This isn’t a black sheep! It’s a black angora goat. That’s where mohair comes from!
The Pacific Northwest is home to several fiber festivals, and Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon is one of my favorites. Despite being surrounded by yarn every day (you should see my desk), I get a boost of energy and creativity when I can spend time with fellow knitters and spinners. Plus, I can buy MORE yarn, fleece, and spindles from the talented shepherds, indie dyers, and woodworkers who are local to this area. I spent the weekend running into old friends, meeting awesome new people, learning new techniques, and planning a ton of knitting, spinning, and weaving projects to complete in the next year!
It was really fun to see the Fiber Arts contest! There were so many beautiful handspun and handknit projects!
Erin from the Anatomy of Knitting podcast created this Sylvi jacket. She bought a fleece at BSG last year, processed it, spun it, and knit this beautiful coat to enter this year. That’s impressive! My friend Rachel is posing with the sweater in this photo, she makes the Knit Cents podcast.
Stacey is from the Eugene area, and it is a tradition to go to Black Sheep with her mom. This year, she went with four generations of her family!
My favorite thing to see at BSG were the animals! There were sheep, goats, and alpacas. It was pretty hard not to come home with a tiny Shetland sheep (they’re about the size of a dog). And I love the funny haircuts that alpacas have after they are sheared!
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And of course, I had to buy things while I was there! I came home with some Polwarth roving, because I haven’t spun with that before. I also bought a snakewood Spindlewood Mini spindle, and I can’t put it down!
Stacey bought yarn from the Blue Moon Fiber Arts booth. She has some worsted weight Peru and sport weight Socks that Rock.
What a fun weekend! I’m already planning spinning projects to enter at BSG next year, I met lots of hilarious podcasters and now I’m listening to their shows (I think I’m the last person to listen to the Knitmore Girls, but I recommend it), and it was just really great to go on a “yarny vacation”.
