OFFF my rocker, again!

Last weekend was OFFF, again; and as usual, I went nuts!

ToolMan and I got up early, hustled around getting Andy Rooney his breakfast and insulin shot, loading up the last bits of paraphernalia, and hit the road early; we had to be in Canby at 7:00 a.m. on Saturday morning to meet Cindy and set up for the PDX Knit Bloggers. Cindy had the awning (of which we'll need 2 next year!), a swift and ball winder, and all her personal stuff to haul down; we had the banner, more stuff for teaching, a cooler, and our personal stuff. Fortunately, we were early enough that we could drive onto the grounds and unload, leaving our cars inside for the pack up at the end of the day.

But, we certainly weren't the only ones up and around early that day! Take a look at who came visiting about 7:30:



Isn't he gorgeous? When he saw me take the camera out, he made a special point of stopping to pose and give me a profile shot!

We went back to setting up the awning and arranging the area, hauled over a picnic table, strung up the banner, and generally setting up shop.



Before long, the PDX Knit Bloggers began showing up, in force. Duffy had some knitted wrist distaffs to sell; Kathleen had some hand spun to sell; ToolMan had some shawl pins and a lazy kate for sale; and I put out the Country Craftsman with a "For Sale" sign. I grabbed one of the wrist distaffs and used it all weekend; very nice not to have to drafted fiber flying all over the place! I know Kathleen sold at least a couple of skeins; I think both were StitchJones colorways, so I'm not surprised they went quickly! ToolMan sold the lazy kate to Susan, and he only brought home 2 shawl pins.

Mid-morning, ToolMan and I took a stroll around the barns to see the animals. There were little alpacas:



Some big llamas:



Some Shetland sheep:



And some dread locked dudes:



Actually, those are angora goats.

Some people became obsessed by bunnies. Deb took four of the little fiber-makers home to the mountain with her.



And "Henry, the Barn Boy" went to live in Tina's studio.



I'm wondering what color Henry's hair will be next time we see him?

Meanwhile, back at the ranch:



People were stopping by to ask for help learning to spin, asking about wheels in general, learning techniques, and asking about our blogs. Lots of people (OK, mostly the guys) were interested in Barbara's Journey Wheel.



Barbara worked out a great spiel for little boys about the "Transformer Spinning Wheel" where a little wooden box turned into a spinning wheel.



As the little guy in this picture was walking away with his dad, I heard him say, "That was the coolest thing I saw all day!"

We all take advantage of Barbara's knowledge while she's here; Duffy got a lesson in combing.



I got to fondle her samples and notebook from a class she had recently taken Judith McKenzie McCuin. And I learned how to make a yarn similar to Kid Silk Haze, the crack of the yarn world.



The crowds were big this year. Although there were some vendors missing that we always look for, there was plenty to choose from. So much in fact, that the ATM ran out of cash twice on Saturday!



On Sunday afternoon was the team spinning competition; one person drafts and treadles, the other one pulls the single; break your yarn and you loose, first one to the Main Building wins.



This young lady and her dad won (I'm not sure what the prize was, except maybe bragging rights). That's her dad way in the back there, in the shorts and green t-shirt; and she spun that in about 30 seconds! I think she might have been a "ringer"!

Then at the end of the day on Sunday, as we were all wearing down, this lady strolled into our area and asked who the PDX Knit Bloggers were. That's Naomi, the brilliant mind behind the Knit a Condom Amulet Project! As Humphrey Bogart would say, "Of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into mine."



She and her husband were visiting Oregon to see the newest grandchild and had come to OFFF because she's a knitter and, get this, he's a spinner! Theywere perfectly adorable, and we made them promise to let us know next time they visit and we'll hook them into some of our regular knitting and spinning get-togethers around town.

The best part of OFFF for me isn't really seeing the animals, or touching and buying the fiber and tools, learning new techniques or methods, teaching people about spinning, or eating the lamb kabobs, although I dearly love all those things and I wouldn't miss them for the world. But for me, OFFF is all about the people. The very best parts are getting to see the friends who can only be with us once a year, seeing the friends we only get to see occasionally, spending chunks of time with gals from my regular knit group, having two whole days with knitsibs from near and far, and meeting people I never thought I'd meet.