Living a Few Months in Mere Days

Do you have those times in your life when you've been so active and you're processing so much new information that you feel you have lived months in mere days? That's how the last days have been for me. I'm sure I will miss jotting something down in this blog and I KNOW I've missed capturing images from some of my experiences.

Thursday evening - I flew from Phoenix to Portland with a couple of fiber buddies and arrived late in the evening. We made our way to Eugene, OR and arrived at approximately 3am in the morning (Friday). We had to be up for class early in the morning on Friday. Needless to say, I didn't really want to pull out the camera and start clicking away.

Friday - I spent most of the day in class with Paula Shull learning how to spin cotton. I could have taken pictures of all of the cotton Paula gave us to try out, but I would have at least 50 pictures. We spun everything from the cotton off the bowl to Israeli cotton. Ms. Shull was a real delight and a bit of tease... meaning that she would pass out the most luscious stuff and you'd ask her about it and she'd say, "well, I don't think you can get this anymore". I understood why she wanted us to know about the stuff that is unavailable... who knows when we'll come across it? Overall, the class was a blast, but I'm not sure cotton is for me. One of the ladies in class that seemed to have the most success with it used a long-draw technique. I will definitely be looking into working on my long-draw, seems to be the answer for a lot. In the evening, we were mostly exhausted so we went to sleep and prepared for the weekend ahead of us. Of course, we did some shopping and this was the first day of goodies between the four of us.

Saturday - We got up nice and early and I started my morning off with a class called "Natural Dyeing with Mushrooms". This class really was 2 in 1. I learned that there are all kinds of crazy-ass mushrooms here in the Northwest. I could probably tell you details about a half of dozen of them now. I won't, though, since it's irrelevant to us in the Southwest; I'm 100% positive there is no way Whole Foods is going to carry them. I also found out that there are "mushroom hunters" in the Northwest and you need a license as to not "over-pick"... think "over-fish". I also learned the basics of natural dyeing, which is really the information I wanted.

Mushrooms:

Phaeolus-

This is a pot of Dermocybe Semisangineus-

Dyepots:

No wonder we get mistaken for witches...

I wish I had taken a picture of my two scarves, but I will have to take pictures later. I don't think they look like they were dyed with mushrooms...

I took "Spinning with Cashmere" later in the afternoon. Here's a photo... yep, looks like your run-of-the-mill spinning class.

Saturday evening, Barbara and I checked out the Spinner's Lead. This is a super cool fashion show of folks and their fiber animals. Basically, they circle around a pen with their animal in a garment that was made from that animal's fiber. So cool!

We checked out some of the animals too. I have lots of pictures, but I thought I'd just share a few:

I love how (in the photo below) his little eyes look possessed....

This was one big-ass sheep:

This was a one-week old baby. He was hopping around all over the place. Barbara and I could have watched him for hours on end.

My favorite type of sheep, Blue Face Leicester. I couldn't get a great photo, but notice how unusual their heads are... almost Roman looking. They don't have fur on their heads or legs.

Sunday - I had class all day with Judith Mackenzie. She is THE Yoda of spinning. I can't really describe her any other way. She is amazing and I was fortunate to take two classes with her, "Spinning Primitive Breeds" and "Spinning Angora". She began the first class by laying out a variety of fleeces on the floor. She must have had at least 30 with her. Apparently, she has hundreds more...

I spent most of my time in both classes just writing things down, but for the first time in life, I tried to spin worsted, woolen and semi-woolen. It was a very educational experience and I will try to practice the three different types in the future.

Spinning up some angora:

I had an incredible time at Black Sheep Gathering. I met a lot of new fiber friends and got to spend some time with my familiar fiber friends. I hope to go again next year. I still need to take pictures of my loot. I walked away with three spindles; 2 Spindlewood spindles and 1 Ken Ledbetter spindle. Mr. Ledbetter is from Tucson, Arizona and I believe TYF is planning on carrying his spindles.

Monday - We headed back to Portland and Ben flew in. I said goodbye to my fiber friends (which felt really strange) and hello to my husband. We didn't do a whole lot on Monday, but I visited a short time with my friends, Angela and Piper. Piper was intrigued by the idea of spinning silk on a drop spindle and I was soon convinced to make a silk web in a tree in her backyard.

Tuesday - Ben and I visited the Portland Japanese Garden first. Of course, we were enamoured with all of the green. Only people from Phoenix, Arizona take pictures of moss and green.

Ben and I, overlooking Portland.

Some more pictures of us... I had to stop and spin, of course.

My new love... one of my Spindlewoods.

Then, we headed across the street to the Portland Rose Garden. I have never seen so many beautiful roses. They were large, almost the size of a head of cabbage. I took so many pictures, but here are a few.

We finished our day with a tram ride. We went one way, but decided we didn't need to go the other way. Both Ben and I are not keen on heights, but I'm glad we overcame our fears and did it.




Ben is still resting and that's just fine with me. I'd be happy to just sit, knit and spin.