Qiviut and I did not cross paths again until the 2013 Toronto Knitters Frolic where I overcame my frugality and bought a skein. It was enough to knit a pair of wrist warmers with a tiny ball left over, enough probably for a handkerchief.
Imagine my delight when I discovered that the home of Magic Tundra Qiviut is a drive of just over an hour away, in Adstock, Quebec, near the formerly bustling metropolis of Thetford Mines, home of the largest open-pit asbestos mine in the world. I tried in vain to organize an outing during the summer when my daughter was visiting, but I persevered and finally, last Monday, several of the members of The Knitters of Lennoxville hopped into a van and made the trip.
We had perfect weather for an outing. Most of the deciduous trees had lost their leaves, but the larches stood out golden against the dark green of their cousin conifers as we drove through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Eastern Townships. The GPS failed us at the end of our journey, instructing us to turn left on Rang 14. We realized the error as house numbers got bigger instead of smaller; so turned around, finally pulling in at a farmhouse with a large barn in behind. The daughter of the house was outside when we arrived and notified her parents that they had visitors.
We were greeted by Lorraine and her husband Gilbert, names that work equally well in either English or French (they are respectively one and the other) who took time out of their busy work day to show us the entirety of their milling operation. Gilbert also told me the story of how they became the successful business they are today: a story of serendipity and perseverance.
In 1967, a small number of musk oxen were introduced to Old Fort Chimo in northern Quebec where none previously existed. The operation involved several biologists and a vet and lasted for a dozen years or so while the herd increased in number. The biologists lovingly cared for the animals and brushed their great hairy coats often, saving the soft, downy under fur in garbage bags until there was a warehouse full of them. In 1980 the herd was released into the wild and has continued to thrive, now providing a major source of hunting and food for the Inuit of Kuujjuaq.
In the meantime, our friends Lorraine and Gilbert had started a mill to make angora yarn from angora rabbits. They weren’t doing very well and at a certain point the bank refused to refinance them. They were looking bankruptcy in the face, the prospect of selling their farm and moving to a city where they could find jobs to support themselves and their children, when the question of what to do with all this musk ox fleece came up. Gilbert jumped at the opportunity, buying it all and going about learning how to mill qiviut. The timing couldn’t have been better. The couple suddenly experienced a renewal in their business, the bank was willing to lend them more money, and this allowed them to survive the recession that hit a few years later. Once the bags of brushed fleece ran out, Gilbert made a deal with the Inuit, trading necessary goods (rifles, ammunition, canned goods, etc.) for the raw skins from musk oxen killed for food. It has proven to be an excellent association.
Gilbert showed us a skin he was in the process of shearing. The underfur is very dense, but the individual hairs are extremely fine. He shears huge chunks of fur off and lets it dry before Lorraine washes it in fabric bags in a regular agitator machine.
Once dry, the coarse guard hairs are separated from the soft fleece. This is done by hand and Gilbert and Lorraine employ their own kids plus the neighbour’s daughter for this task. They are paid by the bagful of cleaned fleece.
The carded fleece then goes through a motorized drum carder where it is further cleaned and/or combined with other fibres. Here is the conveyor belt with a 50/50 blend of qiviut and cashmere fleeces ready to be turned into roving.
The belt moves along very slowly and a soft bat comes out the other end. Gilbert gathers it up and sends it down a hole to collect as a rope of roving in a bucket.
There is another machine where four ropes of roving are blended together, producing a thoroughly homogenous fleece before it can be sent through the spinning machine and made into thread. The thread will later be plied and dyed and turned into salable yarn. Working by themselves, seven days a week, Gilbert says they produce about a kilo of finished qiviut in a month.
Lorraine has several knitting machines and programmes them to make sweaters, blankets and other large items. The only handknits are mittens and gloves, which she hires contract knitters to make. Here is one finished blanket from 100% qiviut, approximate cost $400 CAD.
Not really set up to sell from home, Lorraine nonetheless had a bit of inventory on hand for us to choose from. I ended up buying some 100% qiviut in a worsted weight, a 50-50 blend of qiviut with merino in a 2-ply lace, and a luxurious fingering called Queen: 70% merino-10% qiviut-10% cashmere-10% silk. I have no idea what I’ll make with these beautiful additions to my stash; I may just tuck them in the collar of my shirt to feel them next to my cheek for a while.
One of my fellow knitters asked me if the field trip had turned out as I had expected. I would have to say it was better. Not only did I get to indulge my yarn habit, but I am now friends with two wonderful people whom I would love to know better. The qiviut is just frosting.
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Thank you Philippa for the photos. You can find out more about qiviut and Cottage Craft Angora at their website: http://cottagecraftangora.com/
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