Six weeks into winter and counting...

There have been a few, a very few, bright sunny and above zero celcius days. I welcome such days. For some reason this winter seems unduly long and relentlessly cold. Perhaps I'm simply noticing it more because I'm home this year so have more time to notice many things. I'm not a fan of winter, mostly because I can't see what you can do outdoors in a world of ice and snow. I'm not the outdoors type so don't do winter activities such as snow-shoeing or skiing. Any walking that I consider is put on hold until I can take a simple walk to the corner post-box without falling and breaking something. Apparently it will be a while before that's possible.

Meanwhile indoor activities of the knitting and spinning sort continue to flourish. I'm making progress on a sweater that only needs the second sleeve and the button band/collar; have a new sweater begun, have a Shetland style shawl underway and the usual collection of socks. On the spinning wheel we are making good progress with the lace weight qiviut which needs to be done before I go on my 'winter' vacation later in March, so I can knit it up before the end of May.

More needs to be done in the work project department but as there is more light every day outdoors and faint hints of spring eventually, so too will my project revive and unfold. Everything in due course.

Early August

'Tis the first week of August already. There has been considerable work done on the wheel this long weekend. I've begun to do the V-neck shaping on the vest I'm knitting and have borrowed a vicious looking set of wool combs from my friend Sharon. The last of the fleece has been washed and is laying on a piece of screening in the yard draining and hopefully also drying.

I visited Sharon to drop off a bag of qiviut which a friend will deliver to the Belfast MiniMill in PEI sometime next week. The hope is that the fibre can be de-haired and blended with something into a roving I can spin. It is beautiful but also problematic to card when I do not have a fine specialty card cloth option. I have a good pound and a half plus of the qiviut in a raw state and that's enough to make something fine and lovely--if I can get it processed properly.

Here are some pictures of the wheels in Sharon's studio. Two of which I covet (she knows, she humours me). The top photo is a basket of Louet roving, the next is a Reeves Norwegian style flax wheel, then we have a Wee Peggy from New Zealand, and finally the Bosworth Journey wheel. Rare beauties all of them, the first two have the covet factor for me...it's good to have dreams, eh?