Black Sheep Gathering, Part 2: Observations

For the two days I wandered the Black Sheep Gathering last month, I was in a sea of colors.

Here is one of several shots I took of the display of Kristy Kun’s Opulent Fibers.  She told me she works with an Italian dye house to create these amazing colors.

To the right is a picture of Kristy in a  stunning overshirt – though the garment doesn’t come through very well in the picture.  Take my word for it: It was amazing.  It is a felted garment made by a Lithuanian woman named Regina Doseth.

One of my favorite booths for hand dyed yarn was Melanie Dilworth’s Black Trillium Fibres.

By the time I reached Melanie’s booth, I already had a big bag stuffed with purchases.  😦  The group of skeins to the left was my fav.  To the right is part of a shawl that shows off a green colorway.

I have regretted not buying the blues since I left the fairgrounds!

Another favorite dye booth was that of was Kerry Graber of Jordstad Creek.  Her color graduation in the yarns pictured to the left both unusual and stunning.  The top skein is dyed lovely chocolate brown with pink.  By the time you get to the bottom skein, you will see that the color gradually became pink with chocolate brown.

Kerry designed these colors with the Brimnes (Large) Shawl by Evelyn Clark in mind.  (Pic source)

Of course, I cannot close this post without tipping my hap (no, that is not a typo – I think women should change some of the heavily “male” similes, phrases and metaphors we commonly use!) to all the talented people who raise sheep for their natural colors.

One group was McKenzie Alpaca Breeders of Springfield, Oregon.  As you can tell from the picture at the left, their yarn called out to be squeezed by viewers!  (Or at least, that was my impression.)

And nicely enough, nobody minded when you squeezed it.

I also met Michele LeBlanc of Toots LeBlanc  Co.   Michelle uses no harsh soaps or chemicals in the processing of her yarns.  Her blends include:  Merino/Angora, Jacob/Alpaca, Jacob/Alpaca/Mohair, and Blue-Faced Leicester/Pygora.

Something I saw only at Michele’s booth was the Yarn Keeper Bracelet by Humes of Delaware.  (I bought two.)

I regularly knit at my favorite espresso haunt in San Francisco and frequently get questions and comments.  As you can imagine, this bracelet triggered some interest!

The yarn on bracelet is Anzula’s “Cloud” in the teal colorway.  I am knitting it into the Milanese Shawl by Linda Marveng.

(Linda, if you are reading this, several ladies sipping espresso stated that the colorway reminded them of the San Francisco Bay and the stitch pattern reminded them of its waves.  They thought you should rename the shawl “San Francisco Bay.”  🙂 )