It's about 10° F this week (-12°C) and ice has covered the streets. My legs have succumed to the traditional seasonal ache of wanting to get out and run but being too afraid to me casser la pipe on black ice. And so ... ! ... I started knitting a grass green shawl as a Christmas present for a friend far away, who is herself confined by blizzards and frigid temps.

This yarn is hand spun and dyed in Switzerland's southern alps, in the canton of Tessin. Swiss-Italian women color it using only natural materials, and every time I order some I get a letter in Italian saying "Your yarn will be there soon ... we need to spin it first!" And I smile a very comfortable smile as I imagine her picking up the shears and making her way to a still bleating sheep feeding on the rocky slopes.

Have a look!

http://www.tenero-tourism.ch/en/137/wool_centre.aspx

By the time the finished product arrives on my doorstep (which usually takes a few weeks at the very least), it is wrapped neatly in a paper wrapping, lanolin coating my hands as I admire it.

Ah... to knit yarn like this! Last night I popped in The Lord of the Rings and knitted my heart out in candle light.

The day has dawned here cold and frigid, marshmallow snow covering the landscape. Sun has finally emerged, and I may just pull on my snow boots and head out to feel the crunch of a frozen world.