Erebor Fingerless Gloves

Something I told myself that I would do this holiday was to finish the Erebor fingerless gloves I started on back in February. Well, they're done!

Of course I had to take some fun pictures of them...

If you are interested in knitting it up, you can find it here. If you do end up making a pair, let me know! I'd love to see pictures!

Coming later this week--a look into the crazy Hobbit inspired project that I have embarked on...

Pasque

Now that Beth is over the nasty bout of malaria she came down with last weekend, I've had some time to do a bit of 'decking the halls' for Easter. How I've missed having some spring decorations to enjoy with this holiday! I have eggs above my windows,

and I decked my Easter tree.

I had fun hiding my tiny bunnies in this sign,

And made up a new batch because there is just nothing like pretty much instant gratification!

Just in case you don't remember how small these are, here is one next to a penny-

My new Easter pattern for this year is knitted Easter Eggs--a great way to play with some sock yarn leftovers! I decided to cut myself off at four this year; now I just need to keep from buying yarn to make more next year!

I've also been working on a little cross stitch project for Easter-gotta love something you can finish in less than a week!

Today I plan to make Hot Crossed Buns, and perhaps have a few people over for tea. My family has a Good Friday tea every year--how I miss that! I love fresh hot crossed buns, and I have such good memories about pulling out our favorite mugs or tea cups and just having some family time. May you all have a blessed Easter weekend, and may we always grow to appreciate His sacrifice more and more!

Star Trek Voyager Communicator Cross Stitch Pattern

I watched some Star Trek Voyager for the first time in a long time yesterday and today, and I got to thinking that I've never seen a cross stitch chart for the Voyager communicators. So, here's one I made up based on another pattern from a Next Generation badge. Enjoy!

Of knitting, reading, and shelves.

One of the best things about the holidays is that there is time for knitting, reading, cooking, and being lazy. I have been doing a lot of those things with a sprinkling of dishes, laundry, and term 2 prep. I love how with my Kindle it’s very easy to knit and read at the same time—double entertainment! Despite all the rain we have been getting, dry season is on its way, so warm knitted things are a nice practical comfort, and it’s been fun to try some new things in the kitchen like homemade tortilla chips and making yogurt with long-life milk. (It can be done by the way, but it doesn’t set up as well as fresh milk does.) So, here’s a look at what I’ve been up to.

To celebrate the term being over, I dipped into my lovely bowl of Mountain Colors mill ends, and started this scarf. You work a lot of short row wedges which makes it ruffle when held flat,

and spiral enchantingly when allowed to curl!

This yarn is a bit thicker than I anticipated, so I’m not sure if I’ll use this same pattern for the blues and greens, but I’m enjoying the easy gratification of this pattern.

I’ve also started working a scarf that is destined for my Christmas gift basket. This one is from the latest edition of Jane Austin Knits, and while the main body of the scarf is very simple, it has this lovely leafy lace on the ends. I love the colors of this yarn so much—it makes me miss the fall!

I've also been engaged in 'stealth knitting' a gift for a friend, so I regrettably can't show you pictures, but I will once the gift has been received.

Some of the big news in my little house lately has been the shelves that Beth's dad made for me before he left. The ones for the living room need to be shortened a bit, but I got the pantry shelves painted and installed early this week, and now I have a much more functional pantry! My shelves are a little precarious, so having a nice sturdy unit to load up with the heavy cans is a real blessing. Here are the shelves before I put all the cans away.

I've been enjoying several books recently; I won't go into detail about all of them now, but here's a sampling of what I've been reading:

* Princess of the Midnight Ball and the two sequels--Princess of Glass and Princess of the Silver Wood by Jessica Day George. Delightful re-imaginings of classic fairy tales, plus knitting is heavily involved!
* The Greene Murder Case by S. S. Van Dine. The Philo Vance mysteries are a rather different take on the detective story, but a good read just the same.
* In preparation for the Egypt unit in history next term, The Golden Goblet by Eloise Jarvis McGraw. Since I judge all historical fiction by Rosemary Sutcliff's standard, it means a lot when I say that this is and excellent book and gives a great look into life in ancient Egypt.

Well, I think that's quite a lot enough update for now! Next time, perhaps, I'll write about my preparations for Easter. I found a new knitting pattern I want to try out...