New KAL

Posted by marissahenry

Yesterday I casted on my new KAL project for my sock knitting group. The group voted to knit Splatterdash, a free knitty.com pattern for fingerless mitts. It looks like I didn’t bring the ballband, but I think this is Koigu yarn.

It’s a fun little knit- I’ve finished the main part and am ready to pick up for the feather and fan section that wraps around the hand.
On the vacation side of things, today the kids and I went with my sister to these pretty little waterfalls she’s told me about.

To get here, we drove way out to the middle of nowhere, found the tiny unmarked trail, and followed it to this little stream. It was so pretty and the kids loved it!

Minneapolis recap

Posted by marissahenry

We went to Minneapolis today, and managed to fill the day with activities, right up until 7pm. Recap!

First off, we joined Mother Bear Project volunteers in sewing hearts onto the Bears. I dropped off my most recent 4.
Amy met my kids for the first time. 🙂

i wonder how many of these bears got their hearts sewn on today?

I was very happy that we had the opportunity to check out another LYS, Steven Be!

I was trying hard to choose one souvenir sock yarn from this Nerd Alert collection. Can you guess which one I chose?

Even the bathroom was fabulous.

Steven showed the Wee Boy the kittens on the patio. ❤

And posed for a fan photo. ❤ ❤

The Wee Girl and I found this crocheted coral reef at the Minneapolis Institute of Art (which is free! Cool!).

As well as this gorgeous quilt.

Next we hit the sculpture garden, which is also free.

Then, after a quick visit with a. Old friend and his family, we drove the 2 hours back to my parents’ house. Long day!!!!

LYS and a trip to Duluth

Posted by marissahenry

We finally made it up to Lake Superior today! But first– on the drive up, we conveniently had to pass a yarn store, and with my niece along to stay in the car with the kids (one sleeping, the other disapproves of my yarn habit), I was able to browse!

The building is small and doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it’s jam-packed full of great yarns!

a wall of noro!

There were also notions, fabric, and gifts, but the yarn selection was really outstanding, especially for the location, aka in the middle of nowhere. If you are up north on highway 53 near Gordon, stop by!!!

As for Duluth…

Well, first we made a quick stop at Amnicon Falls, although wencould have spent hours exploring the falls and trails.

In Duluth, we watched a few huge ships pass under the lift bridge. Wow!

We took a boat ride and enjoyed some amazing views of the lake and city.
Then we finished up with some beach time on Minnesota Point.

Phew!!! Tomorrow is another big day, so I’d better be off to sleep! Good night!

Vacation snapshots

Posted by marissahenry

Yesterday we saw a bald eagle at the end of my parents’ street!

I’ve done lots of work organizing my grandma’s things for storage/etc., and have uncovered many a gem.

Hats! Gloves! My grandpa and his sister.

The girl found a fur coat.
My dad and his younger brothers.

Great grandfather and Great grandmother. Me and my younger cousin at grandma’s house. (We must have been bored!!! My great grandfather, WWI era. He was called up just a few months before the end of the war, so he didn’t end up getting sent overseas

I have no idea who this happy couple is– I just love this photo!

Newspaper from 1927! My great grandparents’ German bibles.

The kids and I met up with my old friend and her boys. It was a very nice visit and play date at our elementary school. I took the minions to the library I frequented as a kid.

The library had some good craft books!!

A Grand Day Out

Posted by marissahenry

Yesterday my niece joined me and the kids for a long day of adventuring. We started at Crystal Cave in Spring Valley, WI.

Then we headed over to Prescott, a small town on the Mississippi River. At the information center, I learned a lot about the history of the area. If only we’d learned this in school, rather than rote memorization of dates and events, I bet a lot of us would have paid more attention.