With Sprinkles on Top

I have had the pleasure of working with quite a few indie dyers now, and the Pico Accuardi Dyeworks folks are among the very nicest. They share space with Lantern Moon in a warehouse near Portland, Oregon, and recently on a visit to their digs, I came away with a very interesting skein of Acid and Weed sock yarn, which results from a dye process that involves acid overdyes on a ground of natural plant dyed yarn.

Meet Sprinkles. Now part of my new Jack in the Pulpit Socks. Photos are the lovely work of Vivian Aubrey.









Folks who are part of the Pico Accuardi Dyeworks sock clubs (two) will be getting this kit this year. Otherwise, you will have to wait until June of 2011 to get your hands on this. Acid and Weed sock yarn is available in other colorways now. Check the Pico-Accuardi website for retail outlets.

And watch for the August retreat. Deb's family owns a legendary Italian restaurant here, and I have heard that there will be wonderful food!

Black and Other Sheep

Oh lord, it has been a long blog silence. I seem to have a difficult time with day to day fodder. Oh blog readers, can you forgive me?

There are no lace or beads in today's post. Please excuse. However, last weekend I was incredibly fortunate to visit the legendary Black Sheep Gathering in Eugene, Oregon. Out of the dog house and into the sheep house.

I adore sheep faces! So now, lucky readers, you get to see a few of the sheepy personalities I saw at the gathering.



This young man obligingly allowed me to photograph his back. The answer is obviously "YES!"



First, to get my cute quotient just as high as it can possibly go, here is a baby kitten that someone had in the sheep area. Awwww.



And here is the requisite bunny. He was, according to his owner, asleep with his eyes open. So sweet, and apparently so relaxed too.



Another blissfully sleeping baby amidst the din and b-a-a-a-a-h-ings.



A young Jacob, raring to go.



This fellow almost looks like he should be sporting a unicorn!











Thank you for indulging me in my sheepy obsession.

I met so many wonderful folks at the gathering, and saw so many old friends. I did feel dorky asking people if I could take their picture though. Must get over that.

I did come home with a few choice booty items. I hope you agree that I exercised enormous restraint.



Left to right, a Jenkins Turkish Delight spindle (I got a tiny itsy-bitsy Jenkins too.. it stole my heart), a luminous glass shawl pin (actually a laying tool) from the wizardry of Sheila and Michael Ernst, and three skeins of precious yarn from Blue Moon Fiber Arts: a Seduction in a particularly lovely colorway and two STR skeins in new vibrant reds that had to come home with me.



And here, six precious balls of Elemental Affects shetland fingering weight yarn that will be part of a Plum Frost cardigan if all goes well. The plain part of the sweater will be Imperial Stock Ranch's Tracie fingering weight, which I am hoping will blend beautifully with the shetland.

May you all have sheep around you in plentiful quantities.. either in four footed or fiber form. We heart sheeps everywhere.