Friday, March 20, 2009

Winter Scarf and a Good Book

Well, just in time for spring, I finally finished knitting the wool scarf I started in February!



For any knitter who might be interested, the pattern is from here. It's called the "My So Called Scarf" - strange name, but I loved the stitch pattern. I even found a short video on Youtube that demonstrates how to do the pattern, which I loved since I'm a visual learner, and I haven't done much else knitting-wise besides knit, purl, increase, and decrease. I did make my scarf thinner, for an every day scarf, as a wide one is sometimes too warm for me.

The yarn I used (bought from a local knitting store) is hand-dyed by (also local) Yarn Hollow - Gaia yarn, 100% Merino Wool. I used size 10 needles, but I think if I did this same scarf again, I'd use a size 11 needle to make it a little looser, as the pattern is fairly tight.

(oooh - how fun; I'm getting used to putting in links!)





I just finished a book that I really enjoyed, so I thought I'd mention it. The book is Washington's Lady by Nancy Moser. It's an inspirational biographical novel about Marth Washington, George Washington's wife. I never knew that much about Martha Washington, and this book was quite interesting as well as very enjoyable to read.

I learned a lot about Martha and George Washington, and gained some insight I didn't ever learn (or at least remember) about that time period in American history. I love learning history through a fictional account - I got so caught up in the character's lives, and I will remember more about them than if I'd read a typical biography.

I also love at the end where Nancy Moser has several pages about "Fact or Fiction". She details what elements of the story are historical fact, and what elements she fictionalized to bind the story together.

This is the third in a "Lady of History" series. The other two are about Jane Austen and Mozart's older sister. I'll have to check those out.

Have a good day!

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