Moo Shoe Port was the Grand Champion piece from the art exhibit at Black Sheep Gathering. Who says sheep (and goat and alpaca and rabbit and on and on) folks don't have a sense of humor.

Needle felted in case you are wondering.

If you spin you need to be at this show. Same time every year...fleeces are everywhere and not just any old fleece...top TOP quality fleece most with the growers on site. Drop spindles of every kind, size, shape, color, material and price. Clemes & Clemes is there with their high quality drum carders, wheels and more. Demos and classes...extremely friendly staff.

One of the most amazing things about BSG is that it is run completely by volunteers...top down...ALL volunteers. Impressive job...just outstanding.

So I am sitting here taking a break from moving the crate contents down to the house (and where we pack the rig). Thankfully the tractor has a trailer and I schlep the items in that.

But as I sit there and contemplate the trek tomorrow towards Eugene and Black Sheep Gathering I realize that...

...except for a 18 1/2 mile stretch between the San Diego Convention Center and the boarder crossing at Tijuana, I will be traveling the length of California in the first half of the year. I've spent so much time on I5 that I feel like a Freeway Resident. Thankfully I'm not sleeping on or under it.

The pictures are of a new/old project. While these are fresh out of the kiln and have a LickinFlames spin on them, the product is actually a throwback to some 35 years ago, when High Prairie Pottery (our mother company) was located in Blackfoot, Idaho. These will all be at Black Sheep...and cousins of these will be on the website store later in July.

Also new for us is the newsletter signup on our Contact Page. The newsletter will have some pretty exciting news popping up sometime in August...it involves both a BLOG and a magazine.

Every so often, my computer seems to want to operate at the speed of a slug. Today...yesterday...the day before...actually since returning from  TNNA show in DC.

This is not an excuse for posting on the blog...just an observation...and it's killing me.

This is the last week of firing anything with the hope of getting it washed and dried and aired out before heading on up to Eugene for the Black Sheep Gathering next weekend. So in a rare fit of productivity, I fired raku on two days back to back. Don't do that very often and I'm certainly glad I don't...talk about draining. Even more pathetic was me draggin' myself out of bed early each day to make it happen.

...and yes, there will be Skull Shawl Buttons at Black Sheep Gathering...and a new "species" of sheep brooches.

But we're ready for the trip North...sort of. The display bits are all in the crate which is currently in transit back from DC. Let's hope that the thing makes it back on time.