Bear Creek Felting

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Bear Creek Felting I’m Teresa Perleberg, a needle felting artist and shepherd. Explore classes and retreats, too. Pasture to Product since 2008.

Follow our North Dakota sheep, see how their wool becomes felting kits, and find inspiration for your own projects. Raised on a farm in North Dakota, I've been surrounded by pets and livestock my entire life, fostering a deep affection for all animals. My love for the fiber arts began when I brought a few sheep into our family. This project sparked my journey into spinning, knitting, and eventually needle felting. The Romney sheep I own provide my favorite medium; I adore the texture of the wool and how effortlessly it blends to bring my animal sculptures to life. I constantly seek inspiration for my work—from the wild and photographs to my own beloved pets and farm animals. I started sculpting animals from wool in 2006, primarily using the fleece from my sheep. While I mainly create realistic animals, I’m increasingly inspired to develop whimsical designs from my imagination. The time I dedicate to sculpting each animal's face truly enhances the overall expression of my art. To fully appreciate my work, one must understand the needle felting process and the commitment required to achieve such intricate detail in wool. It brings me immense joy to know that my pieces are now part of private collections around the world!

Better wool begins with a little matchmaking. 🐑Fall is breeding season on our farm, and we’re planning for more than nex...
10/22/2026

Better wool begins with a little matchmaking. 🐑

Fall is breeding season on our farm, and we’re planning for more than next spring’s lambs. We’re also planning for the wool they’ll grow.

Each year, we keep track of wool quality and use what we learn to thoughtfully pair our rams and ewes—building on the qualities we love and improving with each generation.

As both a shepherd and a needle felting artist, I get to see those decisions through, from the sheep in our pasture to the wool on my felting table.

Long before it becomes part of your kit or your favorite wool sampler, we’re working to make it better.

Fresh off the carder, this is where our wool goes.These are called **bumps**, and each one is waiting to become part of ...
10/16/2026

Fresh off the carder, this is where our wool goes.

These are called **bumps**, and each one is waiting to become part of a Bear Creek Needle Felting kit, a 1/2-ounce package of wool, or one of our samplers.

A lot more thought goes into each of these colors than you might realize.

Our current color line is carefully built to give felters both variety and useful similarities between shades. And the wool itself is very specific to Bear Creek Felting — from the breeds and crosses we raise in our flock, to how the fiber is prepared, dyed, blended, and carded.

I’m thinking about the finished wool long before it ever reaches this shelf.

That starts with breeding sheep for the kind of fleece I want to work with and continues through every step until these soft bumps come off the carder.

They may look like shelves full of pretty colors, but there’s a whole lot of planning, experimenting, and sheep behind every one of them.

I’ve been working behind the scenes on our 6th Annual Felting Safari, and a few people just got the first peek at what’s...
10/12/2026

I’ve been working behind the scenes on our 6th Annual Felting Safari, and a few people just got the first peek at what’s coming. 👀

Past retreat attendees and Bear Creek Needle Felting Academy members have early access for the next few days.

Then I’ll finally get to share it with everyone.

I have a feeling you’re going to like this one. 🦁

Meet my newest little wool sculpture! 🐿️A Richardson’s ground squirrel, better known around here in North Dakota as a fl...
10/10/2026

Meet my newest little wool sculpture! 🐿️

A Richardson’s ground squirrel, better known around here in North Dakota as a flickertail!

I finished this little guy yesterday and took him outside for a photo shoot. He looked so perfectly at home among the fallen leaves and branches that I almost expected him to scamper away!

One of my favorite things about needle felting is bringing these little creatures to life with nothing but wool and a felting needle. It’s especially fun when I get to recreate animals that are part of the landscape here in North Dakota.

He makes me smile! ❤️

This might be the most mesmerizing part of the mill.The carder takes fiber and opens, aligns and blends it into the soft...
10/07/2026

This might be the most mesmerizing part of the mill.

The carder takes fiber and opens, aligns and blends it into the soft, workable wool I love using for needle felting.

It’s also where colors can really come alive. I can take several shades that don’t look particularly exciting on their own and blend them into something completely different.

I’ve spent a lot of hours standing in front of this machine…

…and I still like watching it work.

A beautiful fall day to plant a few new trees. 🌳🍂We lost so many trees in last year’s tornado, and our yard still looks ...
10/04/2026

A beautiful fall day to plant a few new trees. 🌳🍂

We lost so many trees in last year’s tornado, and our yard still looks very different than it did before. It felt good today to start putting a few of them back.

And for those of you who were here for a felting retreat this summer—you’ll notice a new tree beside our “redneck patio,” where the garage stood before the tornado took it. 😂 By next summer, we’ll have a little more shade waiting for you!

It will take years for these new trees to fill the spaces left behind, but you have to start somewhere. ❤️

Thank you Happy Valley Tree Farm for helping us add a little more green back to Bear Creek. 🌳

10/03/2026

🔊 Sound on—you need to hear this morning at Bear Creek. ❤️

The breakfast crew is getting a little impatient. 😂 Sheep hollering, chickens carrying on, cattle making their opinions known, geese honking in the distance and birds singing everywhere.

Jeff is usually the breakfast guy, but he’s taking Angus in for his monthly arthritis shot, so everyone is VERY concerned that breakfast is running late.

Meanwhile, I’m gathering dahlias to take to the shop. 🌸

It’s cool enough to see the steers’ breath in the morning light, the dahlias are still blooming, and the whole farm is alive with sound.

A noisy, chilly, beautiful fall morning at Bear Creek. 🐑🌸

Wool doesn’t come off the sheep looking like the neat little bundles you see in my shop.There’s a lot that happens first...
10/02/2026

Wool doesn’t come off the sheep looking like the neat little bundles you see in my shop.

There’s a lot that happens first.

It has to be sorted, washed and prepared before it ever reaches the carder. It’s messy, sometimes hot, sometimes dusty, and definitely not the glamorous part of making a needle felting kit.

But I think there’s something fascinating about seeing the transformation.

Every beautiful color of Bear Creek wool has a much woollier beginning. 🐑

Address

107 East Main Street
Nome, ND
58033

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