Knitting Update, April

 There has been much knitting.  I can't quite believe how much knitting.  I guess when DH is out of town (he had two trips in March, totaling 10 days), I get a whole lot more crafting done than when he's home.  Then again, when he's gone, I tend to eat leftovers instead of cooking a new meal each day, so there's quite a bit of time savings for me both in cooking and in dish washing.

First, I finished the rick rack socks I have been making for Mother-in-Law. The bottom picture has more true colors than the top one.

Then, I whipped up some fingerless gloves for myself using yarn and a pattern than my Mom had given me as a thank you for making her socks this winter.  The pattern is called Drops of Spring Mitts and the yarn is the called for yarn, but not all the exact same colors.  They were really fast and easy to knit up, although I have to say the palette is not what I would usually choose for myself.  (And again, the picture doesn't come close to being accurate for color representation.)

I had these mitts sitting on the cedar chest in my living room last week when Faline stopped over to play for a little bit. She took to them immediately, very proudly putting them on herself.  She was a little surprised when her little fingers popped out the ends and exclaimed "UH-OH!" apparently thinking those mittens were broken!

My current knitting project is a pair of Destination Unknown socks from verybusymonkey.  This was her mystery sock pattern for 2020, and I am just now getting to it.  I love her patterns.  They are so easy to follow that you make a complicated looking sock very quickly.  I started these last week and have all ready finished the charted portion for Clue 3.

There were quite a few books read in the last month also.  

Home Made by Liz Hauck, was an interesting read.  Thought provoking, and also tear jerking in spots, it is a non-fiction book.

Across the Bridge by Kristin Neva is the third book of her Copper Island trilogy.  It's a quick, light read and I enjoyed going back to some of the places I am familiar with (in real life) from that part of the Upper Peninsula.

The Gates to Brilliance by Robert Dover.  WOW.  I had been waiting and waiting to get this book from the library, and it was not really what I had expected.  Not in a bad way, but WOW!  This memoir of an Olympic dressage rider that I have watched, in my lifetime, have an illustrious career covered so much more than just the horse aspects of his life.  Reading it was almost like reliving my teen and adult years, but in a parallel universe where what I experienced wasn't the entire reality.  

Shamed by Linda Castillo is another great Kate Burkholder mystery.  I ate this one up in just a few days.

The Rider's Balance by Sylvia Loch has great descriptions and photographs of how to properly distribute your weight when riding different movements in dressage.  I really liked this book; I think I'm going to buy a copy for myself (this one I borrowed from the library).

The Secret Life of Anna Blanc by Jennifer Kincheloe is what I am currently reading.  I'm only a few chapters into it (started it last night), but it's entertaining and a fun read that has me hooked.