Black Sheep Gathering 2011

Hello, fiber festivals! I told y'all it was fiber festival seasons, and this weekend is Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene. Having gone there on Friday, there must now be gratuitous photos of fiber, as well as fleece on the hoof, to wit:

Abstract Fiber! Oh, the luscious saturated fluffy gorgeousness of Abstract Fiber!

Spindles! From Spindlewood! Lovely exotic woods and square whorls that the working thread won't slip off of.

Vendors! Three huge rooms full of vendors! Fiber and yarn and project bags and buttons and shawl pins and needle felting supplies and books and spinning wheels and... so much stuff!

Great Balls of Fiber! You know you've found Dicentra Designs when you find the saturated colors and the giant Great Balls of Fiber.

Animals! For those of us who just can't get away with keeping a couple of pygora goats in the back yard ("Really, Mr. Police Officer, sir, it's a rare breed of dog!"), there are some darling substitutes:

And the real deal for animal lovers, three big rooms full of fiber animals!

Rare breeds, like these coated Wensleydales, find a haven amongst spinners who keep the breeds alive.

True also of these spotted Jacob sheep. During the Georgian period, when landscaping went natural, Jacob sheep were sought after as picturesque. Mills don't like 'em much because of the mixed colors, but handspinners do.

Some Shetland oops, Navajo Churro rams:

And mohair on the hoof -- Angora goats, all clean and fluffy:

This one insisted I take his picture.

This one claims to be king of the hay bale:

I've got such a full stash that I really don't need anything, so I only brought home a few goodies: some cashmere fiber from Goat Knoll, some more qiviut fiber from Fantasy Fibers, some merino/yak blend from Abstract Fiber that matches what I got on the yarn crawl last month, some buttons for a vest I'm working on, and (not shown here) a foam pad for a needle felting project that I have in mind.

I think I will be floating on wool fumes for days.