Posted on Twitter - The Nursing Madonna

Amazing pic from B.S. Pedersen of painting at Skibby, Denmark (ca.1350). Extraordinary image of the Nursing Madonna:

Lucy Pevensie Tam - Completed

I finally finished my Penvensie Tam this weekend! It's not perfect and there are some dropped stitches which I didn't know how to fix, so I just stuck them onto the needles again and acted as if everything was normal. I also ran out of the 02 silver Debbie Bliss Rialto Chunky yarn just as I was nearing the end of the project, so I finished up and hoped for the best (I wasn't about to order another ball of yarn just to knit 2-4 more short rows!). Unfortunately, since I did not have enough yarn to finish the decreases, there was a bit 'ole hole on top of the hat. To hide it, I brought some pom pom yarn and tied together 4 pompoms to hide the gap. In Chinese culture, 4 is an unlucky number, so why 4? Well, 1 seemed a bit too small, 2 didn't quite seem right either, 3 looked unbalanced and 4 seems to be the right size. It doesn't look too bad and kept my head warm enough when I wore it outside for the first time today in 28° F (2° C) weather. Although this is not the first hat I've made (I knitted some cute orange hats for newborns a few years ago for charity), this is the first hat that I've made for myself, so I'm feeling happy about it.

Inspired by this project, I started the Stepped Flower Stole last night. Hopefully it won't be long before I can post pictures. :)

Bede: EHEP—Book I—Chapter 34

In 603 AD, there is a great battle ensues between King Aethelfrith of Bernicia and King Aedan of the Irish who was alarmed by Aethelfrith's conquests. King Aedan was eventually defeated (but not killed) at Degsastan (location is unknown) and until the time of Bede's writing, the Irish did not dare march on the English.

In this chapter, Bede draws a comparison between Aethelfrith and Saul, a famous biblical king (with the exception that King Aethelfrith was not Christian). The bible acts as a precedence and justification for kingly powers. Although Aethelfrith is not Christian, Bede seems to admire his prowess anyway and calls him "a very brave king" who was "most eager for glory."

This chapter concludes the end of Book 1.