Tuesday, February 19, 2008

My yarn has arrived!

I have received the alpaca-and-nylon yarn I ordered at Belfast Mini Mills. It's beautiful to look at, but even more beautiful to touch. I have been having camera woes so no photos yet. Anyway I'll put the photos on Ravelry, I expect. It's a lovely warm beige colour, and who knew (certainly not *me*) - the Thomson tartan is a camel colour. This should work out well. Now to swatch and locate my Folk Socks book.

Yet more winter, although the most recent dose of snow-and-then-rain has been much less destructive than the last. We've been so busy with the various heritage-related activities (Awards last night, public meeting last Thursday and another tonight) that we've no time for music or dance, even when the weather allows.

Today, however, I went for a walk at lunchtime because it is a simply beautiful bright day - wind a bit brisk from the west but lovely when on the return journey. And the days are drawing out quite noticeably. Spring is on the way!

Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Out of the dark, into the light

PEI is recuperating from a long spell of lack of electricity, although we were very lucky and didn't lose power for more than a few hours, just when almost all of the Island was out. I may be on the receiving end of a large lightning bolt for saying this, but we seldom do lose power. I think it is compensation for having no cell phone service and no access to high speed internet in our little corner of the Island universe.

However, friends did suffer during this latest blackout. 85 hours without power means everything in the freezer is unfit for human consumption. Hmmm. Should we buy a generator? Or should Maritime Electric / Fortis get their fingers out and start putting the wires underground? In the twenty-odd years I've been saying this, they could have had a goodly portion of the Island changed over to underground, and just think of the mess of unsightly wires which would be gone. C'mon, Maritime Electric / Fortis! PEI is a small place. The soil is sandy. Easy to dig. You could start today! There would be no more power outages, no more expensive cleanups in dangerous weather conditions, no more throwing out spoiled food, no more broken water pipes.

On the knitting front, I visited Belfast Mini Mills recently, and what a time it was! First, they have all kinds of interesting fibres and products (Qiviut! Camel! Samoyed!) and lovely yarns made from them. They make glorious felt and sell needle-felting kits (I bought one!). They will make you yarn, to your own specifications! They have a sock-knitting machine and sell socks at the shop!

Sorry about the excited exclamations. It was wonderful. You should GO!