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I almost forgot my best OFFF highlight! I took a design class from Myrna Stahman (Stahman Shawls)! Very good class!! I learned some great knitting techniques and am looking forward to designing a couple of items this winter. Well, ok, we’ll see about that, won’t we!!
Terry
OFFF was a blast! Or was it a blur? I’m thinking it was more of a blur. I had signed on for too much stuff - so much that my spinner friends that I ran into (literally in a couple of cases) probably thought I’d finally tipped over the edge.
My camera didn’t even find its way out of the camper. How lame is that?
Let’s see - highlights…..hmmmm
There were 87 registered Pygora goats in the Pygora goat show! This is the largest Pygora goat show in the country. We had breeders attend from California, New York, Michigan, Iowa, Washington, and of course, Oregon.
There were over 100 vendors - hard telling the total - it was more vendors than OFFF has ever had before.
I heard of at least two people who got lost in the Paradise Fibers booth - I’m not kidding! It was gynormous - almost pretentiously too big.
It took me three days (if you include Friday) to find my friends Bonnie (Tea Time Garden) and Sarah (Great Balls of Fiber).
There were Christmas ornaments on the trees next to the ladies room at the barn on Sunday morning. Somebody had a good time Saturday night!
Nobody mistook the PrepH for toothpaste this year- eeeeewww!
We had a successful bbq without catching the canopy on fire.
I heard that you could pass through the grotto part of the campground on Saturday night and end up with an odd “goodie bag” courtesy of the “wild goat women”. Heh.
What did I buy? Would you believe 3 bags of tea? That’s it! Oops! We did buy some merino/mohair mix from a small California ranch. And we lucked into two NICE raw Pygora baby fleeces! Woo hoo!
We enabled Jessica (too lazy to insert link tonight folks, sorry! You know Jessica (Rose-Kim Knits) - we pointed her towards some incredible Targhee fleeces in the parking lot sale!
I can’t believe I felt hung-over this morning (thank goodness for taking Monday off). I didn’t have a drop to drink last night - was just totally wiped out I guess!!!
Terry
Ah, what to do on a three day weekend? I should be doing chores. And I did do some. I also cleaned up in my studio. It was WAY more fun than you think! We took a drum carding class about a year ago from a local gal. It was a BLAST! She had wool out the wazoo in all shades and colors! Also silk and either llama or alpaca. She discussed color theory and color blending techniques. I was already familiar with color theory - I used to “match color” for a living. That’s a whole ‘nother story for later. Anyhow I was SO impressed with all her fibers and wondered if I would ever find myself with a pile like hers.
As I carded wool, Pygora, silk, etc all year long, I would take the “substandard stuff” and place it in “The Bag“. Don’t get me wrong, there really isn’t anything wrong with this fiber, but some of it is shorter, some second cuts, and some noils from washing and carding. When carding for a premium product, a bit of fiber gets culled out and placed in “The Bag“. And it was almost overflowing (have you seen those giant Ziplok bags?)! Finally time to play! I had blues, greens. purples, oranges, reds & yellows - all at my disposal.
I spent all day making “woo-woo” batts. Fun, colorful batts that make gorgeous, textured yarns. Since this fiber is a mish-mash of Merino and Cormo wools, Pygora and mohair fibers…..it is NICE! I made two batts using bits and pieces of all colors. Then I was worried it would be all muddy when spun up. So rather than ply it back on itself, I plied it with a single of black Shetland. Looks kinda like stained glass windows and I’m happy!!
I took on of the “green” batts and split it down the middle. Spun the first half batt sort of thin and made a two ply. Spun the second half much thicker and again, made a two ply. Here’s the shots of both green yarns and a close up of one soft, squishy swatch!!
Guess what my favorite color is…..!
Terry
That was quite the title! “Bad Blogger & Pygora Shearing”! English was NOT my best subject - and it shows, huh? What I meant was “Bad Blogger”, and then “Pygora Shearing” - not “Bad Pygora Shearing”. Well, ok, I’m not the best goat shearer, either…….
Terry