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As we headed south towards Eugene, OR last Thursday, we were nervous about the show this year.  This tough economy has hit everyone and we were concerned how it would affect sales.

Once we arrived we were pleased to see an overflow of vendors and attendance was good.  Sales were what we’d hoped for (thankgoodness!).  However, it was interesting in that we saw way more cash and less checks.  It seemed most people came with a budget and for the most part stuck with it.

We want to say a big THANK YOU for those who purchased our products!  Ok, even the nice lady who bought fiber right off my Lendrum.  Oh ya, that was funny…..I’d made some rich, golden batts of 50% Pygora and 50% silk.  Heavenly!  Ahhh, I’ll spin this at BSG!  Well, I did get to spin a tiny bit of it, maybe .2 oz or something like that.  We had immediately sold the other two packages earlier that morning when a customer came in and REALLY wanted that color and would not take ‘no’ for an answer.  She was good.  She very nicely pointed out that I’d barely spun any of it……

Ok, so she totally scored some gorgeous fiber and I was left to find something else to spin!  And…..my friend Gail has pre-ordered a couple packages.  Hmmmm….maybe I should make a few extra bags for the website???

I continue to be amazed at how customers react to color!
Happy Spinning! (oh I did take a couple of photos….but haven’t downloaded/uploaded them yet)
Terry

Sounds a bit like the Rawhide theme, doesn’t it?  I’ve been carding like a madwoman the past couple of days - getting ready for  The Black Sheep Gathering next weekend in Eugene.  I enjoy doing this show - and getting to chat with fiber friends and fellow vendors that we only get to see a couple of times a year. 

And since Bonnie and Jodi are doing the Black Sheep Bingo party again this year - I’m playing as a square just like last year.  I really enjoyed meeting all the bingo players  - what a great way to meet new people (FIBER people!).

Susan and I will head down south next Thursday - I hear the weather is going to be great - not too hot like the past couple of years.  There’s nothing worse than setting up a booth in the heat.  Ugh.

I was all set to take Galina’s Orenburg lace knitting class this year…..but they didn’t offer it!  There is the Orenburg spinning class, but I really wanted the lace class (pout!).  Sigh….maybe next year.

Back to my carder…..
Terry

Spring took it’s time to get here.  Everything seems far behind schedule this year - am hoping for a week’s worth of sun so our local hayman can get this year’s crop in for us.  Hay in the barn is security, sort of like having enough toilet paper in the house.

Our friend Lisa posted a you tube video on her website and I’m including a link here for your baby goat fix!
I especially like the second half of the video - if you watch closely, you can see the little Pygora goats boinging around the pasture - way, way too cute!
This year’s crop at Hawks Mountain Ranch!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPL6-IakpB0

Sorry to have neglected this little blog…sometimes life gets in the way.  Hah.  I made a funny!  I work crazy hours, I have no life!!! 
Ok - am not going to rant about lack of life….too morose……

I have GREAT NEWS!!!!!  We are vending at SOAR this year!  Yahooooooo!!!  SOAR is the Spin-Off Autumn Retreat for those who don’t know.  It is an annual spinning retreat hosted by Interweave Press - and the location rotates each year.  This year it’s in Sunriver, OR.  This venue attracts spinners from all over the world.  I was fortunate to attend the 2005 SOAR in Park City, UT.  Unfortunately, I was so overwhelmed by the whole thing that I did not mingle at all.  Sigh….  I’ve met some great spinner folks online (Ravelry, heh) and am looking forward to meeting them in person!

My only dilemma?  I’ve figured out two choices for classes that I wish to take at SOAR - but the registration is online, first come, first serve.  Where will I be on that day?  At a B&B in the San Juans - Friday Harbor, to be exact - I am soooo overdue for a vacation.  Ooops!  Hope they have great internet service to I can get registered….

The goaties are fine.  Am in the process of worming, CDT vaccinations, and hoof trimming.  Am happy spring is here - but oh my, the mud!  I’m squeezing in a few minutes each morning for spinning - trying to leave the house for work in a nice frame of mind.  Spinning some green/brown roving, long-draw style for a light 3 ply.  Have started knitting the Oregon Vest out of this yarn.  Am really loving knitting on a bulkier yarn - soft, squishy, and very satisfying.  Who cares if it’s mostly stockinette?  My mind is very content with the simplicity….

I work in a paper mill.  Nothing glamorous, I can tell you!  I used to be a paper machine superintendent on a linerboard machine.  Linerboard is the flat inside and outside layers of a cardboard box.  (The wavy stuff in the middle is called corrugated medium.)  Several, several years ago began a trend in the industry to make “high performance” linerboard.  That stuff was lighter in weight (used less pulp and steam) yet had the same physical strength properties of linerboard that weighed much more.  It was much more difficult to produce and  I remember that struggle quite well.  We did NOT look forward to those runs!  Many years have passed and now they are standard and much easier to produce - but I still have several not-so-fond memories of that earlier stuff!!!

Fast forward many years to now!   I’m packaging up fiber orders for England, Wales, etc and am attempting to keep shipping costs down.  I suddenly find myself searching out smallish, sturdy boxes that don’t weigh very much(!)

I found myself laughing at this bit of irony yesterday…..
Terry

The goats need to be sheared - but it’s still waaaay tooooo cold here.  Each year we lose some fleeces due to mother-nature - but we are responsible goat owners and won’t shear in very cold weather.

  I did manage to untangle the electric net fencing yesterday after the mother-of-all-snowstorms pulled it down.  The goats were quite happy to browse in the other pasture again.

  I also managed to dye up several batts (yeah, I said batts - I have a system).  I also carded……and created two new fiber kits….minus the portion I have yet to create.  Sound a bit cryptic - well, it is.  I’ll let ya all know when I’m done with that project.  Please don’t hold your breath.  I am one of the lucky ones.  I still have a day job = too many hours = no life.  Yep, I’m in a whiney sort of mood and probably shouldn’t be posting. 

I am feeling very winter-weary and longing for the promise of spring!
I promise the next post won’t be so dreary - eeep!