Yesterday we went to the Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. 

It’s an event that we’ve wondered about for years. This year we decided to go and I’m so glad we did. We saw so many inspiring things. Bracken’s favorite part was visiting all the sheep and goats. He had so much vocal enthusiasm about it that he turned quite a few heads and brought out a bunch of smiles from everyone who was near. Jeff and I talked about the sheep we’d like to have on our dream farm someday. The dreaming didn’t stop there. When we saw all the booths, we started dreaming about spinning wheels and drum carders. I loved all the colorful yarn. Jeff loved some gorgeous felted coats. We talked with people about natural dyes and saw some skeins dyed with nettles that were beautiful. There were soft sheepkins. Felted purses. Silks dyed with mushrooms. Knitting books. Woven rugs. Hooked rugs. Someone was working on a hooked rug in their booth and we watched, fascinated. There was a spinning circle. Not only did they have booths filled with inspiring things, there were workshops and demonstrations (which will continue all weekend long.) The whole event was like a feast for the eyes. So many fiber lovers in one place is a grand thing, I must say. We said hello to Inge and then found Sonia’s booth, Stash (where you can find a selection of our handmade wooden buttons for sale!) We met Sonia’s friend, Liz, who was wearing a handknit sweater with some of our reclaimed cocobolo wood buttons on it. It looked amazing!

I had intended to share lots of pictures of the event with all of you here today, but it didn’t work out that way. It was crowded and we felt rather overwhelmed and ungrounded in there. The few indoor pictures I took were all blurry. (Our point and click camera is a finicky thing, it likes outdoor light best.) 

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Today we are home on a (very) rainy day. We decided not to go to market today and if the weather in Eugene is anything like it is here, it wouldn’t be much fun to be set up in that. We’re happy to have a Saturday at home, getting caught up in the workshop (sure helps when it’s rainy and we’re not tempted to work in the garden.)

If any of you locals are curious about the Black Sheep Gathering and would like to go, it’s open today and tomorrow. You can find more information here. I know I have a lot of fiber related projects I want to get started on after all the inspiration of yesterday’s visit.