Exploring

 Mother's day 2010
We went out to the breakwater in Two Harbors, MN for a little fishing.  We didn't catch any but it was a fun outing to explore the big lake (Lake Superior). 

 I found some inspiration there too.  Took this picture to save in my mind the color combination for a yarn colorway someday.

 Of course when you go to the lake you have to throw stones in.

 I was really a fun day and my kiddos are getting so big.  It is such a bittersweet feeling watching them grow and change.  I am so happy they are healthy and smart and inquisitive and... well you get the picture. 

 I have done some knitting too.  The Lacy Baktus was just the thing for this yarn I have been hanging on to for a few years.  It is a cashmere, silk and wool blend in a color I don't usually choose for myself. It's called Spun by Artio which is not cataloged on Ravelry and I won it in a blog contest.   But I had made up my mind to use it for me and the baktus seemed like a perfect project for such a soft yarn.  You have to knit something to go next to your skin with that kind of fiber blend.  It would be wrong not to:)

I think it turned out all right and I have 2.5 skeins left to make a hat for the winter.  Hmmmm off to Ravelry to find a pattern!

I'm Alive!

Really I am I just stopped blogging for a bit there. Once in a while it all gets to be too much to keep up with and I take a break. The blog is the first to go. But there has been lots of things happening here. First off, we are moving!
About 2 months ago we heard the neighbors were moving. Since they are the only neighbors we have left that we like OK and we have talked about moving for quite a while now it was just the push we needed to get our house on the market. Lo and behold the house sold in less than 2 weeks! Yikes. Now BDiddy and I have no permanent plans yet beyond we are moving to the next town over to be living the the school district we have our kids in and slightly closer to our work. I will update you all when we have something to tell until then we are packing and planning for a summer full of transitions.Knitting wise I made a hat for my cousins baby, finished a shawl and am now working on a sweater for me.
Here are some pictures:This 3rd picture is the most accurate for color, I used my own Knit Me Now Sport-a-licious in Apple Tree and finished with Knit Picks Gloss sock in Cocoa since I ran out of my yarn at the end:( I like how it looks though with the brown solid on the edge it kind of grounds it for me. The pattern is Verdaia (Ravelry link) which was the first shawl pattern I saw and almost immediately cast on. I love it but I think next time I will use a solid or semi-solid because I seem to want a shawl in a solid more. Pretty easy pattern and well written. Good beginner pattern if you ask me.This is the baby hat I made for my cousin's baby. Another pattern I saw and cast on for right away. The pattern is Ella Rose's Pixie Bonnet you can find it here. The yarn is Araucania Atcama in a blue/ purple color. Very soft and I see it is discontinued now, too bad. It was pretty nice to knit with. I love the little button I found for this bonnet a little pink gem. Hope all of you are knitting away and looking forward to spring!

Araucania Atacama

What do you mean I disappeared?

I'm sure it has nothing to do with this!


My Christmas Present from my hubby yes it is a floor loom and yes it is mine!

All Mine!!! Wahhhhhaaaa haaaaa haaaa!
Sorry evil laughter suppressed now:)

I have been immersed in how to work this puppy and despite the fact that this is the ugliest saddest looking project I am not afraid to show you what we have managed to weave here.


My KD worked for like 20 minutes last night all by himself on the last half of the woven project shown, he was thrilled with it. I was thrilled to hear him upstairs thumping and bumping away on the loom.

I see many more evenings of artistic expression coming out of this for the whole family. Any links to weaving instructions out there you know about would be greatly appreciated also.

There is lots of inspiration hanging around in my craft area now too. Like this


and this



Looking forward to using up some of the stash especially the things I can't think up a good use for. Hoping to make this cabinet a little emptier this year.
Wishing you all a Happy New Year with many fun and healthy days ahead.

Once a Month Cooking (a review)

A little while ago I got this cook book. The idea of cooking once a month and having meals for dinner every night was really intriguing to me. So the other day I jumped in and tried a 2 week cycle from the cook book.
Since my son has been staying away from wheat lately due to tummy aches I thought I should try the Gluten Free Two Week cycle.
Here is a pic of the process. I followed the plan by shopping one day and cooking the next. I really liked the fact that this lays out all the steps for you with tips, pantry items needed and a grocery list. The next day I did the cooking. That went really well, I started around 9am and endied at 1:30pm. Some of the meals we have tried and liked include Chicken l'orange, meatloaf and I can't wait to try Slow Cooker Chicken with Artichokes and Olives. A few things have not been a hit with the family but I can see that it would be easy to swap out another meal in its place.

My kids have been less and less adventurous with their food lately and this is a great way for us to try new things. All the mixed meals go into the freezer until you are ready to make. The only thing I need to do is decide what to make and take it out in the morning so it is thawed. Some things I have thawed quickly right before cooking. Also the 2 week supply fit in my regular fridge freezer. You store everything in ziplock bags and if you are careful you could easily wash out the bags and reuse them, or use some non-disposable containers in their place.

I love this so far and hope to try it again with a whole month cycle after the holidays. With our busy schedule and my lack of love for cooking this is a wonderful solution to our nightly dillemma, "What's for dinner?"

Avoidence is the only way to go

Yes I am avoiding housework to blog. Who doesn't do that right? Thank you for enabling me bloggy friends:)

Halloween came and went without a hitch although I was sure the only picture I was going to get of my kiddos would look like this.Luckily I caught them at one stop and they all stood still for a picture. I present a witch, a WWI Flying Ace and Batman.They had a great time and the candy isn't all gone yet so I can't ask for much more.

I had a small photo shoot today with my newest finished project, I present the Double Duty Cowl.


Double duty because this is the right side.
This is the "wrong" side.
The thing is Freaking reversible! I love how this turned out and it is made with my Knit Me Now Chunky yarn. Unfortunately I don't have any of this out there right now. I love the color, the size, the buttons. Yeah I love it all. Thanks for stopping by, hugs.

Summer

Last weekend found us driving to northern Wisconsin towards Bayfield. We went to Blue Vista Farm which if you are in the area is definitely worth a visit. They have a beautiful view from their barn which my pictures just couldn't do justice to.






We picked blueberries as big as grapes. They have organic berries also.





They have raspberries there too. We like to do the pick your own with the kids, they enjoy picking and eating their share of the berries.



The kids ran through the garden, isn't it beautiful?




I just had to have a picture of this flower, hollyhocks such deep color.




We stopped in Bayfield at a park by the harbor and Noley played on his alligator or piranha depending on which boy you asked:)



The big kids played Tarzan while swinging on a great line there. (I kind of want one for our house)





On the way home we stopped at a beach on Lake Superior, the kids took advantage of this and got wet and sandy.







I think my fingerless mitts fit right into this trip. The purple is very blueberry like, they are almost done now and I hope to finish them today. Hope your summer is going great! Ravelry link here.




Happy fun family summer times to you all!

Seamless Sweater

This sweater was the most fun knit I have done in a while. The seamless knitting, seed stitch edging and the color work was so much fun, I see another one of these in my future.



Pattern:

Vormorgun Létt-Lopavesti (Ravelry link)

Yarn: Bartlett yarns Fisherman 2 ply mostly heather Jade color

Needle: US 5 and 7 Denise Needles

I will love to wear this in the colder weather!

As you can see Miss M is feeling much better thanks to all for your thoughts while she was sick and your well wishes. She is back to my cuddley M.

He was not sick a minute and was making dirt angles tonight in the driveway.


As always I am grateful for my happy family. Happy happy summer.

Mittens in June?

So I know it is the middle of summer and about 80 degrees and humid lately but I have been knitting mittens for KD. I got a big stash of Cascade 220 when a local shop went out of business recently and these colors just spoke to KD.
I apologize for the bad picture I took it with the phone because the hubby is out of town again. With the camera.
I am not a lover of mitten knitting but I think I found the cure, 2 color knitting! These Matrix Mitts fly off the needles. I love following the pattern and watching it come to life. Weird I know. The best part is I think I can get a couple pair of mitts and a hat out of all that yarn, love it!

We had a rough week last week with Miss M getting Lyme's after our camping trip and ending up in the hospital for a couple of nights. No worries she is back to her usual self already and should be just fine. Not the greatest start to our summer but we'll manage.

I am hankering to bake bread this weekend and cook some of the veggies from my CSA. Bok-Choy and Napa Cabbage are over taking my fridge! Seriously anyone have a good recipe for both or even just one? Maybe I'll try hit up the local farmers markets this weekend, the kids would like that. Hope all is well you all, take care!

Annual Camping Trip

Our yearly trip camping was last weekend. We chose to go to Northern Minnesota just south of the BWCAW.

The scenery is gorgeous.

Lots of wildlife to be seen, this is a turkey vulture.

The lakes are like nowhere else on Earth.

Kids enjoy the touristy things like taking pictures.

We had art class one day and make tie dyed shirts.

Our campground on Crescent Lake was pretty nice but super buggy!
Just a bad time of the year to camp because of the bugs. Good thing I brought other things to do, Miss M and I painted our nails one evening while the guys fished.

Noley shot things with his sticks.

Our highlight was a Momma Moose and her 2 babies eating at a lake. We stopped and watched them 3 times this day. They had lots of viewers and didn't seem to think much of the fuss.

Very little knitting was done but that is alright, sometimes you gotta take some time off. Hope your summers are getting off to a good start.