Wool lovers flock to fairgrounds in a gathering of shear delight.Byline: Jim Feehan The Register-Guard Black is beautiful. And so too are brown, beige and mocha Mocha (mō`kə), town (1990 est. pop. 2,000), S Yemen, a port on the Red Sea. It was noted for the export of the coffee to which it gave its name but declined as a trading port in the late 19th cent. with the rise of Hodeida and Aden. to the sheep farmers who came to the Lane Events Center over the weekend for the 31st annual Black Sheep black sheep n. 1. A sheep with black fleece. 2. A member of a family or other group who is considered undesirable or disreputable. Gathering. The event brought together 700 sheep and an assortment of goats and rabbits. About 500 pounds of wool was sold at the three-day event three-day event a competition in the pleasure horse sport comprising usually one day each for dressage, cross country and show jumping. that concluded Sunday, organizers said. The gathering celebrates the time-honored tradition and the modern craft of taking fiber from animals and turning the fleece into clothing and other items, said event organizer Leslie Hildreth. Colored sheep are highly prized among hand weavers, said Sarah McArthur of Springfield, who has been spinning wool for seven years. Plus, spinning wool from sheep is just downright therapeutic, said Janis Thompson of Eugene. "It feeds my soul, connecting me with people who have been doing this for centuries," she said. During a shearing demonstration Sunday, Mija Andrade of Eugene said she was surprised that the sheep seemed to take the buzz cut in stride Adv. 1. in stride - without losing equilibrium; "she took all his criticism in stride" in good spirits . "I just thought they'd put up more of a struggle," she said. Her 3-year-old daughter, Raven, said she prefers the wild and woolly look. "I think it looks weird cut. I like them better with a coat," she said. Marybeth Bullington of Creswell breeds Shetland sheep and hand weaves the wool into clothing. The self-described "sheepaholic" and "fiber junkie junkie Popular health A popular term for a person, usually an IV narcotic abusing addict, whose life is disorganized vis-á-vis family and societal structure, whose existence revolves around obtaining–often through theft, prostitution or other illicit " has raised sheep for 10 years. "I never get bored spinning my own flock," she said. The sheep-rearing and hand-spinning community is, well, tight knit, Bullington said. "We have a language and culture we all speak," she said. One room over from the sheep, Sharon Chestnutt of Monroe was extolling the virtues of goat hair, which is famous for its use in sweaters and shawls. "It's slippery sleek, a beautiful fiber," she said. Unknown to many city slickers, some bunny rabbits are shorn shorn v. A past participle of shear. shorn Verb a past participle of shear Adj. 1. for pricey angora sweaters. And rabbits are quite generous when it comes to producing wool, said Kathy Dailey, a breeder from Rogue River Rogue River A river, about 322 km (200 mi) long, rising in the Cascade Range of southwest Oregon and flowing generally south and southwest to the Pacific Ocean. . The creatures can produce three inches of wool every 90 days, she said. "Once they learn that naked is good, (rabbits) take to being shorn," Dailey said. CAPTION(S): Judge David Cook inspects the teeth of a yearling yearling an animal in its second year of age, e.g. yearling cattle, yearling filly, yearling colt. yearling disease rinderpest in wildebeeste in the Serengheti. ram as owner Ann Robinson pulls back the lips Friday at the Black Sheep Gathering. |
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