Winterlude

Winterlude, Winterlude, my little daisy
Winterlude by the telephone wire
Winterlude, it's makin' me lazy
Come on, sit by the logs in the fire
The moonlight reflects from the window
Where the snowflakes, they cover the sand
Come out tonight, ev'rything with will be tight
Winterlude, this dude thinks you're grand

"Winterlude" -Bob Dylan

Winter spinning. Winter knitting. Nothing quite like working with our favorite fibers when the bitter winds blow. Nothing quite like wearing cozy hats, mitts, scarves, etc. to keep us from being chilled to the bone.

The top photo is my fiberish interpretation of a waxing moon. The bright, white moon is represented by my Grandma Mayer's (Ma's Ma) crocheted doily. Ma once told me that she vividly remembered Grandma Mayer sitting in her chair, crocheting up a blizzard, sans any pattern. The crocheting must have been a welcome respite from the drudgery of cleaning and doing laundry for her family and for other folks...not to mention raising 8 children (a 9th died in infancy.) Looking in my Ma's old birthday recording book, Grandma signed her name and gave her date of birth as 1879. Mary Brandl Mayer was born 128 years ago. No doubt her beautifully executed doily is not that much younger.

The dark side of the moon, is portrayed by my own handspun, 85% cashmere and 15% merino wool yarn. The yarn itself has aged awhile...not as old as the doily, of course, but in my notes the date spun was listed as March 1996. We were living in Toronto at the time. I remember beginning to make something out of it once, but ripped it as it just wasn't right, re-skeined, washed the skein and only brought it out over the years for the "show" table when I taught a class.

The yarn is a three-ply, spun on my Schacht wheel, 11:1 ratio, probably set on double-drive (though I failed to note this), using a light, short forward draw. I regret to say that I failed to keep any of the unspun fiber in my baggie (something I don't generally forget now!), thankfully holding the index card with the yarn's spinning notes, wound-on singles and ply-back. From the notes I know that the fiber was in the form of commercial top. It was given to me as a gift by Karen, a spinning friend then living in Connecticut who presented it to me prior to my family leaving for life in Canada. She purchased the fiber on a vacation, 100 grams in total, from Fibrecrafts at Barnhowe, Elterwater, Ambleside, Cumbria, UK. Now can you imagine me trying to remember all of that info all these years later?! PLEASE document, document, document....you'll never regret it!!

Have started to knit a shawl or shawlette or neckscarf with the cashmere/merino yarn. What the piece finally becomes in the end all depends on how far the yarn takes me. No matter, I think I've finally found a pattern the yarn can call home. It's a version of Elizabeth Zimmermann's "German" shawl. In my mind's eye I can picture naturally dyed trim/embellishments and beads...gotta have some tasteful bling after all!!

The bottom photo shows the spider with my little papooshka, Alexander...must have been early winter 1987. We're both wearing handknit hats. EZ enthusiasts will right away see that my hat is none other than the "watchcap" from Elizabeth's classic, "Knitting Without Tears," Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1971. The watchcap is made from my first, useable handspun. My early-years spinning teacher, Rae, suggested that I make something...anything...out of my first handspun. Good advice, indeed. I listened to her and wore the hat alot, though the yarn in the hat keeps me more than humble. It's got problems up the yin-yang: pigtails, corkscrews, unwanted slubs, you-name-it. The wool is from Rae's then flock of Cheviots, a sheep I'm very sentimental and fond of. I love the darling faces and perky ears of Cheviot sheep - have you seen them? I remember Rae saying that Cheviots are the epitomy of the phrase, "Run Sheep Run," as they quickly dart off together if they're even slightly wary of a situation.

Just wondering... how many of you have made EZ's wonderful watchcap, too? Handspun?

Alexander's hat is from a book by Lesley Anne Price, "Kids' Knits," Ballantine Books, New York, 1984. I knit the hat from Jamieson and Smith Shetland jumper weight wool, deciding on a crocheted, crab stitch edging rather than the frilly one shown in the book. I actually remember knitting on that hat in the hospital, the evening prior to Alex's and my "C-section" date together the following morning. I even recall being irritated by the pattern having more than two colors per row now and again, not that I couldn't have changed it....Funny what you remember before you're scheduled to go under the knife.

Happy Imbolc for those celebrating. You know who you are.