any sheep out there?

when i moved to the west coast of newfoundland in 1975 there were still lots of sheep here (and wild horses on the northern penninsula highway!). sheep and a woolen mill in the codroy. sheep on the port au port. even sheep dotting the landscape of the humber valley. my friends doug and shirley raised sheep where i lived in pasadena and this time of year i'd walk over to their farm with the children and we'd feed the lambs with bottles. now there are few sheep. and no wool for sale. yesterday i was interviewed on cbc radio about etsy and at the end of the interview i put out a call for newfoundland wool. i recieved a call from a sheep farm in whitbourne and an email about a small-scale farm on the burin. i love the idea of using local (ie newfoundland) wool in my yarn, but i need now to figure out what the cost will be - postage to get the unwashed wool to me. postage to send the wool to pei to be washed and carded. the cost of processing. postage back. if it's anywhere close to what i'm paying for fleece from ontario i'll happily do it. if any of you on the west coast know of a fleece supply, please get in touch with me (sohagan@nf.sympatico.ca)

trade ya'

one of my most favourite things about my involvement with the online craft market "etsy" is trading. recently i was approached by a young fashion designer from mobile alabama to do a trade for one of my scarves. i usually just trade for supplies (ie roving to make more yarn), but i absolutely loved jessica's aesthetic so asked her if she could make a party dress for lucy's 4th birthday. she hadn't made children's clothes before but came up with this amazing dress. her shop is feudal

our story

newfoundland is an island in the north atlantic. it belongs to the sea. and the history of newfoundland is it's dependence on the sea - first the fish, and now the off-shore oil. and in this history are stories of disastor at sea. every family, every newfoundlander has been personally affected by drowning. yesterday a helicopter carrying 18 people on their way to an offshore rig went down shortly after leaving st. john's. 1 man survivied, 1body was recovered and today the search continues. the province is holding their breath but with the knowledge that there is no hope left. my daughter lives in st. john's. yesterday she took the children to signal hill and they looked out to sea (they live downtown so they often go there to look for boats coming in and out). she wants this to be their story too. she wants them to remember.

the far east

my next order - of yarn and scarves - is going to korea. the cheongju international craft biennale will take place this fall. canada is the featured country this year and craftspeople from every province have been invited to contribute work to the "canada" boutique. sooo... 60 skeins and 40 scarves by may 1st. bliss.

all sewn up - finally

my friend catherine unexpectantly drove into st. john's on sunday and offered to take my craft council order in with her - saving me alot of money for postage. so i spent saturday doing a little more sewing then pressing and cutting off stray threads and tagging and packing. i'd completed all but 3 pair of overalls. they were finished yesterday and i'll mail them off today. that's my spring/summer order out of the way. now on to the next order...

jane austen

i was married in june of 1970 (at the much too young age of 20). we took the summer off of school and work and hitchiked out to vancouver for awhile and for the rest of the summer lived on a farm and looked after a large family garden and watched the barn kittens frolic in silhouette against the sunset and read d.h.lawrence. in years to come we always referred to that summer as the d.h. lawrence summer. well this winter has been my jane austen winter. i haven't read her for i'd say 30 years. i marvel at the patience i had for reading the classics as a teenager and even as a young mother. this time i struggled to get into austen's world but once i did, i fell... this is why her books are classics. and last. this is my "jane austen" yarn.

a "spring" walk

yesterday the sun was bright. snow dripping from the roof. puddles on the streets. but the wind was frigid coming in off the bay. a good day for chasing after a stick to keep warm...