotton and other fibres too. She turns her hand woven fabrics into unique items of women's clothing, finishing edges with crocheted or knitted accents. She weaves because "I love the infinite variety of yarns, colours and patterns I can achieve on my looms; my goal is to create artwear that cannot be mistaken for mass produced."

Crazy for Connemaras
In 1988 Heather bought her young daughter a pony, and trotted off on her own fourth career. "Horses are an obsession," Heather confesses, and quotes Winston Churchill: "There is something about the outside of a horse that is good for the inside of a man." For women too - in 1990 Heather's Elphin Mountain Farm became the first breeder in Eastern Ontario of Irish Connemara Ponies: "performance ponies that can be shown and ridden by the whole family, whether they are geldings, mares or stallions." Her log farmhouse is replete with more than a hundred ribbons Kirsten and she have won in equestrian competitions.

Their stallion, Maplehurst Michael (Mick) MacDaire, won the prestigious 2004 American Connemara Pony Society An Tostal Award. According to Heather and Kirsten, not only is he gorgeous, he's intelligent, reliable, and has an excellent temperament. To learn more about Mick, and Heather's fourth career as horse breeder and rider, I strongly suggest you click on www.canadianconnemara.org/michael.html, or go to www.elphinfarms.com.

Good for the Outside of Women
Heather Sherratt's hand woven artwear looks and feels great on your body. Her garments are a unique, stylish complement to both your casual and in-town wardrobes. You can try on a jacket or scarf at Riverguild Fine Crafts (51 Gore St. E. in Perth), or at the Real Wool Shop (142 Franktown Rd. in Carleton Place). Click here for a peek at her artwear. You can reach her by phone at 278-2520, and by email at elphin@superaje.com.