Winter

For all of those who stop by for a visit and a read you all know I enjoy winter A LOT!

I love skiing, snow falling down, cold, crisp air, a rich blue sky, the squeak of snow under my feet as I walk to work or run errands . . . and this winter has been an abominable disappointment!  First, it hasn't even really arrived. We have not had weeks of below zero weather, huge drifts of snow or for that matter any real snow.  I think, I can count the amount of real snow falls on one hand.

WIND: Lets talk about wind!  Gosh, we have had bashing noisy endless wind.  We might have a day off from wind and then we are back to endless days of wind.  I know the village we live and work in is supposedly named after the east wind.  There are several naming folklore tales here for Unalakleet. "Where the East Wind Meets the Sea" and a few others all meaning there is a lot of wind here and it blows all the damn time!  However, when you are picking berries in the summer months there is no wind and tons of bugs in your face, ears, and eyes!

Yesterday during ski practice at +34ºF the kids were all way to HOT!  Luckily it hasn't rained yet as that would be the frosting on the wheatless cake for me.  We have a 1.25K loop we use for practice and have been skiing on that basically since Dec.  How does one make a 1.25K loop fun after weeks of skiing it . . . well I am about to run out of ideas!

Cool off time during ski practice at +34ºF!

Really . . . this is January!

Ok so enough belly aching!  Lets leave it to say if you have snow please enjoy it and think of us up here in Alaska with very little snow.  I am grateful that it hasn't rained and we do in fact have some snow to ski one.  I am thrilled we have a lot of skiers. Skiing not only is fun for us but a huge distraction from work.  It gets us out the door almost every day with the dogs and we all enjoy the much needed daily break the outside offers.  If you have snow don't complain, get out and enjoy the good it has to offer us all!

Knitting: Lopi Designs and Unspun Lopi

I just purchased this book from Schoolhouse Press and it is full of Lopi patterns--yes 65 (not all sweaters)!  I have fallen back in love with Lopi sweaters!  

This angle is to show you that the book is THICK and just full of wonderful information and patterns. I am really enjoying the patterns and have several picked out for future projects.

Unspun Icelandic yarn  this yarn is to be added to the 2 colors I have for a Lopi sweater for myself.  I have yet to decided on the pattern I will use, but I have it narrowed down.

From SchoolHouse Press:

"Plötulopi/Unspun Icelandic

Extraordinary long-fibered fleece unique to Icelandic sheep produces the warmest wool we know of. In a single-strand, this unspun wool knit directly from the wheel is wonderful for lace or sweaters. Work with 2-ply for typical Icelandic pullovers, jackets, scarves, hats, and mittens. Or 3- and 4-ply for coats and blankets. Material: 100% Un-Spun Wool Weight: 3 1/2-oz. wheel. Yardage: 300 yds. Approx. Gauge: Single strand: 6 to 7 to 8 sts to 1 inch or  Double strand/2- ply, 3-1/2 to 4 sts to 1 inch."

Here is a review of this yarn and I feel like it is an excellently written piece answering many of my questions.  I am sure if you are interested int his yarn you will find this piece interesting as well.  From A Knitters Review

Another great source on this unspun wool is of course Ravelry 

"This yarn is also sometimes called “unspun Icelandic” and is the yarn sold by Schoolhouse Press.
From Istex: Plötulopi can be worked one, two or more ply at a time, depending on how bulky a yarn you want. Gently wind the required number of strands together into a ball by taking the end from the centre and the end from the outside of the plate, or plates. Plötulopi is very fragile to knit. We recommend the continental knitting technique as it permits control with very loose tension.
Since Plötulopi is an unspun yarn, it is fragile to knit; however, due to the length of its fibres, it knits into a sweater that is both sturdy and soft.
Gauge for 1 ply: 19 sts to 10 cm (4”) over St st using size 4½ mm (old UK 7) (US 7).
Gauge for 2 ply: 14 sts to 10 cm (4”) over St st using size 5½ mm (old UK 5) (US 9).
100% new wool. Unspun yarn, sold by weight as a one-ply, flat round roll, called a "plate".

All I have left to do is to finish knitting up a Lopi sweater for my niece in Rangely yarn which I just love.  I need to pick the Lopi design for my self and cast on!  I will keep you posted as I work with the icelandic unspun wool.

Goals for 2016

I must admit I like goals/challenges!  I don't need huge goals. I enjoy checking things off a list as a sense of completion.  I am the type that likes to accomplish things and move on.  

Last year my big goal was to go wheat free for the year.  I need to improve upon what I set out to do, but overall I will never go back to present day wheat!  Like I have blogged earlier I am not a 100% purest when it comes to all the "No Wheat and No Garin eating."  I try my best but do need to improve upon this endeavor. I can never explain how great you will feel off of wheat and grains it is amazing to feel so healthy and to have such clear mental thinking!

Goals for 2016:

1. Continue with the No Wheat and No Grains eating, try to eliminate corn especially if it is not organic.  Limit Einkorn as a huge treat once in a great while.

2. Learn more about Wheat Free/Grain Free and eating and improving good gut health.

3. Ski, hike, bike, walk, morning workouts---stay as active as possible!

4. Read more new authors.

5. Keep work simple and be efficient and effective in the classroom. 

6.  Remember it is often best to keep one's mouth closed more often than not!

7. KNIT--one can never knit enough! Fair Isle knitting and Lopi knitting are looking like this years focus for myself.  I have declared 2016 the year I knit for ME!  However, I know this will not be the case 100% but I have some projects I need to dive into.

8.  Certainly not least but be positive and spend as much time as I can with my wonderful husband and our two fantastic dogs!

Good Bye 2015 & Hello 2016!

A new year is always a fun place to start with fresh ideas, goals and challenges.  I love a new beginning, a fresh slate, a chance to move on and leave other items/issues behind.

What I am hoping for is a winter full of snow and already this seems to be a struggle--dang!  We have had temps in the mid to high 30s and how can that be even fair when we live in Alaska.

A bit of a 2015 wrap up here and on to 2016!

Knitting:

This year I knitted these 3 lovely gals each a sweater and a hat.  Two of them received Tomtens.  After knitting two of these great designs my EZ, I decided enough and jumped into a Lopi design for grand niece #3 sweater.  I have fallen back in love with Lopi designs once again.  All sweaters were knitted with Rangely Yarn from Schoolhouse Press. This yarn is not a Lopi yarn but worked great in the pattern I choose for this project. 

This pattern is found on Ravelry and is written by: Sarah Dearne the pattern is called Blossi Icelandic lopi sweater/lopapeysa.

Rangeley Yarn From Schoolhouse Press. This yarn is for the adult sweater I am presently knitting.

Winter Solstice Ski:

We have not been able to do our Winter Solstice Ski or Full Moon ski the last few years due to timing or weather.  This year we were able to get a Solstice head lamp ski in complete with fire, hot chocolate and hot cider.  We had a huge turn out and a lot of fun on skis.

 

We say good-bye to the shortest amount of daylight for the year here in Unalakleet, 4 hours and 16 minutes! We welcome back the daylight slowly.  Our days are already increasing to 18 more minutes of daylight.

Skiing!

We are back to full on skiing.  I get in 6 practices a week as long as we can cross the slough to get to the Dragon's Back.

Elementary skiers

Alumni back for some training commuting on their hot wheels!

My coaching partner in crime from Nome and I at the World Jr. Youth/Jr Biathlon Team Trials in Anchorage last week.  Notice their vanishing snow!

Here I am home on the range zeroing rifles!

My skier who I was able to join for this event.  Aly did a fantastic job racing at this level!

Good Bye 2015 & Hello 2016!