Orange you Glad it's Wednesday?

When I was teaching, I was always thankful when Wednesday rolled around. In our school district, the students leave on Wednesdays at noon giving the teachers and staff planning time. It was also a fun time to get together with my colleagues and go out to lunch. I do miss the comaraderie of being with my fellow teachers... I also looked forward to Wednesdays because it meant that the work week was more than half over! (Even though I enjoyed teaching, I always appreciated a good weekend break).

Last Wednesday when my husband, Matthew and I were wandering around our little main street, I stepped into the local library and picked up the book, Victorian Christmas Crafts by Barbara Bruno. I have to say that I thought it looked a little cheesy at first, but it's loaded with fun, hands-on activities for both adults and children. One craft idea that I decided to try was that of making a Pomander ball. If you google it, there are tons of how-to sites, but here's what I did:
1. Press whole cloves all over an orange, no less than 1/4 inch apart.
2. Sprinkle with cinnamon to help fight off decay (and add an additional pleasant scent!)
3. Leave in a dry, warm place for 2-3 weeks.
Mine have only been drying for about one week, and the house smells great. I may have to keep one for myself. :)





I've also finished one of many gift knits/craft projects for Christmas. I actually started this scarf a couple of months ago and just needed to work a couple more inches and then block. I'm thankful I had a head-start for this one!





Pattern: Noemi by Norah Gaughan
Source: Norah Gaughan: Vol 1 (Berrocco)
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas' Alpaca & Silk; I used just over one skein

I'll eventually have more details up on Ravelry, but this was a fun little lace project to do. As my husband pointed out, it's not a very warm scarf, but as I pointed out to him, it's more of a decorative accessory!

P.s. I meant to post this last night, but I'm been having a lot of problems with Blogger lately. Anyone else having difficulties???