First Day of Black Sheep Gathering
Today was a great first day at Black Sheep Gathering. We visited with many friends, and met a lot of enthusiastic and creative spinners, knitters, crocheters, weavers, and dyers. I had such a great time!
I was able to test drive a Schacht Matchless wheel during a break from the booth. I am ultimately hoping to find a double treadle version, though the single treadle that I spun on was wonderful. The yarn was just exactly as I had hoped for.
Lori and I went to dinner with Karen and Margie at one of our favorite eateries called Cafe LN. We had such a nice time visiting and telling stories from the day.
We are so relaxed now after good food and friends. And tomorrow promises to be another fun day between the fleece show, Spinner’s Lead, and the results of the fiber arts show.
Setting Up the Booth
Today we walked over to Soft Horizons yarn shop in Eugene. It is such a cute shop located in a Victorian house. On the way back to the hotel we stopped at Full City Coffee for some chai and coffee. Yum!
We set up our booth in the afternoon, which was a creative and fun time. The sheep were serendading us from the adjacent barn. After we were set up, we walked around the show to see what other vendors are here.
Tonight we had dinner at Johnny Oceans with Karen and Margie. Everyone is looking forward to tomorrow.
On the road to Black Sheep Gathering
Lori and I had a beautiful drive from southern California to Eugene, Oregon over the past two days. The scenery along the way was just lovely. We stopped last night in Ashland, Oregon, which is one of our favorite towns. I love the Victorian houses…and Emz Blendz soap shop…and Websters yarn shop. While in Ashland we picked up some soap and yarn, and ate at our favorite little restaurant called Pangea. We also discovered a great local coffee shop called The Beanery, where they make a mean Irish Cream latte.
Now we are tucked in for some knitting before bed. We are looking forward to setting up our booth tomorrow.
Fall Projects
I have been working on a few different projects this fall, including a crocheted baby blanket, a handwoven scarf, and a set of handwoven towels.
Crocheted Granny Square Baby Blanket
Crocheted Granny Square Baby Blanket
I used some of my handpainted superwash merino/bamboo/nylon blend fingering weight sock yarn for the baby blanket. This yarn is really soft and squishy, and will be perfect for a newborn baby to cuddle up in. My friend Lori (Capistrano Fiber Arts Studio) designed this pattern.
Handwoven Silk Pinwheel Scarf
Handwoven Silk Pinwheel Scarf
The pinwheel scarf was made using a pinwheel twill draft on my 8-shaft Ashford table loom. The yarns are both 20/2 spun silk. The pink yarn is one that I handdyed, and the white yarn is the natural color of the bombyx silk. I was inspired to weave this after reading this article on Weavezine.
Handwoven Waffle-Weave Towels
Handwoven Waffle-Weave Towels
This was my first time weaving with cotton, and also my first time weaving towels. I really like the idea of waffle-weave, and decided to try it out after reading an article in the September/October 2009 issue of Handwoven Magazine. The yarns are all 8/2 unmercerized cotton purchased from Lunatic Fringe Yarns.
Summer Fiber Fun
I have been away from my blog for most of the summer, but fortunately, now I am back in the blog groove and ready to fill you in on some of my summer fiber adventures.
I am very fortunate to be able to share a brief video interview conducted at Black Sheep Gathering by my spinning friend Jeri and her husband, Eduard. This was the first time that I had ever been interviewed on camera about fiber, and I must say that Jeri and Eduard put me at ease. Thanks so much Jeri and Eduard!
At the end of July I became a weaver. I purchased a gently used 24 inch Ashford 8 shaft table loom. I warped the loom the very first day, and I haven’t stopped since. So far, I am pretty obsessed with twill. I just think that twill is such a beautiful fabric!
My first project - a sampler scarf made with handdyed mohair/wool yarn:
Plain weave scarf made with handdyed merino wool yarn:
Huck lace scarf made with superwash bluefaced leicester sock yarn. Warp is undyed, weft is handpainted:
In August, my friend, Lori , gave me some undyed and handpainted 2P bombyx silk cord and handpainted 20/2 bombyx silk so that I could try my hand at weaving with fine threads. It was such a delight to smell and feel the silk while I was weaving. And, of course, I used a block twill pattern.
I have now taken to weaving baby blankets because it seems as if everyone I know is pregnant. I am using a wonderful organic cotton boucle yarn in a variety of lovely natural colors that are appropriate for girls or boys.
For my next projects, I am planning to weave another silk twill scarf as a gift for a friend. I bought some 20/2 silk the other week, and have dyed it up in greens, blues and pinks. Also, I am planning to make a felted scarf with handspun. What fun!
Much of my knitting time has been replaced by weaving time, but I have managed to finish a pair of socks for myself, and I have made substantial progress on a pair of socks for my sweetie. For my socks, I used my new superwash bluefaced leicester sock yarn handpainted in shades of blue and purple.
I have several other knitting projects in the works, and I am hoping to work on them more this fall and winter.
Days 7 and 8: Homeward Bound
We had a very smooth two-day trip home from Black Sheep Gathering. We stopped at Hendrick’s Park in Eugene before leaving town. A few Rhododendrons were still in bloom, and the park was very green and lush. While we were at Hendrick’s Park, we saw a peahen hopping through the grass with her babies in tow.
Mt. Shasta was breathtaking on the way home as well. The Pacific Northwest native and geologist in me has been missing the splendor of the Cascade Mountain Range since I have moved to southern California in 2001. This is evidenced by the large number of Mt. Shasta pictures that I took on this trip.
Lori and I enjoyed driving through the agriculture in the Central Valley of California. We especially were taken with all of the sunflowers that were blooming. There were literally hundreds of acres of sunflowers along the side of the road. I imagine that the impressionist painters would have been thrilled by such a scene.
Now that we are home it is time to get back to spinning, knitting, and washing fleeces.
Days 4, 5 & 6: Black Sheep Gathering
Though we were very busy in the booth for most of the gathering, I did have a chance to walk around to the other booths during the Black Sheep Gathering. I had such a great time talking to spinners and knitters about their projects, and admiring at all of the beautiful handmade bling that they were wearing.
I also had a great time walking through the barns and checking out all of the wonderful sheep and goats on display. I found them to be quite photogenic. The following photos show a Wensleydale sheep, Jacob sheep, Bluefaced Leicester sheep, and baby Angora goats, respectively.
On Saturday night, Lori, Karen, Margie and I went to the “Spinner’s Lead” competition. Each spinner was sporting their handspun and knitted/crocheted/felted garments while leading a sheep, goat, or bunny. When possible, the garment was constructed from the fiber of the animal they were leading. I have never seen anything like this before, and I found the entire event to be quite a hoot! Trish from Tanglewood Fiber Creations was the MC. Here is a snippet that highlights the goings-on at this event.
Day 3: Set up for Black Sheep Gathering
Lori and I took a morning walk, had a quick lunch, and then headed to the Lane County Fairgrounds to set up our booth. We worked for several hours, and in the end we were very pleased with how our booth looked. These photos show the evolution of the booth space from start to finish.
Day 2: Ashland to Eugene, OR
This morning we went to a cute little yarn shop in Ashland (Websters - http://www.yarnatwebsters.com) before hitting the north road again. We also stopped by a handmade soap shop (Emz Blendz - http://www.emzblendzsoap.com) where I purchased two bars of soap and a lip balm. The entire shop smelled like herbs and it was difficult to pick just two bars.
Ashland is famous for its Shakespeare festival, and for its Lithia water, which is dispensed in a special fountain downtown. The water is said to contain “sodium, calcium, iron, bicarbonate, and other healthful minerals.” We did notice a couple of people filling up their water bottles in this fountain. Lori and I opted not to sample the water, in part because of its strong sulfur odor.
Next to the Lithia water fountain, there was another fountain, which presumably contains non-Lithia water. I think this may be the most regal water fountain that I have seen.
We made it to Eugene this afternoon. The weather is fantastic! Lori and I went for an afternoon walk to one of the local yarn shops (Soft Horizons Fibre). Now we are settling in for some evening knitting.
Day 1: OC to Ashland, OR
We made it all the way to Ashland, Oregon today thanks to our early start and Lori’s excellent driving. We really enjoyed the scenery, especially Mt. Shasta.
We ate dinner at a charming vegetarian place in Ashland called Pangea. The food really hit the spot.We are back in our room now and are about to enjoy some knitting.