Oregon Flock and Fiber

I went to OFFF today, and the weather was CRAZY!  The wind was something else, making it scary to drive, and the vendors had much trouble with their tents.  I tried to watch some of the sheep judging, and it was too hard to deal with the sideways blowing rain and all of the mulch from the ring blowing in my face. I love the wind, though, and it was still warm enough for a light sweater.

It seems that, despite my best intentions, I never get much spinning done at these festivals.  I mostly shopped for supplies for my Etsy shop, somehow stumbled into buying yet more raw wool (I just fell, and when I got back up there was all this wool - I don't know what happened!), and met lots of animals.  I don't think that I will ever get over my love for Shetland sheep.  Is there a more beautiful animal???  Maybe a fennec fox?  But seriously, they are the most beautiful sheep, with their tiny, delicate legs and wild, shaggy coats, and the massive curling horns on the rams.  Also, I've met many a Shetland ram who begs for chin skritches, and I indulged a couple of them who got so into it that they fell asleep in bliss.  Also also also, I know a lady who shears sheep, and she told me that her friend turned a little baby stroller into a shearing chair because the Shetlands were too adorably tiny to fit in a normal shearing chair AND she left the baby pink canopy on it.  Hello! So yeah, one of the great dreams of my life is to have a tiny flock of tiny Shetland sheep. And a livestock guardian dog, like a Great Pyrenees.  And...and...and....

Whew!

I bought three fleeces, all gorgeous, and all very different from one another:

First up is a grey and black stunner from Wolf Ridge Icelandics.  They are such nice folks!  I spent a chunk of time at their booth last year, and they remembered me.  They'll teach you how to crochet roving rugs if you ask.

This one is a Corriedale cross lamb from Critter Hollar Ranch in Yamhill, OR.  They were sharing a booth with Bide-a-wee Farm, who breeds the best Jacobs and some lovely Churros.  They're in Newberg.

Finally, here's the one I've been waiting for these last couple of months - the long-promised Rambouillet X Cheviot from Two Roans Ranch in Maupin, OR.  Corrine met me at the show and let me pick out a fleece.  I'm waiting with bated breath to find out if she'll be able to sell me the fleece off a churro ram she brought to the show - it's the color of rich caramel on the outside and deep mocha underneath, and long like you would not believe!  I wish I had taken a photo, but photos were limited by the extremely dark and cloudy sky.  It's hellish hard in the Pacific NW to take any photos in natural light from September through June!

(The parking lot fleece sale is tomorrow.  Hold me!)

All in all, it was a great day of petting sheep and bunnies, sticking my hands in good, raw fleece and taking in that sheepy smell, and dedicating my time to what I love among the rain and the dear, high wind.  More tomorrow when the festival wraps up.