A new decade begins.
2020 is here.
Happy New Year.
Saturday afternoon the November sweater knitters gathered in Millvale Pennsylvania. McWalker Yarns was the place to celebrate participation in the National Knit a Sweater in a Month Challenge. 50,000 Stitches, cast on just after midnight on November first. The sweater was to be completed (ends woven in and blocked) by midnight November 30th.
If you follow me on IG you know my sweater was 24 hours and 15 minutes over the cut off.
Here is Clarissa, the Grand Prize Winner of NaKniSweMo 2019 holding her prizes- a generous gift card to McWalker Yarns to buy yarn for the NEXT sweater and a very cool magnet/bottle opener.
Trove by designer Emma Durcher. Yarn is BC Garn Semilla Melange Sport Weight
Detail below of Trove. PomPom Magazine Autumn 2019
Jes sporting her very fine knitting SC1 by Allison Brookbanks design Yarn Neighborhood Fiber Co Loft
Robin designed her sweater. The design name is Hauplande Yarn Loch Lomond by BC Garn worsted weight. I think she has 150,000 stitches in her design. WOW!
Jes photographed me wearing The Purl Code Sweater Designer Isabell Kraemer. Yarn- Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn DK weight in Rhubarb colorway, Using the Morse Code Alphabet provided in the pattern there are phrases, words, place names, favorite movies and books, song lyrics and people I love, knit right into the sweater.
Christine is holding a gift bag with the sweater she crocheted as a surprise gift.
Her sweater (which she translated into Crochet from Knitting) will be added after the holiday season. Christine brought cheese ball and crackers and spinach dip to round out the party fare. McWalker Yarns Shop owner Amy McCall baked a delicious and moist chocolate cake with sweater decoration.
Below see Shop Owner, Hostess, Sponsor and Chief of Inspiration for the NaKniSweMo 2019 Challenge, Amy McCall. Making the Local Yarn Store a welcoming community for all.
Spruce Point Pullover designer Amy Herzog Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn yarn
Feistywoman Knit Hanefjed Sweater click for details
BC Garn Loch Lomond Bio GOTS certified and Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool
https://www.ravelry.com/projects/feistywoman/hanefjed-womens-version
Wherever you are today, hope your Thanksgiving is a good one.
These turkeys are in Hardy Virginia, photographed seven years ago.
It was 39 years ago.
Wishing you a wonderful day today as you start your next trip around the sun. Xxoo
Happy 11th Birthday Maura Clare, You bring a lot of joy to our lives. love you, F.F. Ruthie
My friend V gave me a really cool device that converts old slides and film negatives to a digital file. I used it when I was teaching photography and helped a colleague preserve some wonderful pictures of her family.
Tonight I started thinking about my own slides I found while cleaning out a drawer and brought the file converter out. After re-reading the steps to use the converter, I was successful. I won’t do a whole slide show today but wanted to put this 1966 picture up of me with my family. I’m the one on right front (eighth grade) and I am sure my mother and I sewed our fashion choices on the old Singer sewing machine.
Certainly next time I can center the cardboard frame more accurately. I left that exposed pipe in, too. In an upstairs closet, are forgotten metal carousel trays of slides to convert but just did the 24 images tonight.
Once you get a rhythm it doesn’t take too long.
What I’ve noticed is a LOT of the slides I’ve kept for decades are not worth converting into a digital file for posterity.
But did I put them in the trash? Not yet.
Will save some of those treasures for a future post.
Thanks for the great gift, Vincie. 
Happy Birthday dear DIL Erika. I’m glad I get to spend it with you this year.
You are a wonderful mother to four of my grandchildren.You remind me I’ve much for which to be grateful.
I love this photo of you.
Here you are in the apple orchard (2008) with Anna and Michael, Jack was home napping and you were carrying Maura, due to arrive the next month.
Happy happy Birthday. ❤️Your MIL
Happy 14th Birthday Michael.
Love to you on your birthday and wishing you every happiness, always.
FF Ruthie
Handmade card by Froo Froo Marlene, his other grandmother
For me? Wow!
We had trouble finding a date when I wasn’t out of town. And-
They both still work full time. They also have lots of activities with their kids as I do (grandkids), too, but finally we coordinated a date. Just yesterday- Sunday. Everything was so welcoming.
Doesn’t matter I will be retired 4 years in June 😀. I thought it was lovely to be entertained royally and then sent home with homemade cookies, decorated so lovingly.
I am fortunate to have such very good friends who cheer me on and celebrate my retirement.
A beautiful table set with China and candles and linens and the dinner was delicious.
P.S. check out my host’s GOT shirt with matching package of Oreos. He was ready to watch the upcoming battle everyone was anticipating.
Thanks for a lovely dinner.❤️
This loaf was purchased at Weiland's Market in Clintonville Ohio Babka or Paksa. That's what's on the Reinecker's Bakery label.
“the Polish and Belarusian noun babka and the Belarusian,Ukrainian, Macedonian, Bulgarian and Russian baba means “grandmother” or “old woman”, and as applied to the pastry probably refer to its shape, a tall cylinder, sometimes with corrugations resembling a skirt’s pleats.[1] “
“Paska breads are a traditional element in the easter holidays of Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Romania, Moldova, Georgia and parts of Bulgaria”
“Paska is made with milk, butter, eggs, sugar, except in Romania, where the recipe most commonly includes sweet cream, cottage cheese and/or sour cream with eggs, sugar, raisins and rum. An egg and water mixture is used as a glaze.”
I can tell you that it tasted delicious. It is said to have a Brioche-like quality and there is a richness due to those moist golden raisins and the bread has just a hit of sweetness. Add a little butter. Mmmmm.
Here is a recipe from the Brown Eyed Baker for Paska Easter Bread and it has FIVE egg yolks.
Here is a recipe for Polish Babka Easter Bread from King Arthur’s Flour with three whole eggs.
Its a turkey puppet. 