Frosty February

This week's snowfall left us with about 10 inches of lovely, fluffy new snow.  It looks like winter now, for sure.

Snowy yard

It is cold.  The cold is the better kind of cold now that we are insulated with snow.  Not bitter, below zero temperatures that led me to bring the hens inside.  They are happily back in the barn, even venturing out into the areas that Jeff cleared with the snow blower.  As long as there is no wind they are safe from frostbite.

I took the time while inside to do some much needed cleaning of areas and finishing of projects.

My favorite was the blankie and bear for Ty and Alyssa's baby, due this month.

Ty and Alyssa on their wedding day

Here is the baby gift.

The middle is double knit which makes it reversible and warm

The scarves I had on the loom got finished.  One is in my Etsy shop and one is in the gift shop here in town.

Mostly silk and alpaca 

Long scarf in alpaca

Now I am busy carding up more fleece to spin as I am out of yarn!  I do have a lot of wonderful roving to spin only I am trying to clean out my aging stash of fibers.  Much of what I have are seconds which I have not sorted properly.  I am doing that now, getting rid of short fibers and those imbued with hay chaff that I thought somehow I could clean.   

We had our annual winter picnic.  It was before the snow came.  The day was relatively warm, the snow not too deep, the food and family fantastic.

Off to a picnic

That was so much fun that now I will take time out of fiber stuff to get out and enjoy the snow.  I am working on snowshoeing a path around the yard for eventual skiing.  The days are longer, the sun is stronger and too soon it will be time to focus on other things, so I will enjoy these days while I can.  You should, too!

Cold, Colder, Coldest

It was ten degrees below zero again last night.  The forecast is for single digits today, below zero again tonight and more of the same until the weekend.  In light of this fact, Jeff dragged the pullet cage down into the cellar and, yes, I put the chickens downstairs.  The last below zero cold spell lasted a week.  I tried to keep the coop in the mid twenties, however this entailed running a little ceramic heater non stop for several days and nights.  Disastrous to the electric bill.  So we talked about keeping the girls in the cellar instead. It was easy enough to get them down there as I scooped them off the roost.  I have no idea how I will get them back out!  They should be very cosy.  They sure are noisy!

"This is weird, brrrk brk, what are we doing in here?"

As the wind has picked up and the temperature stays frigid, it is a comfort not to have to worry about the girls.  It will probably mess up their egg laying routine.  At least it will keep them alive to lay more this spring.
Meanwhile I have been busy knitting for a baby who is due to arrive next month.  I decided to do something different and made a bear.

A jaunty bear

 I stuffed some lavender into the center of him so that the scent will help calm the little one.  The bear will be packed with this baby blanket, although I am not sure it is going to be big enough to call a blanket.  More like a throw.

An Elizabeth Zimmermann baby blanket

It is double knitted in the middle which makes it reversible, thick and warm.  It is being knit out of commercial wool.  The bear is hand spun.
I also had to spin for a couple of scarves to put on the loom.  The finished one was spun from an old roving I found in my stash.  It was mostly silk, and probably merino that had been dyed in long stretches in rainbow colors.  I split it down the middle lengthwise so that I could spin and ply the colors to keep that rainbow integrity.  Then I figured that I had to wind a bobbin, then rewind it to another in order to keep the continuity in the weaving.  It came out great but I am nervous that it is long enough. This second scarf is mostly going to be the blue with random stripes of white and other colors.

Scarves on the loom

Before the cold got so intense, my precious little old lady cat, Sukey, passed away.  Thankfully we were able to bury her.  I did not want to have to think of other alternatives, and cremation wasn't an option.  She rests in the corner of the yard reserved for pets.

Sukey, the old lady

She would have been 22, yes, Twenty Two years old in March.  She had a great life.  It is good not to have to be dealing with all the issues we have had these past few years with her advanced age, but it will be a long time 'til I stop looking over to her corner.

A bouquet to ease the pain

Annie sent me these, which certainly help on a whole lot of levels.  Especially in the dead of winter!
And  now the sun is out, the temperature has soared to minus 4---time for a cup of coffee before getting to work.  Stay warm, stay busy and Happy New Year!