2010 Black Sheep Gathering

After a week of late nights (3 a.m. was an early bedtime), it was a relief to get to Eugene. I was ridiculously excited by the prospect of being unable to dye anything, which would allow me to go to bed at a decent hour with no guilt.

Setup went smoothly, thanks to the help of Elizabeth, who demonstrated an amazing ability to construct wire cubes in no time flat. Here's what the booth ended up looking like:





The red sweater in the top right overexposed corner is my Vine Yoke cardigan. It got a lot of attention this weekend; I probably could've sold a hundred copies of the pattern if I'd had it. And deservedly so: it's such a clever, fun design to knit.

The show went swimmingly. I talked to so many interesting people, saw faces I knew from Sock Summit (hi Alexandra!), and generally had a great time. I have to thank Amy for taking pity on me and offering to watch my booth on Saturday so I could grab some lunch. She even stayed around after I got back, hoping to give me some time to actually eat my food (instead of just looking at it longingly out of the corner of my eye), but the stream of customers didn't let up. Which was a problem I was perfectly willing to have.

I also chatted with two women from Lantern Moon for a while. They came back a little later in the day and offered me a pair of LM knitting needles, just because they liked me and my yarn. It was such a kind and sweet offer--I was really touched. I chose a pair of rosewood circulars from their Destiny line, because I used to play oboe, and the finest oboes are made from rosewood. The circs are beautiful and sleek and wonderfully light; I'm really looking forward to using them!

I didn't have time to do much shopping while I was there, so I came home with only a new wooden shawl pin and a tin of hand balm. It's okay though; it's not like I'm going to run out of yarn anytime in the next 200 years.

Thank you, Black Sheep Gathering, for a wonderful weekend! I'll be back next year.