I Couldn't Wait!

I couldn't wait to post all these pictures from my time yesterday at the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, OR. This is my third year and was really the best ever. I went with my friend Melissa who is NOT a fiber person but a jewelry person. She's so inquisitive though that it made it really really fun. I love talking wool. I love talking all things fiber. And Melissa, well, she likes talking! (I may catch some sh*t for that last comment).

The whole day instilled me with new enthusiasm for my fiber-life. I paid more attention to the sheep breeds and their temperament. I found myself more open to every aspect of the day. And yes, I did have lots of business cards with me! This picture above is one of my favorites of the whole day.
There's Melissa (top left) just dreamy with thoughts of sheep.
This is my buddy from Twitter, Velma who was there showing her ColorBomb Creations.
And here is the bunny lady, Debby who I am always so happy to see. We found each other in the Toots Le Blanc fiber booth.

Then came the judging.
Each farm presenting their sheep breed would show in groups of three. Here are two being wrangled. They show the livestock with their butts facing the interior of the ring, to be judged first. Interesting.
This wee gal had the third in that group and you can see she had quite the steady grip on this sheepy.
How can you not be fascinated with the different horn shapes?
The amazing monotone but gorgeous texture combination is really highlighted with this ram.

But you look at this one and wanna say, "Hey! You've got a great haircut but let me get that straw out of your 'do! Ah! The conditions there are just not up to a fashion icon like yourself!"

So, as you can see, I've taken no pictures of the fiber this year. Yeah, it's all just gorgeous. Does this mean I'm about to buy some goats or sheep in the near future? I think not, but the focus in my spinning it changing a little.

The Day After

I hand lettered an insane amount of these armbands, not knowing how many folks would show. I mean, Through a combination of Knit/Purl and Larissa Brown I ended up getting a lot of press! All in all we ended up with a great situation of being able to snag use of these great Adirondack chairs that were in place for the floral exhibit. I felt like we were having a garden party.
And here we are, right in the middle of Pioneer Courthouse Square, a rotating group of enthusiastic knitters. I stayed 4 hours and then gave it up to those who arrived much later. Thanks again everyone for coming, and for Emily's fantastic vegan cookies. It was great meeting some new knitters and hooking up with old friends.

The Day Before...

From this fiber

To this yarn that reminds me of a wool dress that my mom made for me when I was a girl.

This is from pencil roving and might actually get knitted into something!

Tomorrow is WWKIP day (world wide knit in public). This is the first year I'll be an organizer and I stepped up to doing the gathering here in Portland, OR, specifically downtown.

I signed up for this way in advance out of concern that there would be a lack of interest. Portland has such a huge knitting community and we get together all the time. I think folks often wonder, why bother? We bother because we are showing folks what we do and how we value the craft of knitting. Important stuff.

Yesterday I went to my friend Melissa the jewelry-maker's house and she made me whatever kind of stitch markers I wanted. She had never made any before and I doubt she will ever sell any. That said, I get to show mine off to you in pride ;-)

The Party's Over...

...and this is what's left! Cake gone of course...

I'm giving away my age this year because I'm actually pretty proud. It's been an incredible year. Lots of challenges that have ultimately moved me to completely commit to my dreams. Not a minute too soon, I say. But, things take just as long as they take, I suppose.

This year was also the start of Portland Spinnerati, MelissaBarton.org, getting my knitting stash down to bare bones to move other areas of my life forward and reconnecting with some VERY old friends and mentors.

I've had a truly amazing year and I want to thank you all for your part in it.