When we lived in Brevig Mission, Alaska,
a village 70 miles north of Nome on the Bering Sea,
we often took a ride on our ATV to scope out the musk ox herd.
They are interesting animals--always fun to watch.
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| Some run off. |
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| Some seem oblivious. |
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| Some are curious. |
They also proved very good to eat.
Yes, we did eat them.
Our friends were kind enough to share their harvest.
Not only did they give us meat, but they also gave us two musk ox hides.
We had the hides tanned, and, now that we have time,
we have been busy combing out the qiviut.
Qiviut is the soft undercoat of the musk ox.
It is a fiber prized by spinners.
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| Qiviut |
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| Combing the hide to get the raw fiber, the qiviut. |
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| Just beginning the combing. |
Once spun, qiviut makes the softest and warmest yarn available.
I do not spin, so I sell the raw fiber.
I do knit and love
to work with the qiviut yarn.
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| A hat I made made from musk ox yarn that I bought. |
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| More projects. |
We also plan to sell one of the hides.
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| The hide (about 5'x6') after combing. |
Some of the guard hairs on this hide are 24 inches long and of reddish hue--BEAUTIFUL !!
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