Serene

Today is gloomy and drizzly and beautiful and cold and refreshing. Today is serene. It is also the end of the first week of the Lenten Season. The way the physical seasons accompany the season of Lent is so perfect to me. The still and quiet of late winter provide a nice calmative surrounding for reflection and repentance. Soon enough, the Easter holiday and spring with its embracive warmth will arrive as a reminder of unfailing love and forgiveness. Hopes of simpler more content days and a big snuggly hug to you all^_^

Practicing Stockinette

After knitting up this simple little garter stitch scarf as my first knit project and then another in green for Trent, I debated for while what to make next. I'm still crocheting like there is no tomorrow. But then I'm also pretty much in love with knitting now as well, and sometimes I just get overwhelmed by all the things there are to make! A good sort of overwhelmed, that is. I finally decided on this hat. The pattern is from Erika Knight's book Simple Knitting which I bought as a companion to her Simple Crocheting book that I received for Christmas from my mother-in-law and absolutely adore. Simple Knitting is just as wonderful and resourceful as its sibling. This particular pattern is the plain pull on hat that is not knit in the round, but worked from the brim on up decreasing along the way with a mattress stitch to seam it together. The whole hat is worked in stockinette, so I was able to get a whole lot of practice on a basic stitch pattern. I used Quince and Co.'s Lark in Chantrelle for my hat, and it is so cozy!  The perfect project to make this last bit of winter  warm and sweet :)  

Local Tourists

A bit of New Orleans architecture for you today. On pretty weekend days when Trent and I have nothing planned (extremely rare), we like to head into the city and wander. We walk around Jackson Square browsing art, eat lunch at our favorite restaurants picking up a sweet after be it a praline or homemade ice cream, and maybe a little antiquing sneaks in if Trent is in a good mood :) This particular day we happened to catch the city on one of its quieter days. It was nice to be a tourist before all the hustle and bustle of Carnival arrives.