A Labrador Spring

Spring is one of my favourite times of year in Labrador. Most people in North America herald the arrival of spring with the melting of snow and the growth of new flowers. Not so in Labrador. 

Here is a photo that I took last night from our backyard. Yes, that bit of fence peeking through is a six foot fence. 

We mark the coming of spring by ice fishing!! It is at long last finally warm enough to go outside and enjoy all that snow. Easter weekend is a time in Labrador when everyone seems to be on the ice. Fishing, riding skidoo, games, a boil up (Newfoundland and Labradors word for a picnic) are just a few of the things that most families tend to do around here. 

My son in law Blair is drilling a hole in the ice with his gas ice auger. There is an extension on it and he still just barely made it through the ice. 

 

This is me with two of the trout that I caught. We had such a good time. It was so nice to be outside after being inside all this long cold winter long. 

I accidentally stepped into a fishing hole that was covered in snow and slush and I went over my boots. My feet stayed warm because I had on a pair of my hand knit socks. But I wished I had taken a second pair of dry socks. Kevin told me to take some too. Oh well. 

I did finish knitting another pair of socks. These will do into my sock drawer. And they will keep my feet warm and dry the next time I go ice fishing. 

I love them. They are DK weight which is a little heavier than I like but they are sure to work well inside a winter boot.  We (Newfoundlanders and Labradorians) call short thick socks like these vamps. I think this is word is unique to this province but I could be wrong. I need to knit more of these. For myself and my whole family. 

Remember the mittens?

About 5 or 6 posts ago, I wrote about knitting jags. In particular I wrote about going on a mitten knitting jag. I also prophesized that the jag wasn't over because I had a few more mail outs coming from Blueberry Pie Studio's  mmMarvelious Mitten club. 

Turns out I was right. Here's a pair I finished in the great colourway named Turquoise Frosting   I love it so much!! I think this pair may be mine. 

Since I knit these very quickly while travelling to Lab City to watch Max play in a soccer tournament, I immediately cast on for another. The great thing about these club mail outs is that the yarn comes all balled up and ready to go.  This is great when you are looking for something to knit in a hurry. Since I was going to be spending six hours as a passenger driving to Lab City plus hours watching soccer and then six hours driving back I knew that I had lots of knitting time to prepare for. So I grabbed some blueberry pie studio yarns as I was going through the door. 

This colour is called Farmers Market (I think). These will be for one of my lovely stepdaughters. 

I wasn't done yet! I cast on for another pair in some handspun that I had recently finished.  Remember that Lisa Frank batt that I had spun into a dk weight two ply? Well that yarn knit up into a beautiful fabric. It wasn't nearly as crazy looking as I thought it would be. 

I love these so much. I may keep these for myself too. Hey! I live in Labrador. A girl can never have too many mittens. And these are the exact weight and fit that I like my mitts - especially for driving back and forth to work.

And I still wasn't done. This pair is for Cooper.  Again the yarn is from Blueberry Pie Studios Marvelous Mitten Club. The colour is called sunny tulips. 

So what do you think? I'm getting a good start on winter (which comes very quickly here in Labrador). I think I may be done with the mittens for a little while.