Waitangi Day

Checking my calendar this morning, I found that today is Waitangi Day. My curiosity piqued, I learned that Waitangi Day is New Zealand's national holiday, commemorating the 1840 signing of the Waitangi Treaty between Maoris and European settlers. It seems to be roughly comparable to our 4th of July holiday in the United States, but with more complications. Wikipedia provides helpful suggestions for how to celebrate Waitangi Day, here. Of course, in the Southern Hemisphere, it's midsummer this time of year. Why not have a sausage sizzle, indeed?

I lack the cultural context, but, as a knitter, I can't help but be tickled by any reminder of the country that brought me these:

Sheep socks!








Sheep refrigerator magnet!








Not to mention quite a few yarn and spinning fiber mementos, among them the felted merino yarn for the Pine Bark sweater that I'm happily knitting away on now. It's getting exciting and a wee bit suspenseful. Exciting, because I've nearly reached the top of the first sleeve. When I get there, maybe I can pin the pieces together and get an idea of how the whole affair is going to work out. :) Suspenseful, because I'm starting to have some irrational worries about whether the yarn will go far enough.

I think it can, I think it can ....