New Projects

So, now into the juicy stuff, there are several projects that I have been taking up to fill up my time. But first, let's look at what I finished this morning, and a new blanket for Project Linus that I finished a few days ago.

This scarf was done with the honeycomb tunisian crochet stitch, with gradient yarn that I dyed myself, it was lopi wool from iceland. I think it turned out quite nicely. 

This is a green blanket with scrap yarn accents that I finished for Project Linus. The center square was double tunisian crochet stitch. The green triangles are single crochet with decreases to make the triangle shape, and the borders are all single crochet as well. I have an affinity for the single crochet triangles right now, don't ask me why, I just find them addicting.

In addition to crafting I have been reading quite a bit. I recently finished 2159 by Criag Borlase, it was an interesting read, giving the history of Christianity, and I thought it was intriguing. Currently I am reading Against Calvinism by Roger E. Olson and Mythologies by Roland Barthes. I am reading Against Calvinism because I am becoming more interested in the deeper theological perspectives than just the shallow interpretations that I have grown up with. I am reading Mythologies because it is a book in French, and I need to practice my French, and Spanish, because I am currently trying to learn Chinese, and currently have a vocabulary of about 60 words (which is not a whole lot, but you have to start somewhere, and I am pretty happy with that number). Anyways, I need to not lose my fluency in French and Spanish just because I have started a new language.

To learn Chinese I am mainly relying heavily on youtube videos. There is a test called the HSK that is an international test that ranks your ability in Chinese for non-native speakers. I have been watching flashcard videos to learn the words. I have been watching grammar and pronunciation videos to better give me a fuller picture of the language. I also purchased a textbook of Beginner's Chinese, but it has not been able to hold my attention as well as the videos (which, I'm not sure why, I think it's because the audio is missing and I'm still lacking in being able to picture and hear what the words sound like from the pinyin alone). I also downloaded several free smartphone apps that have flashcards that have been helping me with my vocabulary.

Tonight I have Spanish tutoring, so I need to figure out my lesson plan for that. Other than that, that's about all that I am doing. So, stay creative everyone!