It’s snowy and very cold, a good week for cozy indoor entertainments. Unfortunately, I spent my weekend at a volleyball tournament instead. Gymnasiums are impossible to heat well in the winter, especially with people coming and going all day, so those of us not playing sports have trouble staying warm. My daughter’s team reached third place, though, and I actually got a lot of reading done between matches.

I’m currently reading a biography of Catherine the Great I was given a while ago. It’s very much focused on Catherine as a person, giving a lot of pages to her early life and her early days in the Russian court. It’s quite interesting so far; it makes life in a royal court, so full of drama and political maneuvering, sound terribly difficult and sad. It also makes Catherine herself sound very complex and driven, even from a young age.

I’m sure you can see some knitting next to my current book up there. Last craft update, I was working on a page of my Poe-inspired raven cross stitch. I finished that page over the winter holidays and moved on to a small knitting project I’ve been looking forward to.

I’m knitting the Jinkies gauntlet pattern from Kate Davies Designs. I’ve long admired her designs but I’ve never made one. A lot of them involve large amounts of colorwork or lace. They’re a bit intimidating but I thought I could manage this small one. So far it’s going well and I’m enjoying it. I could have used a touch more hand-holding but I’m figuring it out.

I’m using Hallow’s Eve yarn from Crow and Crescent. This is probably a silly choice for a pattern with such a geometric design–you can’t see it very well in a mostly black yarn–but I really love this colorway. As usual, my camera has washed it out a bit but the orange goes all the way from light and muted to a deep persimmon, almost red. It’s a seasonal color and I only have the one hank of it, so this small project is perfect in that respect. It’s a quick knit so I can always do a second pair in a lighter color to show off the stitches better. I would love an excuse to buy another hank of Vengeance red.

I would love to chat more but I have to get dinner going. This post makes it sound like I read and knit all day but alas! that is not the case. Many chores await. Until next week. –Corvus