Last weekend was the annual Black Sheep Festival in Eugene, OR. Black Sheep began years ago as a potluck picnic and has morphed into one of the largest fiber festivals in the west coast, if not the largest. It's not *quite* in my backyard, but the driving distance is reasonable so of COURSE I had to go. Lydia is crazy about the animals and also spins so she came with me, and Jake is just an all-around Nice Guy who came along to keep us company. And maybe babysit the Visa card, LOL?



We spent some time in the animal barns. I have pretty much given up on my dream of keeping flocks of my own, but I still like to get my fix of "clean sheep smell". Mmmmmmmmmmmm...

I would have LOVED to dig my hands into this guys fleece, but that would probably have freaked him out, so I settled for a photo instead.



The angora goats are so beautiful and so full of personality. Oooooh, I love mohair!

I found the Fantasy Fibers booth and loaded up on some of their "Mystery Batts". You never know what's in them, but it's always good stuff. Jake insisted on carrying the bags for me.

Lydia passed on fiber this year, but was very interested in the jewelry that seemed to be featured in every booth this year. I don't know if that's a new thing or if I just never noticed it before, but I sure came away with some good jewelry making ideas for myself. She eventually picked out a "Painted Pony" style pin accented with pearls. It looks really good on her denim jacket.

On the creating front, I have been making great progress on the sweater. I finished the main body and am now knitting off the edge with a simple lace border. I can't wait to get to the sleeves. I've never made a sweater in this style before... it's quite interesting in its construction.

I've been up to a lot more as well, but I'll share that in a later post. This one is already long enough.