Victorians, Cinnamon Tea, and a Pastel Sky
I do love a ghost story at Christmas
Did you have a nice Christmas? Here at the Castle, I thoroughly enjoyed my Christmas staycation. It had everything you could ask for; frosty, overcast weather, warm beverages, puzzles, and days passing by where I forgot what the date was in a haze of Christmas cookies. Also, I read a bunch of Victorian ghost stories. I learned about this fun Victorian custom of ghost stories at Christmas a few years ago, and if you would like to learn more about it, do click on the link here. If there's one thing these stories have taught me, it's that around Christmas, or any time of the year for that matter, I shall never drive a carriage in the twilight to an ancient manor house that is clearly haunted.
As I type this, I'm drinking an absurdly delicious new-to-me tea: Celestial Seasonings Cinnamon Apple Spice tea. (If you're wondering, no, this isn't sponsored by Celestial Seasonings!).
Moving on from those crazy Victorians and my warm beverage, let's see what Nikolai is up to:
There's lots of progress to share this time! I had a good amount of yellow and brown floss to work with, and I'm very pleased about being halfway done with this column. If I keep up this steady pace, maybe I can start the next column before February. With a careful allocation of time and some good podcasts, anything is possible!
I have so much planned for this year! There are so many charts that I want to design, and I can't wait to share them all with you. To give you a sneak peek, here are some ideas for future designs:
something adventure-ish
more book-themed patterns (Jane Austen etc.)
a series of animals, like unicorns, bears, dragons
sports-themed charts, like tennis and soccer
something chess themed
more food patterns
As you can see, I'm covering quite a bit of ground! It's always nice having a bunch of different ideas to work with. It is awful having the designer version of writer's block.
That's all for now. Until next time, happy stitching!