Winter Knitting

Nome, AK

Earlier this year, I spent two months in Nome, Alaska with my in-laws while my husband was deployed. We visited Nome last summer, and it reached 90 degrees Fahrenheit. It must've been some kind of record because everyone was complaining about how hot it was, even me, and I'm from Florida.  Need I mention that they don't have air conditioners up there, or even fans for that matter? 

Bering Sea

When I visited this year during the winter, the difference was phenomenal. I believe the temperature was pushing 20 below freezing. Let me tell you, this Florida girl spent quite a bit of time inside. Which was great for my knitting, as I was able to crank out quite a few projects, fueled by my daily mug of hot chocolate.

My biggest project was a sweater I knit for my husband. It was my first adult-sized sweater, and I was so happy when I finished it. It's a raglan with 6x1 ribbing, which keeps the knitting interesting, yet simple enough to knit in front of the TV.

 He braved the Oklahoma heat to model it for me.

Staci Perry, the sweater designer, also created an extremely helpful video tutorial that goes with this particular pattern. I encourage you to check out her videos, especially if you are a beginner/intermediate knitter. They have helped me tremendously. Her YouTube channel is called VeryPink Knits.

I'll leave you with some moments from Nome:

The drive to town.

Velvet Eyes, pet reindeer

Iditarod finish line

The northern lights!

Qiviut Haul

This summer we took a trip to my husband's home town of Nome, Alaska. 

While there, I got to see the prehistoric musk ox that roam wild over the tundra.

Luckily for me, it was the time of year that they begin shedding their downy undercoat.

Called qiviut, it is eight times warmer than wool and softer than cashmere. 

We spent an afternoon, braving the mosquitoes, collecting it from the willows.

My mother-in-law brought me to visit a local woman who is an expert spinner and knitter of qiviut. She sends hers to a mill to be processed into roving and also spun into wool yarn. These skeins were so squishy soft. They were about 80% qiviut, 20% wool.

She taught me how to spin with a drop spindle and was kind enough to give me one.

When I got home, I washed the qiviut by adding a little soap to some very hot water and squishing it around. I rinsed and repeated a couple of times. A lot of dirt came out of this stuff, as you can probably imagine. Another great thing about this fiber is that it doesn't felt, no matter how hot the water. 

Hand spinning with a drop spindle does take practice, but I'm determined to learn. 

I doubt I'll attempt to spin all the qiviut I collected this summer with this spindle. 

(Santa mentioned something about a spinning wheel for Christmas.)