A few more sweater shots

So I decided on the theme UP adventures for the blog, but I will allow myself few more random posts before I begin the new theme. School starts tomorrow, and I am trying to reflect on productive and good things that I did during the break. I am happy to not only have started and finished Alan's sweater, but I am proud that I finally finished the sweater I started for myself last February. I stopped working on it because I couldn't figure out how to knit the hood; luckily, my good friend Katy was able to help me with this over Christmas. This was my second attempt at making a sweater for myself. The first one was too short in the torso, and then I accidentally felted and shrunk it. This one was also too short in the torso, but I was able to block it. (The blocking messed up the hood a bit, but made the sweater a bit longer.) For any knitters out there, I recently joined the online community ravelry.com, and I would encourage you all to do the same. It is a very useful site.

Engagement Sweater for Alan

I know I haven't posted for some time, and I didn't make keeping up with my blog a New Year's resolution, but I do hope to start blogging more often soon. I would like to blog on a theme, but I am just going to stick to posting random bits of my life until I can think of something good. I decided to make Alan this sweater after we became engaged. The wool is from a company in Michigan, which is kind of cool, and the pattern was super easy to follow. I knit the whole sweater in one piece, and the only part I had to sew was the pits. I'd be happy to pass on the pattern to anyone who wants it.

First Ski of the Season

Keweenaw Peninsula (3)

Keweenaw Peninsula (2)

Alan and I made a quick trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula this weekend. Our days in Marquette are numbered, so we decided that we wanted to see every part of the UP before we move. Our mini vacation was wonderful and a great refresher from our everyday lives in Marquette. A few of the highlights include a brief tour of Calumet, which is the cutest town I have yet to see in the UP. Calumet is home to the Calumet Historic Theater, which was built in the 1900s. A little further north on the peninsula in Mohawk, we stopped at the Wood'N Spoon—a cute jam and honey store that smelled of fresh bread. Then we stopped at the "Jam Lady," in Eagle River. The Jam Lady was not necessarily a highlight of out trip, but it was an interesting stop. We didn't buy any jam at this stop, but we did buy a jar of "Chow-Chow." I can best describe this as the UP's chutney. A few miles further north by Eagle Harbor, we made our last jam stop of the trip at the Jam Pot. This place was AWESOME. They had jams, fruit cakes, and muffins, but the best part about the jam pot is that the monks who operate the bakery. The monks were knowledgeable, nice, and great bakers. They also had nice long beards, which is why they are Ukrainian Catholic rather than Roman Catholic. From Eagle Harbor we took the scenic route (Brockway Mountain Drive) to Copper Harbor. From the top of Brockway Mountain Drive you could see the entire peninsula. The rest of the trip we explored, talked to some interesting gift shop owners, and planned our spring trip to Isle Royal. (Copper Harbor is one of the three cities that has a ferry to Isle Royal.) Are brief stay in Copper Country was a treat—enjoy some photos.