De-hibernating

Wake up sleepy bears! Time to shake winter out of your rusty bones. Spring is springing all over the place.

I returned from my extra-top secret superhero business to pollen infested rusty coast. Achoo!

Well, it isn’t all runny noses and itchy eyes. There are some good things about the coming of spring, like this:

Except for a garden shanty that my DH erected during one of the snowstorms, not much energy had to be put into the winter garden after the initial planting. That’s one of the best parts of winter gardening, no bugs and no weeds. Of course, now with spring around the corner, there is a bit of weeding to do. But with yesterday’s sunny break, it was grand to be digging about and mucking around. It’s been awesome to have fresh greens available through the winter. Even some of the red lettuce managed to hold on.

It seems the media is finally getting onto the local food bandwagon. Time magazine has a cover story on the benefits of locally grown food over other foods, even organics, grown far away. Check it out here.

For a local slant on the 100 Mile Diet and local food issues, check out the new issue of Synergy. Sean O'Connell, head super-chef of the Equinox Cafe, has a column on the 100 mile diet for the March/April issue.

For an extra boost of food system literature, I'm making my way through the 'Omnivore's Dilemma' by Michael Pollan. It's an entertaining look at the question "What should we have for dinner?" The author traces the food chain that sustains us through various narratives that range from visits to cornfields to food laboratories.

Warning: Knitting talk ahead. Proceed with caution!

I finished off the Honeymoon sweater a few weeks ago. Unfortunately, I was sans phototaker gizmo for the last few weeks. They don’t like phototaker gizmos in superhero land. So here are some photos of the final product:

The back was done with a mix of techniques for the tree. I wanted a smooth line for the tree limbs and found that twisted stitches was the best and easiest method for that. The background colours was acheive by taking apart a couple different colourways of Noro (Kureyon and silk garden), most of them leftover from other projects, and recombining the colours to echo to colours of the the sunsets that blessed our honeymoon in Kyuquot Sound.
It falls to about mid-thigh and it’s just the punch of colour I need for these last few grey and gloomy weeks. It gives my wardrobe just the enough fun, vibrant colouring without making me looking like a Rainbow Bright doll on crystal meth.

Since finishing that, I’ve started on a lighter weight sweater for the rest of spring. I’ve been reading up on weaving and have always been taken with baroque brocade patterns but have found most brocade patterned clothing looks like someone turned grandma’s curtains into a frock. Just a tad stuffy for me. So I’ve been working out a more contemporary brocade pattern for a spring sweater. I call it 'Broken Brocade' since the white background is broken up with bits of colour.

The white and the variegated colour is from Lorna Laces sport weight. The variegated is their Seascape colourway. So lovely. The eggplant is from the super fine Gems line by Louet. Yeah, I know, the last time I used fine yarn to make a sweater I drove myself to the suburb of insanity. Let’s see if I can get through this one without ending up on the expressway straight to the knitting nuthouse.

I’m also getting together a 100 Mile Fiber blog for spinners, weavers, knitters, crocheters and basketmakers to share their creations made from fibers grown from within 100 miles of where they live. I’ve got a whole sheeps fleece coming my way soon and I have a batch of local alpaca that I’m designing to make a shawl with. I also have a batch of cedar bark that’s about ready to be used to make a basket with.

It’s going to be a busy spring!

Have a great day and happy eating!

Jen

Nanaimo's 100 Mile Diet Challenge