Spring Break Day Three

We did more rock climbing.

Beach going.

Searching for sea glass.

This particular little beach is a secret treasure trove.

Dug out the big lens to take pictures of Great Lakes ore boats passing by.

Spent (way) more time than expected on a jigsaw puzzle.

Rummied.

We leave the TV off, so there's plenty of time to fill.

Spring Break Day Two

It was a full day of hiking the hills and climbing the rocks of Lake Superior.

It was good to come back in and settle in.

North Shore

We made it to the north shore of Lake Superior for a long weekend (spring break continues).

Still lots of snow up here too!

Changin' it up

Quilt shopping with a friend today.  We hit two quilt shops in the south metro.

I picked up the black fabric for Girl of the House a few years ago in Decorah, Iowa.  I've been looking for good coordinating fabric ever since.

I'm pretty sure I've finally found something that will work.  I love these pre-chosen packs of fabric.  I have the worst time mixing colorways on my own.

Another sweater?

In the mood for sweater knitting?

You're right.

I am!

A swatch from Madelintosh Vintage, for a Paul sweater?

Spring

36˚ today.

That's warm enough to sit on the deck and enjoy an adult beverage after work, right?

It's spring, dammit!

Mondo Cable Pulli

Doesn't look like much yet, but it is one sixth of the way done.

Mondo Cable Pulli, knitted top down.

I do like the colors.

Decluttering in Reverse?

While working to declutter our own home, we're also clearing out the home of Paul's parents.  Somehow, that seems to be filling up some of our newly emptied spaces.

Wasn't there something about 'Nature abhors a vacuum'?

Minnesota Spring Break

It's not often we can ski in Minnesota during spring break.

But we made it today, and it was perfect!

Spring Break!

Girl of the House brought home a Spring Break gift for her parents.

Chocolate covered cherries and truffles.

Gotta say I like the way this spring break is beginning!

A plan

I have a plan.

And I'm prepared to begin implementation.

Happy Spring

Backyard, about 25 minutes after sunrise this morning.  First day of spring!

5˚ with a windchill of -8˚.

Hmmm

Swatching.

Thinking.

Planning.

I was wrong

I was sure the snow would all be melted by the time I finished knitting these mittens.

I was wrong.

We had three more inches of snow today.  It is currently 12˚ with a windchill of -2˚.  

Wednesday is the first day of spring.

One year ago it was in the 70s.

I think I finished these just in time.

Multiplying?

More de-cluttering.  

I haven't bought kid meals for years.  

My children are 25 and 17.

I think these were reproducing in the dark of my basement.

Ms. Pileated

Ms. Pileated came to visit today.  

Mr. Pileated was here 6 weeks ago.

For the birds

Rather than save my yarn nubbins for carding into spinning fiber, I picked up an inexpensive suet feeder and loaded 'em up.  It's a bit early perhaps, seeing as the ground is still snow-covered, but the birds will be aware of it when they are ready.

While I was at it, I added another suet feeder to a new location in the back yard.

By the time I'd hung the yarn, I turned to see a nuthatch had already found the new feeder.

A lining? No time at all...

Line those mittens.

Won't take too long, right?  No color knitting to slow me down?

The alpaca is soft (so soft!) and fine.  

This lining already seems to go on forever.

Thumbs!

Thumbs!

In search of thumbs

These need thumbs.

And a lining...

Cats and dogs and...

Turkeys?

Tracks in the snow approaching the outdoor cat food bowl.

Embarrassing

I am embarrassed to say that I have been wearing this sweater for several years sans buttons.  

(I blogged it was washed and blocking on 12 Nov 2009.  Sad, eh?)

Tonight I sewed the buttons on.

X and O Kauni Cardigan is finally complete.

Rain day

Mixed it up a little today and went to a quilting group for the first time.

I haven't done much sewing lately.

It felt good to do some cutting and stitching.

Northman Mittens

I have roughly one million mitten patterns in my Ravelry queue, but I did manage to narrow it down to one.

Northman Mittens

Of course, you know all the snow is going to melt this weekend.

Mitten Emergency

My favorite pair of mittens for snowshoeing and cross country skiing, after skiing today.

  

They are the perfect active outdoor weight.

Fix 'em?

Sure, I could.

But isn't this a good opportunity for a new pair of mittens?

Excuse me, I need to go look at mitten patterns.

Snow

After two full days of heavy snow, Paul and I got out to ski before work this morning.

It was a good way to start the day.

2013 Socks #2

Toasty Twist socks are done!

Blocking now and will go to their new home in the morning.

I really enjoyed this (free) pattern.

A Delicious Gift

A delicious gift was delivered to our house today, all the way from Georgia.

Handmade Lemon Curd!

Coleen picked the lemons, made the curd, and bottled it. 

What an awesome gift!

Smör

In an effort to actually make use of the pretty things I've uncovered during my de-cluttering :

Yarn scraps, saved for future spinning.

I guess that's kinda handy.

Ice

Nope. 

Not the frozen Cannon River at the bottom of our hill.

This is the gravel road in front of our house.

Heel Flap

Lest you think there is nothing exciting going on here, I present to you:

The Heel Flap

Yeah, that, and the first three episodes of 'Breaking Bad' make for a rousing Friday night.