Wintry things

[abendgules]

There's been a 'cold weather alert' on this week - which our agency is reflecting with updates pointing to the Met Office.

Apparently there's a notable increase in 'excess deaths' in winter in this country, that doesn't occur to the same degree in colder Scandinavian countries.  It bascially boils down to old people and poor people living in old and drafty houses; some folks still live in houses without insulation, double glazing or effective heating systems. So they're actually more exposed to conditions that tax their bodies than in climates where people have figured out how to build and insulate homes.

With that in mind I'm thinking about this pattern - is this cool or what? Socks with a heel built for re-knitting!

Knitted with this yarn - a have a wool-avoiding friend that I had in mind for socks this winter. I've just taken delivery on six skeins, and am debating which ones become socks and which ones become baby clothes for fertile friends.

Worryingly, I also picked up a printed catalogue from Cornelissens at my last flying visit - now I know all the names of the madly obscure and specific art supplies that I didn't previously know I needed. Ox gall, anyone? Tracing-down paper (to avoid having to make my own with red bole and layout paper)? Sealer for silver leaf, to prevent tarnishing? Teh shiny is getting to me again...

Ok, illumination isn't exactly seaonal, but I do tend towards even more crafty stuff, when I don't want to go outside.

We're braving the cold to Mynydd Gwyn this weekend for the last revel of the season. Hoping to see lots of folk there for fencing, dancing and food.

Comments

[merlyn-gabriel.livejournal.com]

Nice Catalogue.

[larmer.livejournal.com]

That is unfortunate about the cold weather alert. I hope neighbour's, families, friends, and various agencies will be proactive to protect the frail so that there are few fatalities. Whether it is (relatively) too cold or too hot our modern technology and many large indoor public spaces it is fairly straight forward to make sure people are looked after times of extremes.

Interesting crafting stuff. Heels that one can heal - cute.

[badgersandjam.livejournal.com]

Cornelissen's is scribal pr0n. I always count myself lucky if I get out with fewer than £50 in damage. Fortunately, I don't mix my own paints. Just imagine what an ounce of lapis lazuli costs! (I have found, though, that Mitchell nibs are 30p cheaper at London Graphic Centre.)

Hope Gwledd Nadolig goes well, that you don't starve, and that you get a full complement of folk you want to see!

not-so-wintry things

[chequey.livejournal.com]

As I type this, it is +9C in Ottawa, with no snow on the ground. Quite different from the blizzard conditions and eight-foot drifts when you and your Sweetie last visited around this time of year.

[ethnowoman.livejournal.com]

Crazy to think about people dying of cold INSIDE their houses. And very sad.

[bend-gules.livejournal.com]

In 2009 some seniors in the UK were rather bemused to find they were being offered handknit sweaters by concerned Icelanders, who had read about old people suffering from cold indoors in the UK, and figured they simply needed more layers...
http://www.thisishullandeastriding.co.uk/Icelandic-donation-jumpers-given-East-Yorkshire-s-elderly/story-11952371-detail/story.html

The English aren't used to being treated like a needy underdeveloped country - particularly from Iceland.