Wednesday 8 January 2014

The Year Winds Down


November and December were busy months, not for the sheep but for me as I continued to process and sell the fleece and became involved in the annual round of Christmas events.  Early in November, 135 lbs of yarn arrived from the mill in Carstairs.  The white fibre was milled as two ply and is a lovely, soft aran weight yarn.  The grey was milled as 3 ply and was also much softer this year thanks to the Romney bred into the flock. It is great for weaving and outerwear.   Twenty pounds of it sold immediately to the local yarn shop.

20 lbs of wool

I also finished weaving my first blanket and am thrilled with the result.  I learned a lot from the process.  Attention to process and detail is one lesson learned as my mentor, Mary advised me to release any of the heddles not in use.  I forgot and when I did remember, decided it was not necessary as I was only using the center foot pedals.   Needless to say, there are two treddling errors in the work that were not visible from the front but obvious when I took the blanket off the loom and turned it over.  They are not that noticeable but I know they are there and they will serve as a reminder not to do that again.  The blanket fulled out beautifully in the washing machine and on a gentle cycle.

My First Blanket

Two more wheels were delivered to my friends, the Cowichan knitters and they have just purchased the last of my roving.  I now have space in the closet in the spare bedroom!  I also bought new shelving for my workroom and got things off the floor.  I know that the space will fill up fast again when we shear in the spring but it feels good to have things tidy for the moment. 

My mother, who was a great knitter, always had a table at the Christmas craft fair in Fulford Hall.  She also baked for their ‘Decadent Deserts’.  Her specialty was chocolate éclairs, something I never had any joy making as I could never get them to rise.  Mum died right after the craft fair of 2007, but before she left us she sent me into the kitchen to make her eclaires for the fair.   From her bed she supervised me mixing those éclairs, requiring that I show her how they looked in the bowl as they progressed.  Those éclairs rose into lovely puffy pastries and I have been making them ever since – and of course taking them to the fair for her. 

Fulford Hall Christmas Craft Fair 2013

I am very involved in rounding up volunteers to facilitate the Fulford Christmas Craft Fair which is held in the community hall on the first weekend in December.  The fair is a fundraiser and earns enough each year to cover most of the annual operating expenses of the hall which is the center for all our local community events.  The hall is across the road from the church where mum and dad are now buried.  My mum loved snowdrops and viewed them as a hopeful sign of spring.  Late in October, Emily, my granddaughter and I planted bulbs all over their gravesite, daffodils, crocus, bluebells and snowdrops.  On December 23 I visited them to place a Christmas wreath and found those snowdrops blooming.  They were a lovely gift from mum.

 Hope of Spring

According to the calendar and the progress Elvis made with the girls, first lambs should arrive around the end of February, perhaps for my birthday.  Meanwhile, the flock is healthy and well and, although we did have one brief snowstorm early in December, they are now enjoying our mild winter weather. 

A brief winter snowstorm

Happy New Year to all our friends as we move into 2014 from us all.



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