Back from SOARing

Hey peeps!  I haven't fallen off the face of the earth, I was recuperating from the flu that kept me out of Rhinebeck and then I had to rush off to SOAR (Spin Off Autumn Retreat) for a week of teaching and fiber fun.  It was a non-stop whirlwind of spinning, knitting, new friends and old friends that left very little time for blogging, or even picture taking.

SOAR was held this year at Sunriver resort in Central Oregon.  It's a gorgeous place, with charming accommodations.  It was a little spread out, but we all managed to find time and places to hang out and spin and enjoy ourselves.  My roommate was Robin Russo, who was delightful and charming.  I can't wait to take a class with her some day.

The drive out to Sunriver was beautiful, crisp and golden just like autumn should be, and the scenery was gorgeous.

More about the retreat tomorrow, but for today, I've documented some stash addition I acquired in the marketplace.  I missed out on shopping at Sock Summit and again at Rhinebeck, so my only major shopping experience this year has been SOAR.  All things considered, I got off fairly light!

First off, here's a little Paco-Vicuna from Switzer-land farms.  That's 2 ounces of the precious stuff, from an award winning fleece.  Paco-Vicuna is a cross between an alpaca and the vicuna which is an endangered and controlled animal.  Pure vicuna sells for $250.00 per ounce and can be difficult to find.  This paco-vicuna is 10 times cheaper and still extremely soft. 

Next up is some GORGEOUS merino/yak roving in a beautiful colorway called "black and blue" from Wolf Creek Wools.  I got just one 4 oz braid, I plan to make a little shoulder shawl with this beauty.  I can't wait to begin spinning it up. 

And next, you can see I had blue on my mind, is some really delicious 50/50 cashmere and bombyx silk in 3 different blues from Spirit Trail fiberworks.  I have a really special item planned for these as well.  The picture does not begin to do justice to the sheen of these pretties, and, of course, they have to be felt to be truly appreciated. Yummm...

And here's another luxury fiber I simply could not resist - Pygora from Rainbow Yarns Northwest.  By the time I got to their booth they only had the 70/30 pygora/merino blend left.  I only bought 2 oz, so I think I'll end up plying this with something, maybe some black diamond bamboo?

And how could I resist this delicous mango/tangerine Cormo from Fox Hollow Farms?  They are located right around the corner from me here in Eugene.  Cormo is one of my favorite wools to spin, and orange is the new, ummmm..... orange!  And look how deliciously each 4 oz is packaged.  Oh boy!

Finally, here is the fiber I could not resist and started spinning up first!  This is 2 pounds of Corriedale from Reflection Farms.  There are 2 different dyelots of this beautiful red colorway so I am going to ply them together.  I'm thinking I want a nice chunky 3-ply for a sweater, so I'm considering adding the red merino/tussah from Ashland Bay that you see in the center as the 3rd ply.  I've got 1 and 3/4 bobbins full already and as soon as i finish up the second bobbin I'll spin up a singles of that merino/tussah and sample to see if I like the way it comes out.

Whew!  You can see I had a little bit of fun there at the marketplace, and everything I got was super luxurious.  I am really looking forward to some alone time with my wheel in the next few days.

Coming soon, a report on the rest of SOAR....

Comments

[Orghlaith]

So glad to hear you are feeling well. And SOAR is a great way to celebrate a return to health.

[Walden]

Beautiful rovings. Glad you are feeling better!

[Tina M.]

Oh, you had me at Red. Wow.