BSG again

it's so lovely to get together with friends... esp. one who shows up from LA and surprises us (SO great to see Alina!) i guess i was so busy with the spinning and talking and shopping and all that i didn't get photos of all the twisted sisters who were there... sigh.... sorry. if anyone did better than i did, please send me your photos and i'll put them up. part of the tradition is our saturday night chinese dinner at Ocean Sky and believe me, it's one that we just don't miss. and the after dinner routine is to gather in someone's motel room and spin, tell stories, drink wine, have a bit of show-and-tell and enjoy!!

dinner at Ocean Sky... not all the pics were any good... here's what i have.

more BSG

so much to see and do at the gathering, and of course, overwhelming opportunity to enhance the stash. i was able to control my impulses this year... somewhat... i did buy a newly shorn fleece from an angora goat (sample top left) and a few pounds of a coopworth lamb fleece and one tiny little skein of yarn (not because of any lack of yarn here in my queendom, but because i loved it), and then a meager addition to my spinning fibers... and aren't those colors fabulous?? yes!!

Rachael and i spent several hours wandering in among the animal pens. there was even a week old lamb whose mom was protecting it so well i couldn't get a photo.

and then there was this gorgeous creature... i'm pretty sure it was a wensleydale, tho it's fleece does look like mohair.

and Rach found this sweet fella who was happy to stand still for nose scratches!

this one looks a lot like the angora i got my fleece from, but this one is a little bit darker.

to be continued......

Black Sheep Gathering!!

just back from the annual pilgrimage to mecca ... um, Eugene, for the gathering of fiber, friends and wooly animals.

to be continued...

SUMMER SOLSTICE!!

Yay! it's the first day of summer!!!! it's the longest day of the year!!! and this means sunshine and warm/hot days!! so... when does that start?

Good Will shopping

ah, the amazing "finds" at good will! i picked up this funky treasure yesterday and brought it home for Jim. it's all cleaned up now and ready to become his Raki dispenser. i just knew he'd appreciate its funkiness!

Summer Solstice

it's less than a week away and we've not yet had a real spring! grey skies and showers this morning and then the clouds opened up and dumped, with considerable force, a whole bunch of hail, which should have left all the flowers and garden in total tatters, but by the grace of good karma didn't seem to cause damage. so i got some photos of some of the hail accumulation. if, perhaps, i seem a bit obsessed by weather lately, it's probably because i am! there's just too much grey weather and other gloom and doom... i must wean myself from watching MSNBC (tho i dearly love Rachel Maddow)... between the gulf oil disaster, stoopid insane political inanities, crazy mean people... i'm needing an attitude adjustment. thank goddess for the goodness of the black sheep gathering which starts friday! til then i'll meditate on celestial wormholes and the recent creation of DNA in a laboratory.

NOT wet!

ok... when i bitch about all the rain, it's only right that i cheer for a non-rainy, warm and sunny day!

yesterday was indeed a lovely one and we spent most of it outside playing in the dirt. i spotted this gorgeous clematis bloom and marveled at its size... about 6" or 7" diameter, really huge and lovely. today, however, is a horse of a different garage... it's pouring rain again! spotted this on facebook - "when life throws you lemons, throw them back and demand chocolate". so, my "chocolate" will be... i'll spend some time in my studio dyeing some scrumptious new yarn... superwash merino, silk, nylon and SILVER. when it's dyed, the silver gives it a cosmic starry sparkly look and i love it! i thought the silver would give it a harsh or scratchy feel... but no, it's super-soft. i'm thinking scarf or shawl ...

addition: revising dye studio plan.... power just went off, expecting record rainfall today with flooding of some creeks and streams..... eeeeeeeek

wet

the 18th straight day of rain, making those rumors about the wet Pacific NW true. hope those tomato and basil plants don't give up before we see sun!