My friend Sarah and I had a ball at Black Sheep yesterday! She went with the idea of testing lots of spinning wheels and I with the intention to not buy yarn. Tools and fiber were on the list though and I got several of those! Here's Sarah at the Woodland Woolworks booth trying out all the wheels.
And here she is at the Fricke booth with her new purchase! It's a Fricke single treadle- a great price for a very nice wheel.
Capistrano Fiber Studio (booth above) had the most wonderful hand dyed fibers! I ended up with two of the superfine Merino rovings and one 2 oz hank of superfine merino/bombyx silk roving. Such beautiful colorways- and she has an Etsy shop! Below is the merino/silk roving that I couldn't help start spinning last night. The spindle is from Ken Ledbetter and is one that I already had. I did bring it with me though and when I got to his booth I got to meet Ken and tell him how much I love my spindle! The stone on top is Jasper and the whorl is curly maple with a walnut shaft.
Here are the other fibers I came home with. On the top left is a pound of Blue Faced Leicester roving (from From Barn to Yarn), to the right are two hanks of pin drafted Romeldale/Romney roving in a natural color from (Bel Tine Farm). Below those are the two hand dyed superfine merinos from Capistrano Fiber Studio (colorways Brandywine and Sangria). The last one is a sampler pack of interesting fibers (1/4 oz of each): organic cotton, American Bison, baby camel, bombyx silk, cashmere, tussah silk/linen (from Herndon Creek Farm).
Lastly, I've been admiring the Jenkins Turkish Spindles online for a few weeks, but really wanted to see them in person. I found this beautiful spindle made with Amboyna Burl (2.3 oz). I also got a pretty little yarn gauge from Herndon Creek Farm made from Red Narra. The fiber there is my favorite merino from a local sheep named Monica. Every now and then I go buy another ball of this roving. I'm not sure what I'll use it for eventually, but it's so easy to spin with.
And here's the reason for being there. Isn't this one a sweetie with those locks over the eyes?