Category Archives: Family

A Few More: The Mommy-Made Collection

Continuing on in sharing a few more little baby knits that are done and waiting around to keep our baby boy warm and cozy, from the ‘made by mommy’ collection.  If this little guy takes after his mama at all, he will love to always have several soft and stylish knitted hats for the cold winter.  He is due to arrive sometime in October, so these little Pumpkin Hats were a Must-Have for his collection and will be so cute on him around Halloween and for the rest of Autumn.

I just love the little stem on top, the leaves, the wide rib, and these colors in Malabrigo Twist.  This yarn is so great for hats as it’s so soft and a great weight that knits up quickly.  I’m thinking this one turned out a perfect newborn size to bring him home in.  Ravelry page here.

I love the pumpkin hat so much I couldn’t make just one, so he has another that is slightly larger.  This set was knit up in Berroco Vintage, with a coordinating pair of my favorite little crocheted loafers.

The little crocheted button loafers are so tiny, definitely newborn size.  I expect they’ll fit him for about a week, maybe two, so hopefully I remember to take some photos of them on his little feet while I can.

Ravelry project page here and here.

The other baby booties made for him are the Oh Baby Baby Booties, also made in Berroco Vintage.  They’re cute, simple, practical, and will no doubt stay on his little feet and keep them warm.

I meant to share these on the blog a while ago, so now I’m almost caught up and can share the current work in progress! =)

Oh Weekend, How I Love Thee

This last weekend I enjoyed a relaxing but semi-productive couple of days full of some baking, cooking, going walking with the dog, a little knitting, and celebrating my husband’s birthday with some friends and family.  (And him too, of course.)

While my man was out snowmobiling for his day I was in my comfy lounge pants making his favorite, fifth annual, Chocolate Birthday Cake.

He loves this cake.  Like REALLY loves it.  So do I of course.  I have made this amazing and oh so perfect Chocolate Cake every year for his birthday since we met, and he always makes sure to hint around the week or two prior to his day to make sure I’ll be making it.  =)  I’m kinda proud that he likes loves it so much and I’ve made it for him every year so far.

I can’t begin to try and tell you how perfect this cake is through my writing, but can just tell you that it is not your ordinary chocolate cake.  It is made with hot coffee and Kahlua, has just the perfect rich chocolate flavor, is perfectly moist, and has just the perfect crumb, structure, and density to hold up to shaping and sculpting (if you want to get that fancy), and velvety texture.  It’s not too heavy or dense, and it is not too light.  This Chocolate Cake is covered in Ganache and Italian Cocoa-Kahlua Buttercream.  The oh-so-wonderful recipe will be up and shared soon.

I also made a pot of my Potato Leek Soup.  This time just simplified it by not roasting the potatoes and leeks.  I really have a thing for soups and stews in the winter.

Also have a thing for knitted hats.  So my brother’s (late) Christmas gift was worked on a little bit…

This is my last of the hats for gifts.  After this is finished, there is a super cute one I’ve found and must make for myself before I’m done with my hat kick.  The Off Piste, pattern and design from the owner of my LYS (local yarn shop), is so cute with the cables and brim.

I thought that for my 2012 knitting goals I would plan and share my next two to three monthly projects ahead of time.  So January’s project is the Off Piste hat for me.

February is going to be the Annie’s Woolens Christmas Stocking.  For the last two years now I have really wanted to make Christmas Stockings for hubby and I, but it keeps getting bumped down the to-do list.  So I’m finally going to make one for myself in February, then make Will’s stocking.  I’m excited about these two projects and about the knitting goal I made for the year.  =)

Also got to enjoy a nice long walk with my two guys over the weekend…

Oh how I love weekends.  =)

Gift Knitting

I hope you all had a lovely Christmas!  Now that the exciting day is over and my knits aren’t such a secret, I can finally share them with you.  Right around Thanksgiving I decided that a bunch of my family needs a nice warm and comfy hat for winter.  It all started when I made one of TFA’s Grammy’s Hats for myself…


I then had to make one for my mom’s Birthday gift, which I’m counting as part of my Christmas knitting since it was only a month beforehand, and the beginning of my hat kick…


Then I realized a couple of these would make great Christmas gifts for our niece and nephew…


While I was on a roll, how could I forget that my aunt and my cousin had put in a request for a red one and a grey one?  Being the great cousin and niece that I am, I didn’t forget, and wanted to surprise them with a little holiday cheer…


Turned out I loved that yarn, I picked up this Universal Yarn Classic Shades while on Thanksgiving vacation and it’s so soft, such a great deal, and packed with a lot of yardage.  197 yards for 8.50, and did I mention really soft?

Next I decided that my dad, brother, and husband need a new comfy hat…

And with the completion of dad’s hat, the clock ticked to Christmas Day.  So I am now working on my hubby’s, then will make my brother’s, THEN the Christmas knitting will be done!  I’m making their hats with the same yarn (different colors) as in my dad’s, Cascade Yarns Eco Cloud, and I love it!  It’s 70% undyed merino wool and 30% undyed baby alpaca, so it is really soft, comfortable, and I love the natural color.

Actually there is one more knitted gift that is missing here, and I will have to get a picture and share that later.  I made a simple but lovely pair of Grammy’s Mitts for my mom, to go with her hat of course.

I think I am Tanis‘ biggest fan of her Grammy’s Hat pattern!  It is simple and quick, but the 2×2 and 2×6 rib provide a little texture and gives you a very comfy, one-size-fits-all hat.  Perfect for gifts.

Eight and a half gifts down, one and a half to go!  And yes, I’m counting my own, because every knitter has to make a gift for their self every once in a while!  =)

Grammy’s Hats

I hope all of you had a lovely Thanksgiving!   We had a great time with a lot of family and lots of good food.  During the wonderful long weekend I was able to finish up a couple more of the Grammy’s Hats that I love so much.  I really can’t get enough of these and am on a huge hat kick lately.

These two are for a couple of special little people in our family, and I just can’t wait to see them on the kids!!  Over the big turkey day I had to see how they fit on my cousin’s kids, and they were so kind to model them for me (cutest twin brother and sister ever).  The hats fit them just right and were so cute!

I think they’ll be great for the kids and with the ribbing, they might just last two or three years for them.

And here’s one more that I made for myself.  I had this Manos del Uruguay Wool Clasica sitting in my stash for years now, waiting for me to make a hat with it.

All I can say is I love TFA’s Grammy’s Hats, and am just wanting to make a whole arm-full of them.  =)

Half of a Beef In the Freezer!

Well our half of a Beef made it to our freezer this weekend.  My husband has a buddy that is a rancher down in SW Montana, and this year he had a few Angus yearlings that he wanted to unload so he asked us if we’d like one.  Of course we would!  My parents split it with us and got the other half.  He gave us a great deal, butchered it, and brought it to the meat processing shop for us.  I’m pretty excited about having over 200 lbs of local Montana-raised, grass-fed Angus Beef!  Our freezer is looking pretty happy.  =)  There will be a lot of fun dinners to make with all of this, so you’ll be seeing some yummy recipes and dishes on here for a while.

Earlier this weekend I sorted out the upright freezer and made room for all the meat.  I stuffed all of my frozen summer vegetables, berries, and fruit on the top, and my containers of homemade chicken stock and some soup in the door.  A couple shelves are stuffed with a lot of elk meat, and the rest is the beef!

And Will has a fun DIY project keeping him busy this weekend, here’s just a preview…


A house for Jackson!  I’m loving it, he started it yesterday and today is almost done with it.  I’m pretty sure it will be the coziest, cutest dog house on the block, complete with a window, trim, and a shingled roof that will never get leaky.  =)

Gallery

Glacier National Park

This gallery contains 17 photos.

We spent a day in Glacier last weekend, just going for a drive with the dog and the camera.  This national park is beautiful, and pretty much in our backyard so we go hiking and camping every summer in different … Continue reading

A Q&A with the New Guy

Here in the Wilson home we recently did a Q & A with the new guy on the block, namely Jackson Wilson.  The interview went pretty well so I thought it would be nice to share and a good way for you, our long distance family and friends and blog visitors, to get to know him.

Q.  So Jackson, how old are you now and do you go by any other names?
A.  Oh I’m almost four months, have been living here with mom and dad for two months now, but it seems like it’s been about a year or two.  It’s a pretty cool place.  They call me Jackson, but I’m a.k.a. Colonel Jack, Jack, Super Stud, Mister, Dude, and Buddy, they throw all kinds of names at me and think I’m catching on.

Q.  I noticed you needed a nap in between our interview, are you pretty tired because you’re growing so fast?
A.  Yeah it wipes me out sometimes.  I’ve gone to the vet and found out I’ve been growing 4 pounds a week.  That’s about a half pound a day!  I now weigh about 35-40 lbs.

Q.  What are some of your favorite things?
A.  Treats, of course.  Also play time with mama and dad, meeting new people and other furry four-legged guys that bark.  I try to play with all of them but some of ’em are old and boring, kinda snobby, and just want to ignore me, snarl, and growl.  But I don’t mind I just keep trying to play with them and get them to act young again.  I also love fetching toys, love sleeping, smelling all the smells (especially of all the birds near home… pheasants, doves, geese), deer poop, horse poop (love that stuff but mom doesn’t let me eat it when I want), going for walks, running and exploring around the big wheat and straw fields by the house.  I’ve just started to like going for rides in mom and dad’s truck.  I really love anything that comes out of the laundry basket, socks, clothes, and shoes are good too.  These teeth have been bothering me lately so I really enjoy hard chewy things in my mouth, but I get in trouble most of the time when I get a hold of those things.

Q.  So you now live with your mom and dad, as the only child?  Do you have a favorite yet?
A.  Well I’m pretty much a mama’s boy right now, I spend most of my time with her.  She takes me walking and running every morning and evening, feeds me, and takes good care of me.  The ol’ Man is really cool, he’s my kind of guy.  He isn’t here at home everyday, but when he gets home after a few days it’s really exciting.  He takes me out in the fields and I find bird scents all over, he takes me off the leash a little more than mom, and he plays the best game ever with me using a fishing pole and a real bird wing at the end of the fishin’ line.  The wing smells like a real bird and I get to chase it, but have to listen to him say “Whoa” a lot, so I stand still and wait ’til he says “Fetch It”.  I’ve actually bonded to both of them pretty good already.  It’s a good life.

Q.  So they say you’re a Bird Dog, have you been hunting yet?
A.  Yeah I’m a Pointer.  Like I said, dad plays the game with me and the bird wing and is teaching me things to get ready to go hunting.  We haven’t gone yet but I really can’t wait.  He’s elk hunting right now but right when he’s done we’ll go get on some birds.  It’ll be a great family thing to do, I think we’ll start this Fall already.

Q.  What have you recently learned in life?
A.  Been catching on really good to a lot of the commands.  I now totally know ‘Whoa’, ‘Come’, ‘Sit’, ‘Stay’, ‘No’, ‘Fetch It’, ‘Get It’, ‘On Your Bed’, and ‘Heel’, thanks to the treats and the games that mom and dad play with me all the time.  Oh and I know “Where’s daddy?”, mom says that to me and I go look for him.  Mom also says “Go potty” when we’re outside and just started to catch on, I usually squat and pee when she says that if there’s a treat in her hand.  Also learning to hold my bladder and go pee outside, getting really good at that.

Q.  Would you like to give a shout-out to your extended family, anything to say to them?
A.  Yes I would love to see them soon, just tell ’em to come over anytime and play.  I haven’t met some of them yet, so hopefully soon!