Pie.

I got to thinking, I have never made an apple pie on my own.  I have had lovely experiences making pies with my mom and grandma, but it was time to give it a go.  The first order of business was to visit the apple guy at the farmers market.

 

 This farmers market, being located at the mill city ruins, is heavy in pie culture.  I did my best to absorb some.

The apple vendor had plenty of varieties, but my heart was set on the University of Minnesota's new variety Zestar.  It is an early season variety with great crunch.  It is definitely sweeter than the heirloom variety, Wealthy.  Despite various warnings of mixing apple varieties in pies (oh the horror!), I decided mine would have both.

After a visit with my mom for additional pie advice and a copy of my Grams proven pie crust recipe, I was on my own. 

I think I did pretty well!  I had to patch a few tears in the crust and nearly smoked us out of the house, but the pie was worth it.  Flaky crust with semi tart apples laced in cinnamon nutmeg and sugar.  Nothing wrong with that.

Corn.

Yesterday we pulled 600 pounds of corn out of the field.  No small feat considering there were just a few of us.  Because Kristina is studying bugs, there are no pesticides or herbicides applied to this particular field.

We were able to make a donation to Second Harvest Heartland.  It felt nice to be able to take a little time out of my day to help out.

Besides, who doesn't like sweet corn?

Paul and Tori.

It was a lovely weekend.  My brother and his girlfriend Cassie were in town for my step-brother Paul's wedding.  First we stopped at my mom's place.  She drove us around the lake and successfully landed the pontoon!

Then we headed further north for the wedding.  I caught up with grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Tori's family were kind enough to have the event at their home.  It was as beautiful as their vows.

Of course after the ceremony and dinner the party started!  I had a fantastic time dancing under the tent.

Congratulations to Paul and Tori.

Preview.

Sneak preview!  

I have a few items scheduled to show up in my etsy shop later this week.  

This season I took my time picking out extra cozy yarns that hold up to wear

 and were a pleasure to knit. Thanks to Mariah for modeling.

Alpaca Shawl

Wool/Mohair Legwarmers

Market.

Over the weekend Chris and I decided to check out the Mill City Farmers Market.  It was lovely. 

We immediately headed for the donuts from Solomon's Bakery.  

We grabbed coffee and iced tea to wake up and enjoy the view.

The raspberry was delicious.  

I'm not sure about the lemon.  It was snarfed down before I got a chance to try! 

Chris and I wandered around sampling.  

We came home with tiny tomatoes, a giant cucumber, pizza dough and tea.  

There was plenty to see and do.  

One of the items that caught my attention was the extreme weaving going on.

Beautiful!

Pales and Charcoal.

It's time for some new knits.  NotoriousKnits items for April are likely to be pale colors paired with charcoal.  There is something about spring in Minnesota that I love.  It is kind of a tease.  It can be pretty grungy with all the snow, road salt, and dirt, but at least there will be a few spring blooms.

Of course, there are still a few days where you need a little something warm to cover up.  I've been working on pale and charcoal shawls.  Happy knitting.

Death.

Recently my friend and I heard one of our local yarn shops will be closing its doors.

What a bittersweet thing.

I don't actually know the specifics of why this shop is closing.  Perhaps the owner needs a break, or maybe changing consumer habits required an impossible adaption.

As I said my good-byes, I felt embarrassingly thrilled with great deals on adoptable skeins.

I believe the only thing that remains for me to do is create something beautiful.

Don't forget to support the neighborhood shops.  It's important.