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.
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.
Happy New Year to all our friends as we move into 2014 from us all.
A brief winter snowstorm
Happy New Year to all our friends as we move into 2014 from us all.
