A bridal shower tomorrow

Our 3rd DS is getting married to a wonderful girl on March 1 in MN. We are thrilled! They will live on the farm and (future) 3rd DDIL will have laying hens, pigs, rabbits and possibly sheep at some point. She is a Veterinarian lab tech assistant and loves animals.

But, I digress.

Since the wedding is in MN and there are some people that can't get there, I was asked if there was going to be a shower here. I had thought about it but being a procrastinator I'd put off doing anything. I talked to 1st DDIL and she agreed that we should go ahead and do this!

A few days ago I made heart shaped sugar cookies.

Yea.  Just look at all those hummers.  I knew there was a reason I was reluctant to use my mom's recipe.  Now I remember why.  It makes tons and tons of cookies!

There will be some lots to send home with family.

I did some dipped in chocolate.  Of the two they are the yummiest! 

Today I'm cleaning house and making my share of the rest of the food.

Tomorrow is the day.  Wish me luck!

Oh yea...I almost forgot...Happy Valentine's Day too!!

Finally finished and in the mail actually.

So.

Here they are.

Started over a year ago.

Intended for LAST year's Christmas.

I'm sure 2nd DS thought he'd never see them.

But they are done and in the mail.  I checked tracking and they are within a day or two of delivery.  So with a bit of luck he'll have them before Thanksgiving. 

Thank goodness!

And here is the start on the 4th pair of Northman mittens.  This pair is for my sister.  She demanded requested them by LAST January.  Yea.  She didn't get them.  Maybe this January.  If she's lucky.  Or I'm lucky.  One or the other.

Sorry about the horrid picture.  They are charcoal grey and off white.  Not that you can tell by this.

This is what I really want to be knitting on.  Acer is the pattern and Peace Fleece is the yarn.  I don't even have a Ravelry page for it yet. 

It is getting close to the body being finished and then just the sleeves.  And finding buttons that I'm happy with...

And just because, here's Teddy. 

Smile Teddy!  You're on candid camera!

Actual knitting content

Yes.  I'm sticking with the blogging.*

Since the name of this blog is Marilyn Knits I thought I might need to prove it....

And so...ta da...here is the latest Iceling Sweater Set.  Ravelry link. 

Cardigan.  Size 6 months.

Mittens with a cord to keep the new mom & dad from losing them.  Infant size.

Iceling hat without the turn up band.  Baby size.

The baby's dad is a nephew on DH's side of the family.  The baby is a sweet little fellow.  Already wearing a Viking shirt to go with his Dad's for those football watching sessions.

In other knitting news, I just have to bind off the shawl mentioned in this post.  I'll be so very happy when it's done.  As it turns out, unless I fall completely in love after I block it, I don't really care all that much for this shawl.  To small and no lace.  I knew that going in but I was in denial and I'd struggled to find a pattern to start with so I was happy just to find anything that the yarn agreed to be. 

 *After visiting with a couple dear people that explained how search engines work, I decided to continue but just keep in mind everything and I mean everything that goes into a post goes on to the great big www.

I am so blessed.

I have such a full and blessed life.

 

I have my health.

 

I have a loving family.

 

I have amazing friends.

 

We live very comfortably.

 

There isn't a thing I want for.

 

And today...

there was an addition to our family. The little great nephew I knit this hat and sweater for was born very early this morning.  He's a beautiful baby.  8 lb. 15 oz.  Named Cooper Thomas.

 

And the best part...? 

 

We share the same birthday! 

 

Happy Birth Day to you Cooper Thomas!

Cookie made me do it!

Yes, Cookie threatened me and made me finish the sweater and start the hat for my niece's baby boy that is due on March 10th.  That Cookie!!

I had the sweater mostly done.  I was at the row right before the 1st button holes.  And it's garter stitch for pete's sake.  It doesn't take long to do.

I usually have a hard time finding buttons that I like but I think I hit on some cute ones this time.  I wonder what it is supposed to be though...it's got ears like a bear and stripes like a tiger...doesn't matter I guess...it's pretty adorable.

I got this hat started this afternoon.  I should get it done by tonight and then give everything a nice soak so it's pretty and clean for the new little guy.

Maybe if the weather holds, (we are in a winter weather watch for Monday), I'll even get this in the mail on Monday.

So even though I had to ice my hinder for awhile after Cookie kicked me (ouch!) I do appreciate that she got me to finish this.  Maybe it'll get to New Jersey before the little fellow arrives....

One pair down. Two pairs to go.

 

Christmas mittens finished just today.

 

 

 

They turned out pretty good.

 

 

 

I love the pretty red lining.

 

 

 

I have 2 more pairs to go and I'm afraid my enthusiasm for stranded mittens is already flagging a little.

 

Any cheerleading would be greatly appreciated! 

 

 

Especially since I did this... 

 

Before.

 

 

 

After.

 

I just had to make the wrists longer on 2nd DS's mittens.  And so here I am...almost back to the beginning...

 

/sigh

 

 

Pie Social and Bake Sale

The ladies group in our church is having a Pie Social and Bake Sale.  It's an annual event and a pretty good fund raiser.  Everyone makes a pie to be cut and served/sold and several other baked goods for sale.

This year these are my offerings....

A cherry pie.  I put all my efforts into looking pretty.  It's made from canned pie filling and a ready to use crust.  It'll still taste ok but I think it really is quite attractive!  (That's me patting myself on my back!)

This is a chocolate pudding pie on a graham cracker crust.  The pretty part comes from the white chocolate that I made into a lacy design. 

It was easy to do but I had to break off a few of the loops to make it fit on the pie.  So it's kinda just so so.

These are Combining Cookies.  Butter, sour cream, coconut, oatmeal, chocolate chips.  Yummy.  Nothing really pretty here but they are a family favorite.  Especially because the recipe came from this little lady.

Grandma Lora.  DH's paternal grandmother.  I've had her knitting on here before.  And now here are her cookies too. 

I mentioned before that she raised a big family and this recipe was made to fit that family I'm sure.  It calls for 12 cups of flour and yesterday when I made a 1/2 batch, it still made 6 dozen cookies.

I'm not taking all of them to the bake sale though...we love them too much to part with all of them!

If you need me

I'll be here. Probably for a week long engagement.



Doing repairs and alterations.

Two pair of jeans to shorten for my sister.

A couple worn spots to patch

for 3rd DS.

And the piece de resistance...

another prom dress to be shortened by approximately 5 - 6" for my great niece. What can I say. The girl is short. But she's sweet and I can't say no to her.

Think helpful thoughts for me this week. I really don't like doing repairs OR alterations. And did I mention that the prom dress has 5 layers to shorten? Uff.

On second thought, maybe I need a prayer for my sanity too.

Happy Thanksgiving to you!

The first pan in the oven today is the holupture. And what is that you say?? Why it is a family tradition in DH's family. One that I've learned to appreciate and love also. It is supposed to be cooked in a old fashioned Red Wing crock for hours and hours on low heat but I'm trying to bring the dish into our fast paced world. And so a 9X13 pan on slightly higher heat for a shorter time. I really hope it turns out.

The recipe comes from the same Gramma that knit these slippers. She was a strong force in our family and we miss her and all the other grammas in our lives, especially on days like this.

Ok. Now for the recipe.

You start out with a nice sized head of cabbage. Core it and then wilt the leaves in a big pot of hot water. Cut off the heavy stem that runs down the back of the cabbage leaf so they are easier to roll.

Mix together 1 cup uncooked rice, 1/2 cup finely diced ham or bacon, 3 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Put a spoonful of this in each cabbage leaf and fold over the edges on all sides to form a roll that the rice can't escape from.

Place cabbage leaves on the bottom of the pan. Arrange the cabbage rolls on top. Add another layer of cabbage leaves and top everything with 2 large jars of sauerkraut. Add enough water to cover the rolls and bake for several hours at 325 degrees.

The first holiday that a newcomer to the family was at, was the test to see how well they would fit in... They were given the holupture test. First to see if they would taste it at all and then to see if they would like it. I think I passed the test all those many years ago. I both tasted and liked the holupture! And now I'm cooking it for my family.

Happy Thanksgiving to all!

Interesting contruction

A few days ago I finally convinced DH to go through his sock drawer and get rid of the old ones. I could barely squeeze all of his socks that he owned into that drawer! No. They aren't hand knit ones. They are store-bought cotton ones.

Anyway, we came across these hand knit slippers made by DH's Gramma. We've had them for years and years but I'd never really looked at them very closely.

Side view.

Top view. They make me think of mukluks.

The interesting part to me is the seam down the bottom of the foot....

from the base of the toes....

to the heel and up the cuff. It looks maybe like it was knit flat and then seamed. The toe and heel construction are different than anything I've seen before, from my limited sock knitting knowledge.

But they are very special to us because they were knit by Gramma Stein who was an industrious little German from Russia with a big personality. She raised 7 girls and 2 boys and lived to have a 60th wedding anniversary with dear Granpa Stein.

Keepsakes.

Visiting cemetaries

Today was the day to visit cemetaries and put flowers out for Memorial Day. I go to 4 cemetaries but only took pictures at a couple of them.

My maternal grandparents and numerous other relatives are buried here. This picture doesn't show the whole thing but it is a small rural church and cemetary. Very quiet and on a seldom traveled gravel road.

This is the church. There are so few members that they can't sustain the church any longer so it is empty and unused. But here is where my mother attended church and was confirmed.

This is the cemetary at the town where I grew up. My parents are buried here with a few relatives both maternal and paternal.

When I was in high school, once or twice a summer a few friends and I would ride our bikes out to this cemetary and just enjoy the park-like atmosphere and the quiet. And having done that I am now not "creeped out" by cemetaries. They are peaceful, quiet and restful places to me.

I haven't taken a walk around for awhile but sometime I will. I enjoy reading the old stones with their various inscriptions and wonder why we don't still put sayings and Bible verses on the stones. Although if the trend towards cremation continues there won't be stones and cemetaries in the same way as now.

There is only one thing that kind of still blows my mind about this cemetary and that the picture above is the Lutheran side of the cemetary and...

this is the Catholic side. I never have been able to understand why they couldn't just mingle with each other! I wonder if other cemetaries are the same?

Yay Anne!

This weekend was State Class B Boys Basketball Tournament. It is the hottest event in North Dakota. Really. Schools take spring break during it. The university gymnasium that it is played at is packed with spectators. It's broadcast on local TV all across the state. And who cares what shows are being preempted...it's Class B basketball for pete's sake!

With our state being so small in population, there is a pretty good chance that you'll know someone playing during the tournaments or know their parents or relatives or have driven through their hometown. And really you don't need to know someone to watch because invariably it will be excellent basketball.

But while visiting with my sister she offhandedly said, "Yeah, Anne is a cheerleader". I'm like really? Anne is my sister's granddaughter and my great niece and their team is in the state tourneys and undefeated! Now we absolutely had to watch.

And watch we did. And it was super basketball. And we saw Anne on tv. And yes their team took 1st place and were undefeated. And in addition to undefeated this year they had lost only 1 game in the last 50 games which includes this year and last year. Wow.

Yay Anne! And yay for your school's basketball team too!

Sounds old to me...

I'm a great great aunt! The little guy that turned me into that was born on Saturday morning, 9-4-2010. His mom, my great niece, and him are doing okay after a labor that ended in a c-section.

He's a hefty 8 lb 10 oz and 21" long. 3rd DS who has done a fair amount of fishing said he sounds like a lunker. I said he's a keeper! He has loads of dark slightly curly hair and dark eyes. He's a darling, a sweetheart and adorable. My sister, his great gramma, is over the moon.

The down side...all those greats just sound sooo ooooold. :)

Saturday Sky, some flowers & more finished knitting

Saturday sky. Yes, our trees are just budding out. Hard even for me to believe.

Pretty flowers in a pot. The geranium was a Mother's Day gift from 1st DS and his family. I added a couple others to fill in the pot. Hopefully I didn't overdo it like last year. When I went to take the dead flowers out of the pot all the soil came with. It was totally rootbound from too many plants. Live and learn!

Baby set for Great niece's upcoming baby. I used Lion Brand Baby Soft. 3 reasons. I had it on hand. The color was right. And if she uses it at all and has to wash it, it couldn't be wool. Trust me. I know her. I didn't like the knitting with it though....it really did squeak when I used bamboo needles. Freaky.

Real name is Hospital Hat but I call it an Umbilical Cord Hat. Don't study on it too hard though. The decreases are a terrible mess.

Seamless Yoke Baby Sweater. This is the 4th time I've knit it. I left off the decorative stitches and did the stripes instead to make it more manly. Little boy manly. Whatever.