Almost two years ago one of my friends died unexpectedly.  Because they live a bit away and couldn't help I made this shawl for his wife (who is also a friend).   I'm getting teary eyed just thinking about it.

On podcast day I listened to Knitabulls (her Rhinebeck recap), The Fat Squirrel Speaks and old episodes of Knitting Pipeline.  Rhinebeck sounds like so much fun I'd love to go some year but I'm not holding my breath,  I do want to go to the Pipeliner retreat next year.  It will be in March and in addition to Paula, Amy Beth (Fat Squirrel) and Steve (Dramatic Knits) might be there.  They have both attended in the past. 

Wile I was listening I got a lot of work done on my sweater.  It's so heavy it could almost be a jacket.  I really like it so far and I hope it turns out well because then I'll make another one.  I put the stitches for the sleeves on the stitch holders and started on the first sleeve.  I made the cuff longer but am following the directions exactly.  Once I finish the first leaf patter I will stat adding stitches so my arm will fit.  I have seen other people say the sleeves are small so I will keep an eye on that.

Today is Kdrama day.  I plan to watch Running Man all day.  Wile I do I'll decide on what drama to watch next.  I think I may take a small break from kdrama and watch some anime.  We'll see.

The project for today is the Hitchhiker.  At last count I was up to 21 "teeth."  It's is a really easy pattern that is about 75-90% knit stitch.  It's something simple I can read wile I do it. I'm going to try really hard not to cast anything new on till I finish something else like one of my may UFO's (unfinished objects).  I really want to make a striped sock for me but the needles are in my daughter's sock so I'll have to finish that first.

Have a safe Halloween.

This is my Multnomah by Kate Ray.  It is a free pattern on Ravelry.  It's almost more of a scarf.  I want to make another one but bigger.

Yesterday I fought with the computer all day.  I did hear Wolfe Farms and Dramatic Knits but that was a struggle.  I'm going to listen to more podcasts today.  I really want to get some more work done on my sweater.  I'm almost to the part where you put everything on holders and start the arms.  On my Hitchhiker I'm trying to do at least one "tooth" every nigh but I'm not sure how much longer I can do that as the rows keep getting longer and longer. 

I sewed yesterday and sort of fixed my daughter's obi.  I'm just going to have to make her a different yukata later with proper measurements.  I also started some fleece pajama pants for my husband.   I have as many sewing projects as I do knitting, crochet and spinning.  I need to get back to working on my daughter's socks.  I made some notes so I think I can figure out where I was it just takes concentration. 

I did my exercises today.  I didn't sweat but I did get warm so  that's a start.  On Friday I want to have two jogging sections instead of just one.  I need to drink more water too.  It's a first world problem as I have water available I just forget to drink.  I need a sticker chart or something.

I have some completely random thoughts.  I hate it when you dress up for Halloween or something in say a 1920's flapper outfit or a pioneer type outfit and people say "who are you supposed to be?"  Can't you just dress up in a fun outfit and not have to "be" a character?  My kids went to the church's Harvest Party yesterday and the children's pastor was dressed up as Ceaser (you know form history).  People couldn't figure out who or what he was.  He said, "I need a spear and a pizza so people will think Little Ceaser's.  Isn't it sad that that is the only thing people associate it with." And he's right.  Wile I was half asleep I got this idea.  Wouldn't it be cool to do some research and make a list or something of children's games that do not require any equipment.  There are racing games, tag, hide and seek, and rock paper scissors off the top of my head.  But I know in Korea there is a chicken fighting game where you hop on one foot and try to knock other people down. I'm sure there are tons more and seeing similarities and differences between different countries and cultures would be fascinating to me.   I think of weird thing.  :)

This is my Eiku by Reeta Korhonen.  It is a free pattern on Raverlry.  It's very simple I just wish I had a better way to open up the lace section.  I need to work on my knitting since the spine is a little funny and I think I would like it better in a semi-solid but I like it.  They yarn is by The Painted Tiger.

Yesterday I played WOW.  My lag was making it hard to get things done but I made a little progress.  The biggest problem that I am having right now is that outside of waiting for my garden to grow there isn't much for my 90 to do.  I want to do scenarios but with my lag I'm not sure that's possible.  The ultimate goal for her would be flex raiding but she has enough trouble in LFR.  All the spells flying around makes for a lot of lag. 

My internet is having issue today.  It's supposed to be a podcast day but my internet is non cooperative.  If I'm looking at Facebook and Raverlry it's fine but anything that you want to "play" doesn't work like Youtube or Pandora. Most of my podcasts are on Blip so they aren't working. I'm not trying to be whiny or entitled it's just that if I pay for it I want to work.  It's been a little weird here because usually I listen to music wile I clean and I can't run Pandora so it's been really quite.  If I can't make the podcasts work today I'll do it tomorrow.

A wile back I made my daughter a yukata.  It's a casual kimono that is made of cotton not silk.  The problem was the obi (belt) was really short.  I think I found a way to fix it so I have to get that done today.  It's just sewing some straight lines and ironing it.  Depending on how things go I might work on my sweater or my hitchhiker.  It kind of depends on where I'm sitting and if there is room for the pattern or not. 

I think that's it for today.  Hopefully this will post.  I think I'll go reset the router and see if that helps.

The monsters are done!  Some have tongues or teeth, some have bows or hair, and some have nothing.  I think they are all cute.

On Saturday I listened to The Fat Squirrel Speaks (it was her Rhinebeck recap), Dramatic Knits and old episodes of Knitting Pipeline. Amy Beth of The Fat Squirrel had me cracking up when she was making her case for making overalls popular.  "You have a notions pouch in you pants!"  I'm glad Steve of Dramatic Knits did well at the "Spin In."  Now he can stop talking about it because every time it broke my hear a little.  Next year I will save the registration form till I find out if he's vending.

Yesterday I watched Running Man.  I have noticed that I have a better chance recognizing celebrities if they are in Kpop than if they do dramas or TV shows.  I new I was close to Joong-ki leaving.  I was surprise they kind of slapped it on the end of the episode.  It might have been better that way or I would have been crying like crazy.  Thank goodness for Haha lightening the mood.  Today is a WOW day.  I'm still having lag issues but maybe I can get something done.

I spent the weekend finishing the monsters so now I have a new project.  I was frustrated at one point during the weekend and needed something new and easy to do so I stated a "Hitchhiker" (a paid pattern by Martina Behm).  It's easy and I really like it. 

I did do my exercises today and I don't think I lifted my knees as high as I could have but I did make it one repeat longer.  On Wednesday I plan to jog in place for the last repeat instead of march.  I need to push it a little harder if I plan to get through this holiday season without gaining any weight. 

I took pictures of the shawls but I haven't uploaded them yet so here is an older picture.  I spun this alpaca (it was from The Painted Tiger club) and was trying to have it match the sky.

I'm still having lag issues with WOW.  Mostly it's in Pandaria.  I was having tons of trouble in Half Hill and less the farter away from it I got.  I was fine in Blades Edge and Swamp of Sorrows.  I didn't get much progress made.  Today is going to be a podcast day but instead of working on my sweater I'll work on the monsters.  At last count I had 23.  I'll make about 3 more than start on the faces.  The eyes will be easy with the glue gun, the mouths will be a little more complicated.  I feel like I had more to say but now it's gone so here is a tiny tinny post. 

I didn't get a picture of the shawls I blocked yesterday so here is a picture of a dinosaur hat I made for my son.  It's really cute.

Yesterday I did finish The Queen of Office. I saw some spoilers that said things like "wow that didn't end the way I expected," so I wasn't sure what to expect.  It got political for a bit there but it did have a cute ending.  It's not going to be in my top 10 though.  I did also watch one episode of Running Man.  I wanted to watch more but either my computer or Good Drama wasn't working right.  I loved watching Joong-ki run around in the "little prince" outfit.  I recognized the group 2PM  but not the individual members form it.  I feel a little better about not recognizing the Korean stars when I don't recognize the ones from the U.S. either.  I was watching Dancing With The Stars (U.S. show) and of the twelve or so people I only recognized about 2.  When they were introduced I was thinking "oh they are from that show I hear about but never watched" so I think it's even. 

I miscounted somewhere along the line and although I made a couple more monsters I only have about 20.  I need to get in gear.  There are only 72 hours left if I want to enter them in NerdWars but they must  be done by the 30th.  Today is a WOW day but with the amount of lag I've been having maybe I can make a few more.

I did my exercises today.  I did 2 minutes walking in place 1 minute marching.  It didn't make me sweat but I can feel it in my muscles.  On Monday I'm going to do the same thing but for a longer time.  I still need to get that "Y" application turned in but I don't have the car today like I thought I would.  That's all my rambling for today. :) 

Here is the promised picture of the spider.  I have fall foliage and snow.  See how much has melted?  My son has the spiders at school today to pass out for his birthday. Now to finish the monsters by the deadline. 

Yesterday for WOW I did get my hunter to level 55.  I wasn't lagging as bad but there still was some.  For podcasts I listened to Wolf Farms and Skein After Skein.  I tried to listen to Dramatic Knits but my computer was having issues.  Today is kdrama day and I plan to watch the last episode of The Queen of Office then Running Man.  I think I may watch some anime that my husband isn't interested in before I go back to a new kdrama.  I have some time to decide. 

I worked on my sweater yesterday and finished the rows of stockinet that separate the leaf patterns.  I'm proud of myself because I actually fixed my knitting.  I noticed that four of five rows down I had made about 10 knit stitches when they should have been purl.  I was trying to decide if I should rip back or just leave it and I decided to fix it a different way.  I actually, one by one, dropped the stitches down to the problem and then "knit" them back up.  It doesn't look bad now.  The stitches looked a bit wide and stretched to me but they are a little under the arm and it should block out a bit so they look more even.  Today is monster day.  I need to work on finishing up all the monsters and getting them stuffed so that this weekend I can bust out the hot glue gun and get the eyes on. 

I also blocked two shawls (well one is a shawlette).  They have both been finished since at least summer and never blocked.  The shawlette is a Multnomah (free on Ravelry) made from Knit Picks Chroma in a purple color.  I love the color but it's so small.  The pattern says it's small but mine turned out really small.  If I ever make it again I will definitely make it bigger. I know I finished it in summer because I was making it wile watching my daughter's swimming lessons and I made a mistake because I left the pattern at home.  I tried to make the same mistake throughout so it looked on purpose.  The other shawl is a  Eiku (free on Ravelry) that I made from the yarn club I was in (the only thing I finished).  I know this one was made first but I don't remember when.  I like the pattern and it was easy I'm just not a big fan of the color.  I do want to make this one again.  It was the first time I made a picot border. I think I may ask for blocking wires for Christmas.  It would have made blocking all those picots easer. 

I think that's it.  I need to go to the store and get my son's present and cake (the kind in a box).  Nothing like waiting till the last minute.

Here is the snow we got yesterday.  I took this picture about noon.  A lot of the snow is melted now but there is a little left.  This is a lot of snow for this part of the U.S. at this time of year.  We usually get this much snow sometime in December. 

Yesterday I didn't get much done in WOW.  I was having latency/ lag issues.  I couldn't play much before it would freeze up on me.  I'm going to play a little more today before I move on to my podcasts.  I did get my level 66 out of Negrand and into Blades Edge. 

I think I found one or two trees that still have some fall colored leaves to take pictures of the spiders on (with?).  The pictures have to be done today because the spiders are going to school with my son tomorrow for his birthday.  I have 19 monsters stuffed and two unstuffed.  Only a few more and I can start adding faces.  With this weather, which isn't that cold but feels "wintery," I'm inspired to work on my sweater.  It's going to be so warm and snuggly.  So far I like it and if it turns out well I might make one in another color.

I've been slacking off on my exercise.  My husband forgot to print his paystubs so I couldn't turn in the "Y" application.  I'll remind him today so I can turn it in this Friday.  With the snow I have decided outside exercise is done with till it warms up again. Today I just turned on some fast music and walked in place for 15 minutes.  On Friday I will walk in place again but add some high stepping marching in. Once I get back in the habit I'll add Tuesday and Thursday in as well.  That's it for today.

This is one of a few scarves I sent to the Special Olympics for their winter games.  They no longer collect scarves as far as I know but I got a really nice "thank you" post card back.

I did finish Good Doctor.  I think it's in my number three spot after Flower Boy Next Door and City Hunter.  It kind of depends on my mood but right now I think those will be my top three. There were of course some things that wouldn't really happen in a hospital but it is T.V. and I know with some U.S. shows I've thought "that would never happen." I still have one episode left of The Queen of Office but I did see a spoiler that I'm happy with.  My daughter and I started Secret Garden but since she wants to see it too I probably won't watch it as fast.   

At last count I had 17 monsters stuffed and 2 more unstuffed bodies, she has a big class.  I meant to take a picture of the spiders but was trying to think of how I wanted to do it.  For NerdWars our "Team Unity Project" is to take a picture of out project in the changing season (fall here) but many of the trees have lost their leaves so I wasn't sure how to convey that in my picture (I didn't want to put the spiders on the ground if I could help it).   I finally got an idea I was planning to do today but today it's snowing.  It actually feels like rain but it's snow and it's making a lite dusting over everything.  The kids are all excited about snowballs but it's not than much snow.  I will have to reread the description and see if I can use snow as a back ground as opposed to falling leaves.  Actually as I look out the window now the snow looks to be coming down harder and more fluffy.  If it stays like this till the kids are out of school they might just be able to make a snowball or two. 

Today is supposed to be a WOW day but Tuesdays are when they have maintenance so I may not be able to.  If I can't play, I'll watch more kdrama and work on those monsters since they are due in a little over a week and I haven't put any faces on. That's my plan for today but first my dishes a laundry.

Here is a little sweater I knit for one of my nieces.  I think my photography skills have gotten better since then.

I skipped Saturday so I feel like I have a lot to say but maybe it's just rambling.  I was in a  yarn club and I loved it but I quit it.  Her yarn and fiber are wonderful but I can't knit that fast.  I was in the club since January and only knit one thing from her yarn.  When I can get my stash down a bit I'll join again.  In the drama Good Doctor, Shi On is given a sweater.  It looks so snuggly and warm it makes me want to make one for my husband.  I spent a good chunk of time looking around Ravelry for patterns I think he would like.  I really enjoy starting a project more than finishing it so I have to be careful I don't start too many thing.  I also found a book I want to buy.  It's called Lit Knits and has projects inspired by books like Treasure Island, Alice in Wonderland and The Secret Garden. It looks like it has some really clever designs in it.I played WOW and finally got my Halloween achievement.  I only have "For The Children" left to get the "Long Strange Trip" achievement.  I got the eyes on the spiders, pictures should be coming soon.  Some turned out well some not so much.  I washed the spiders and even in the lingerie bag they got very knotted (I should have taken a picture), so the spiders were crumpled and folded. I tried to flatten them out but some of them still folded after the paint was on. Ok that was a lot of random rambling sorry.

Yesterday was Podcast day.  I listened to "Fiberista Files," "The Fat Squirrel Speaks,"
"Knitabulls" and old episodes of "Knitting Pipeline."  I love listening to Paula of "knitting Pipeline" talk about the nature around her.  It makes me want to buy binoculars and a field guide.  There is a large raptor type bird around here and I assume it's a hawk but I'm not sure what kind.  My daughter is convinced it's a bald eagle but I don't think it's big enough.  I think next year I want to get a bird feeder and see what comes.  We have doves that nest in the bush right outside our windows but there are other bids around that I would love to learn the names of.  I just remembered when my son was younger he wanted to catch a robin and would run straight at them and of course they would fly away.  He was so frustrated and didn't understand that you had to sneak up on them. 

I worked a lot on my sweater, man is that thing getting heavy.   I finished the first leaf pattern so I would assume I am about half way through  the body.  Up until half way through the next leaf it seems straight forward but then it gets complicated.  It assumes you have 10 stitches under the arms and I have more than that so I have to figure out how many to put on holders and things like that.  I am glad I have the interchangeable needles so I can just twist off the tips and put stoppers on.  I would hate to have to but size 17 DPNs.  It is going faster than I though but I'm still cautious.  Right now I'm nervous about the sleeves.  I think it might actually fit but it's hard to tell at this point.  If not someone smaller than me will get a really nice warm sweater. 

Today is Kdrama day.  I'll probably finish  Good Doctor and The Queen of Office today.  If I do then I'll watch Running Man till I decide what to watch next.  I know they are very different but I was kind of thinking of Secret Garden or Shark.  Something else might jump out at me, or I might finish Faith with my husband.  I'll keep working on the monsters too.  I have about 15 but I want to finish them soon so I have time for the faces.  It's an easy pattern as they look like little lumps but it's still probably slower because I'm reading. 

I guess that's it.  I'm going to go do something productive before I sit down with my Kdrama and my monsters.

This is my first knitting project after I learned how to purl.  It did get frogged (ripped out) and made into something else but I was just happy I could purl.

Like I thought I got noting done yesterday.  Today I'll play WOW and maybe make some good progress.  I got some neon orange puff paint for the spider's eyes.  I'll work on that tomorrow so they have time to dry.  Also tomorrow I plan listening to podcasts so I'll work on my sweater.  If I end up watching TV I'll work on the monsters. When tone of those projects are done I think I'll try and work on the knee high socks for my daughter that I'm half way through the first sock.  I hope I didn't forget where I left off.  Maybe I shouldn't have tried to post today because I have nothing to say.

To be clear this is not my work.  Near where we live there is a hand made/ fair trade store and this is along a fence leading to the store.  I think it looks really nice. 

Today has just been weird so far.  It's just life but sometimes it just gets you.  My daughter just woke up sluggish and not feeling well so she stayed home from school.  My son had an appointment so he went to school late.  My daughter said she wanted me to snuggle with her because she wasn't feeling well but I told her that we needed to wait till maintenance came because they were going to test the fire alarm.  After they came I did snuggle with her and fell asleep.  She is still sleeping.  She's been sleeping now for at least two hours but more like three.  I think I'm going to wake her up soon so it doesn't mess her up tonight.  After my son comes home from school and I get my husband from work, I'll be driving my neighbor around (which can be a bit exhausting).  This is all to say I'm not getting much done today.  I'll probably move my WOW day to tomorrow.

Yesterday's Kdrama was fun.  The Queen of Office is almost done and it's fun but I don't think it will make it in my top 10.  After the show is over they have an add for Shark that look really cool.  Someone was raving about it so I'll add it to my list.  I really like Good Doctor though.  That is one that I really don't want to end.  I think this show might make it in my top 5.  I sort of learned a new word.  Since it's a medical drama there are emergencies and they say "hurry" a lot.  I believe this is "baly" (like Bollywood).  I have no idea how to really spell just how it sounds. After I finish that I will probably go back to Running Man for a wile till I decide what drama to watch next.  I may need to go back and finish some that I'm in the middle of.

I did make more monsters. I'm getting quite a little collection, I think I had 13 at last count.  Hopefully I'll get them done by the end of the weekend so I can put the little faces on next week.  I'm going to buy more puff paint for the spiders, since I'm not sure the other ones made it home.

I'm such a silly person.  I look at the stats for the blog just for fun and get excited every time there is someone from another county looking.  Yesterday there was South Korea listed.  It was so cool.  It's easy to make me happy.

This is a "paper" crane I crocheted.  After the earthquake in Japan someone was collecting them as fundraiser.  I made a bunch but I like this picture with the crocheted version and the paper one side by side.

Yesterday I listened to "Wolf Farms," "Dramatic Knits," and "Knitting Pipeline." It broke my heart a little every time Steve of "Dramatic Knits" mentioned his vending since I can't go.  I don't know what the rule is for podcast titles.  I know movies and books are supposed to be italicized but podcasts or blogs?  I don't know.

I did some on my sweater.  It takes a lot of concentration for me.  I'm feeling more confident that it will fit.  I am about half way through the first leaf pattern.  I have learned a couple things.  The first thing is that big needles and yarn isn't necessarily a good thing.  It gets really heavy and starts to hurt my wrists a bit.  I have the same problems when I crochet with big hooks and thick yarn.  It's going to be a warm sweater though when it's finished though.  My other problem is the bottom border.  The button band is 6 stitches wide and the bottom band is only 4 rows.  I would have liked then to be the same thickness (width?). If I ever make it again I will make the button band and the bottom row match.

Today is Kdrama day.  I'm going to watch the two episodes of Queen of Office for the "watch along." I think there are only four episodes left.  After that I'll watch Good Doctor.  I am half way through so all the plot lines are starting to come together.  I'm really enjoying it even if it treats autism as something that can be cured.  I'll work on the monsters too.  I know I won't finish them all but I will get close hopefully. 

I haven't been exercising  but I am planning on turning in an application for a reduced membership to the YMCA.  I always mean to but I finally realized that I need to actually make an appointment with myself to do it.  The plan is that Friday after I finish with the school I'll drive over there and turn it in instead of leaving it on my table filled out.  This will help with the cold weather problem and they have a pool.  Not that the municipal pool is bad but I believe the "Y" has more open swim hours. I have a plan even if I'm kind of slacking right now.

This is a shirt that I added a crochet skirt on for my daughter.  She has grown so much  that it fits her like a shirt now.  I made another one for her but it didn't turn out as good.

I didn't get much done yesterday because the kids were home.  We did get some cleaning done and I made a couple more monsters.   I didn't get the eyes on the spiders because the puffy paint is missing.  I'm going to look for it today and if I can't find it I'll buy more.  I still have a week to get those done.  Today is podcast day so I will be working on my sweater.  I need to get working on that I'm just so nervous.  If I mess it up I'm not sure I can fix it.  I just need to do it and get over it.  The body shouldn't be bad but I am going to really have to make the sleeves bigger.  The size in the patter is very small. 

I guess I don't have much to say today.  My sister and her family visited yesterday and it was nice to see her new baby.  Today I just need to get my butt in gear and get more cleaning done.  I love my husband but he's home today so we just have to stay out of each other's way.  Our cleaning styles are different so it's better if we just work in different rooms.  That's it for today, hopefully I will say I made a lot of progress on the sweater.

This is probably the best sweater I have made so far.  I made it for my mom but I'm not sure she has ever worn it.  Maybe I should make one for me. 

I got up to episode 9 in "Good Doctor." I even watched some episodes twice because my husband likes it too.  Yesterday I had a WOW day.  I decided the Timeless Isle is not for me by myself.  My level 86 found the rare named "Ferdinand" which just made me giggle.  It's a bull looking creature who is sitting in a field of flowers.  Since I read the book as a child I was amused though I felt bad killing him.  My level 52 is about to go to Swamp of Sorrows.  Other than that everyone made just a bit more progress. 

I am now up to 9 little monster bodies for my daughter's class.  I have a few more that are not stuffed and none of them have faces or anything but it's definitely a start.  The kids are home today so I will get some more done today.  Tomorrow I will have my podcast day and I'll work on my sweater.  It doesn't have that many rows so it shouldn't be to hard. 

My sister is supposed to visit later tonight so I can give her the things I wanted to give her that have been sitting around my house for months.  The kids also had a dentist appointment today and I was crocheting in the waiting room.  I thought I saw two of the other mothers give each other significant looks about what I was doing but that could be my imagination.  I'm just not going to sit there board fiddling with my phone. I just realized that I could be using bold and italics.  I'll try and remember this next time I talk about a show.  I'm too lazy to go back and fix it now. 

Here is my attempt at yarn bombing.  So yes technically I "littered."  It' just a strip of Tunisian crochet that I tied to a stop sign near out house. 

I really like "Good Doctor" so far.  The main actor is really committed to playing a person with autism as authentically as possible given that it's a fictional story.  I watched about 4 episodes yesterday.  I was having trouble with my computer earlier so I decided to have two Kdrama days.  Also I wanted to work more on the monsters because their deadline is earlier than the deadline for the sweater.  I have a tendency to watch a drama almost obsessively till I get to about the last two episodes then I stop.  I think I feel like as long as I don't watch those last episodes it's not over.  I'll keep watching "Good Doctor" today and play WOW tomorrow.

I have over 100 views!  I think that's kind of cool and hope those people were at least a little amused.

We were going to a friend's wedding and I brought my Turkish spindle along.  Yes I bring fiber every where.

So yesterday I listened to "The Fat Squirrel Speaks," "Skein after Skein," and an old episode of "Knitting Pipeline."  I worked on my sweater and had to rip out what I had done.  Apparently I had 1) not added the right number of extra stitches and 2) forgotten to add the button hole. I fixed that at got a little farther on to the part where the chart starts.  My first confusion was I had never seen a "no stitch" instruction in the middle of a cart.  I had to look it up and they use it when there is going to be an change in stitch count but it hasn't happened yet and they just want the chart to look good and not odd.  My second "problem" was the "make 1" instruction.  I know how to do that but you can do it right or left and this didn't say.  I kind of made one of each on each side of the leaf so I hope they look ok.  It really takes a lot of concentration for me.  Fixing the stich count makes me feel like it might actually fit.

Today is Kdrama day.  I'm kind of in a bad mood so I didn't want something light and fluffy.  I decided on "Good Doctor."  It's about a man with autism who is also brilliant and becomes a doctor.  I have heard good things about it.  I also am going to work on my daughter's monsters.  I'm not all there today and need something like that to feel better.  I even skipped my walk today.  I'll just get myself together and get back on track tomorrow.  

This is a capelet I made for a contest.  I made it using the Eva's Sweater pattern without sleeves.  It was bout shawl size on a child so it only covered my shoulder but I thought someone fashionable could wear it. I didn't know what you call that size so I called it a capelet.  You were supposed to send it in and they would send it back and I never got it back.

On my WOW day yesterday I just worked on my lower level toons.  My level 86 found a rare but there was no one around to help her kill it so she died.  She is making progress but the higher you go the longer it takes so it feels so slow.  My level 65 is in Negrand and once she hits 66 I will send her to Blades Edge.  I should be able to get her out of Outlands without setting foot in Shadow Moon Valley.  My level 50 made the most progress.  She's level 52 now.  Wile she was questing there was a Wargen frost mage working on the same quests.  This just amused me because my frost mage is Wargen. 

Today is a podcast day, at least in the morning.  I'm looking forward to working on the sweater wile I listen. In the afternoon I drive my friend around so I just have to get everything done in the morning. 

I didn't do much crafting done yesterday.  I did a little wile we were watching "Agents of Shield"(my husband and I really like it so far).  I started making the little monsters for my daughter's class.  They are super simple the hardest part is going to be attaching the base to the body and that is not that difficult.  We are using a die to pick the colors.  So far we have a tan one and a white one.  I made them but I didn't stuff them yet.  I'll try and work on that more tomorrow.  I have to make 25 (huge class) and after I make all the bodies I will work on the faces and that will be a lot of fun. 

One of the other ladies in the complex talked about a 4 mile loop she was walking.  I think I can do a shorter modified version but I still would have to pass the dog and go up a steep hill.  I'll do some more thinking on that.  So if you ever see me walking on the wrong side of the road it's because I'm avoiding a house with a dog in it.   

Here is a shawl that I made for one of my sisters.  This is the Eva's Shawl pattern (free on Ravelry).  I have made this pattern many times and really like it. 

Yesterday was Kdrama day.  I finally finished the last two episodes of "Shut up and lets go" (or "Shut up Flower Boy Band").  It's about a group of high school boys in a band and how they deal with loss, love, music, and just growing up. Of course there is a love triangle (I have not seen a Kdrama that doesn't have one).  A coming of age/ slice of life story.  When I saw the first episode I hated those bratty boys but the rule of Kdrama is you need to watch three episodes before you decide.  I will warn you the second episode throws you a serious curve ball. By the end of the series I got a little weepy.  I'm not sure it will make it into my top 3 but it was better than the first episode made it seem. 

My husband has watched Kdrama with me before, in fact he is the one who picked "Boys Over Flowers," but we hadn't see any in a wile and even though we are kind of in the middle of "Faith" I wanted to see something else.  So I had heard that "I hear your voice" was good so I wanted to try it.  We sat down to watch and it felt like we were thrown into the middle of the story, which happens sometimes and you pick up the pieces of the story as you go along.  It was harder than usual to understand and my husband kept saying it wasn't making sense and he didn't understand why people liked it.  There were flashbacks which was weird and so I planed to ask my Kdrama group on Ravelry if it was a second part to something else.  Finally were almost done with the episode and my husband makes the comment "this seems like the last episode" I told him to check and sure enough Hulu had played the last episode not the first.  I was so frustrated.  I'll watch it some time but it is now at the bottom of my list. 

Next Kdrama day I will either go back to "Running Man" or finish up some other series I was in the middle of.  Today is a WOW day.  It's also a cleaning day because I spent two hours on the phone with my sister and didn't get anything done.  It's not her fault, If I had said I needed to get off the phone she would have understood.  I just have a lot to make up for today now.

I got one ball finished in the granny baby blanket.  I also got the colors set up to make the monsters for my daughters class.  Being a WOW day I won't get much done but it's ready if I get around to it.

I found a Kpop song by that I think may help me work out once the weather gets to cold to go outside. It's "Bar Bar Bar" by Crayon Pop.  I don't like the song particularly but they do a lot of jumping in that three minute song so I can't see how if I follow their moves I won't lose a little weight.  I told my plan to my family and my husband watched the video like it was a train wreck an d basically said "if it gets stuck in my head you are in trouble." My daughter said if I did that I had to keep the blinds closed.  Thanks for your confidence in me kid.  Can you tell my family loves me? :)

Here is a shawl I made for my mom.  I like the colors but I was hoping to pooling would be different.  I also realized that this pattern, wile pretty, was too pointy (for lack of a better term) for me.

Yesterday was a podcast day.  I listened to Wolf Farms, Highland Handmades, Kintabulls, Dramatic Knits and a couple of old episodes of Knitting Pipeline.  There is a guild around here that would hold a fiber event about an hour away.  I liked going to it, it wasn't to far away or expensive.  They would rent space from a college but then the college decided that since they were not a student group they would not guarantee the space if a student wanted it instead (or so I was told).  So they moved the event an extra half hour further away and I stopped going because it was farther than I wanted to drive alone. When I received the reminder/prepay notice I just threw it away.  Shortly after that I found out that Steve, from Dramatic Knits, was going to vend there with his new dyeing business.  I threw a fit.  Now I am an adult so I was not rolling on the floor kicking but I was upset and disappointed that I was going not only miss the event but not get to see him and his new business.  I still secretly hope I will get to go but probably not.  I was getting frustrated because the internet was not working well so listing to Kitting Pipeline was difficult (it was taking a long time to load).  I know it's a first world problem but when you pay for something you expect it to work.   Today is Kdrama day and I think I will have the same internet issues.  I'm going try watching something on Netflix or Hulu instead of Gooddrama.  Not that it isn't still the internet but I think it won't randomly stop as much.

I got the spiders done! I have them in a lingerie bag ready to go in the next load.  This weekend's project will probably be putting puff paint eyes on them.  When they are all the way complete I will post a picture.  I'm working a bit on another granny baby blanket as a pallet cleanser. I would work on the sweater but that requires concentration and I can't read subtitles and concentrate on my knitting at the same time.  I figured out what project I need to do next.  I need to make little monsters for my daughter to give out at Halloween. I'll start setting that up when I finish the ball of yarn I'm on for this baby blanket.  I think we are going to use dice to decide what color, how many eyes, what kind of mouth etc.  Next time I have a podcast day I'll work on my sweater.  I'm still worried that it will be to small.

We had another bus stop incident today.  The other mother who usually comes and I were standing back form the kids, looking in their general direction and talking.  The kids were all in a knot, which is typical, and we were far enough back we couldn't hear them talking if they used regular voices but if they used loud voices we would have. I didn't see any big movements or I would have paid more attention.   Suddenly one of the girls comes out of the knot crying.  We went closer and tried to figure out what was going on.   As far as I can tell they were having some sort of pushing/hitting "game,"  she hit a little boy and he shoved or hit her back harder that she thought the game should have been.  She said it really hurt and I couldn't tell if was because of the crying or the hit she seemed like she couldn't breath well.  Of course this is the day when neither mom had our phone on us and the bus was right there so a decision had to be made.  We sent all of the other kids to the bus and the other mom took the little girl home to her mom.  It was a sad situation so I just posted on Facebook, "What do you do when the kids at the bus stop hurt each other :( ." I wasn't looking for an answer just sympathy but someone answered.  She said that according to the police you can get in trouble for touching kids to break up a fight and should call the police.  This is even sadder but I think it's a little different when I'm a mom of other kids at the bus stop not just a stranger wandering by.  It makes it sound like our bus stop is bad but it's usually ok.  On a side note it's 50 degrees out don't send your kids to school in shorts, capris, or short sleeves.  I know it will be warm when they get off school and not all kids get cold easily but really it's called layers people.  Ok I'll get off my judgy pants soap box. 

Here is the first sweater I even made, it's crochet.  It was easer than I though.  I still wear it but it has pilled badly.  If you want to make one for yourself the pattern is Chevron Lace Cardigan and it's free.

I did pretty well  on my WOW day.  Everyone made a little progress and My level 49 got to level 50.  Since I did it on Saturday I don't remember all the specifics. The Halloween event is coming up soon so I need to make sure I get that achievement.  Yesterday was just a "bla" day.  I did nothing.  So today is my podcast day and looks like a few people updated. 

My NerdWars dissertation was approved.  I was having some trouble because every time I measured myself the numbers were different.  I finally gave up.  I started the sweater and have the first 4 rows done but those are easy before you get to the real pattern.  I am so nervous that the sweater won't fit. I added more stitches so by the numbers it should be ok and I will need to make the sleeves bigger too.  Last time I counted I had 18 spiders.  If I remember to ask I'll find out how many children there are in the class.  Once I finish the spiders (which I will try to finish today) I'll decide what project to do next.  I have so many lined up and half finished. 

I did take a walk today and my husband came with.  It's not going to be too much longer before I have to come it since it will be to cold or icy to walk outside.  I also had an eye Dr. appointment which turned out well especially when I dread them.  It's why my husband was home because driving with dilated eyes is a bad thing.  That's it for today, hopefully I can tell you tomorrow that the spiders are done.

Here are some Totoros I made, sitting on a blanket I also made

I didn't mean to skip yesterday.  It was just busy in such a way that made getting any thing done nearly impossible.

On my podcast day I listened to Wolfe Farms (I like their lotion), The Fat Squirrel Speaks (I find her funny and my husband finds her annoying) and some old Knitting Pipeline episodes.  Yesterday for Kdrama day I watched two episodes of "The Queen of Office" (yes that is the title it's not a typo.)  It's about a contract worker that goes in and straightens out a dysfunctional office.  I'm trying to be vague and nonspoilery (I know that is not a real word) . A group I am in in Ravelry has that drama as a watch along.  I also watched some more running man and I recognized more people. Oh Ji-ho was on an episode and I recognized him instantly but had to look up his name.  (I wanted to call him Cabbge Patch Head like they do in "Queen of Office").  They also had Daesung on from Big Bang and I didn't reacognise him right off because he had a wig but once I saw his face clearly it was obvious.  There were a couple of episodes that weren't that funny, and I thought about giving up on it, but the last couple were funnier to me.  Today is a WOW day again.

I've but been trying to make more spiders but I'm getting tired of them and the acrylic is kind of hurting some.  Maybe if I take today off I can plow through the last few tomorrow, I think I have about 10 left.  I need to set aside time today to actually take pictures of my swatch and the yarn so I can type up and submit my NerdWars dissertation proposal. 

I did walk on Friday.  I didn't walk as far as wanted to but I was feeling "off" and thought it better to be safe than sorry.  My husband has Monday off so maybe he will walk with me again.  That's it for today.  See you on Monday.

I made this large orange blanket for my son.  He loves orange and had requested it.  Sadly he later cut a hole in it and I refused to make another.  Maybe when he's a little older and he'll appreciate it.

So on WOW day I tried to get my level 64 out of Terokkar Forest but I missed the Nestingway camp and couldn't find any quests.  I'll do a few more quests than try to move on to Negrand again.  My level 49 (I thought it was 48 but I was wrong) is in Searing Gorge (I think that's where I get all the names of those places mixed up) about to go hassle some dwarves.  I got my level 85 past the quest I hate and she dinged 86.  Today is podcast day and so I may get some knitting/crochet done.  I'm sure there are more podcasts updated since I last looked and if I finish them up I'll go back to listening to Knitting pipeline. 

I wound some yarn off my spindle and am getting the next fiber ready to spin.  I remade my swatches and they came out smaller than I was hoping.  I did some thinking and some talking and I believe I have a plan.  Now I need to write up a proposal and get it submitted.  I need to link it to a category, I think it will be a discovery one because the pattern has leaves and I can link to growing things and discovering plants.  I also need a team tie-in, which means I need to find and scene in a anime or cartoon where there are lots of plants.  I think I'm up to 9 spiders now but I have run out of gray so now they will be white. I think I will put eyes on them with puffy paint after they are washed.  Today's project is just more spiders till I hit 24.  Since I will be driving my friend around it is a good project to  take as I sit in the car and wait for her to finish her errands.  If I finish my spiders (not holding my breath)  I will do some research and write up the NerdWars dissertation proposal. 

It has been raining and is supposed to rain more today.  If it rains tomorrow I will try to exercise inside. My husband and I were toying with the idea of getting me a stationary bike but I don't think we can afford it.  Maybe sometime in late January or February, when people give up on their New Year's resolutions, we can get one for cheap. 

If I do a lot of running around I may have tomorrow  a podcast day as well.  Tomorrow I volunteer at the school and have a meeting with my son's teacher (one is fun the other not so much)

This is supposed to be Jiji from the Ghibli movie "Kiki's Delivery Service."

Running Man was interesting yesterday.  They changed up the format, now the regulars have to find the guest (or guests).  They use many extras that look similar or have similar costumes (like masquerade masks) to the guest so it makes it difficult.  The guest must find things (usually balls) and when they do, the names of the regulars that are written on it are out.  I like this game but because it's so long some of the other games are not as interesting, they seem short or weirdly thought out.  I still enjoy the show and I actually kind of recognized some guests.  They are the group TVXQ! and I have watched a couple of their videos.  Now I would not have recognized them if it wasn't stated where they were from, I just don't recognize many of the celebrities by sight. (I probably wouldn't recognize many form the U.S. either, I'm just not good with that).  I also realized, in a "duh" moment, that one of the regulars was also in a drama I have watched.  No wonder he looked so familiar.

Today is a WOW day.  I have 4 active toons (characters). Tati is a level 90 arcane mage, Believe is an 85 frost mage, Quina is a level 64 fire mage and Lucyanna is 48 hunter.  Now I do know about dual specialization but I enjoy having all my mages.  My husband is home today so he took Tati to the Timeless Isle and we got her some gear.  I'm probably going to avoid Believe today because she has a quest I don't want to do.  So I'll be working on getting Quina out of Outlands mostly I think.  I really hate that expansion.  I know if you aren't into WOW this made no sense to you and I'm sorry.  Oh I talked to my husband and I made a mistake. He only has 7 90's (the highest level you can go right now) but he had 10 85's so that's where I got the number from. 

I washed the swatches and they didn't shrink but they did pill like crazy.  So now I know when I finish the sweater not to put it in the laundry like that.  I'm going to redo the swatches and be very careful with the stitch count because I think I may have messed it up a bit.  It looks like it might be an inch bigger all around. The spiders are not hard to make but I hadn't made them in so long I had to relearn and it was much slower than I remembered.  I assume that is because I was reading at the same time and you have to pay attention at least a little or you end up with a seven legged spider like I did.  I didn't realize till I tucked in all the ends so I just gave it to my daughter because I was not ripping it out.  The other little  mistake I made was setting a finished one on my keyboard when I got up to make myself lunch.  I made myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and without thinking I moved the spider when I sat down to watch another piece of an episode.  There are so many peanut allergies I want to be careful.
I set that one aside but I might just put all of them in a lingerie bag and wash them before giving them (they are acrylic).  I may also glue goodly eyes on but I'll decide that later.  I only have 7 made not counting the two mistakes, I thought I would be a lot faster.  Oh I forgot to mention that spiders are crochet and the pattern is free in Ravelry. If I do anything today (I don't get much crafting done on WOW days) I will do the swatches first so I can get the dissertation turned in then I will work on more spiders.  The math for the other yarn is going to have to go on the back burner.

I took a walk today with my husband since he was home.  Because he was with me I when past the German Shepard and my husband was not amused either.  We did see the Boxer in it's back yard so it must just have gotten out the other day.  It is such good dog it was probably there the whole time and I never noticed because it's so quite.  I think I'll try that loop again on Friday. 

I don't know what bus stop etiquette is. Most parents send their children to the bus stop by themselves.  I take my kids mostly because my son is not good socially and is sometimes fearful (my daughter would rather I stay home because she is so big). I'm the mean mom will scold the other children if they are doing something I think is dangerous (throwing rocks, going it the street).  I know boys horse around so unless feet come off the ground I usually let them wrestle and stay out of it.  Today there was a little toy being tossed around in a "keep away" fashion.  I figured as long as they weren't being mean about it everything was ok.  One of the little girls got it and her older brother took it from her saing it was his toy.  They were struggling a bit and she ended up sitting on the ground crying.  I went over and made him give it to me, I gave it back to his little sister and told her to put it away.  The boy was insisting the whole time it was his and I told him to take it up with his mom when he got home from school.  I never know if this is my business or how it should be handled.  I tiny part of me is expecting a visit from the children's mother saying I should not scold her children and mind my own business.  We'll see.

My son has an appointment tomorrow  and  Thursdays I usually drive another mom from the neighborhood around (she doesn't have a license) so tomorrow may be late if I write at all.

Here is the scarf that eventually got made from yesterday's yarn.  My daughter likes pink, what can I say.

Yesterday I listened to old episodes of "Knitting Pipeline." I when I listen to a "new to me" podcast I start from the beginning.  I'm in the 30's somewhere and she has over a 140 episodes so that is what I'm listening to if my regular shows aren't updated.  It's an audio only podcast but I like her soothing voice.  I like that she has kind of "been there, done that" with knitting.  She lives only about two hours (at the most) from me so if I ever go to a fiber event (I haven't been to any in a wile) I might actually run into her.  It's fun (for me) to listen to her talk about nature.  Living in Illinois all my life I can relate to some of the birds and weather she talks about. 

As far as crafts I finished plying the yarn I was making, it took longer than I hoped it would.  Many people finish their yarn but soaking and waking (hitting it against something hard to felt it a bit to set the twist).  I don't do this because I let time set the twist.  I don't think I have ever used my yarn less than a month after it's made.  Usually it's at least 6 months to a year.  I'm not sure if this is what I'm "supposed" to do but it seems ok so far.  One thing I didn't say about NerWars is that October is just one round and there are three rounds.  You can enter a project that is called a "dissertation" that at your skill level you think will take you all three months.  I plan on making my first knit sweater.  To make a dissertation you first have to submit a proposal with a swatch so I made some swatches for that.  The sweater I plan to make doesn't have my size listed so I made two swatches, one with the needles called for and one on needles the next size up.  Since the swatches are acrylic I'm going to throw them in with the next load of laundry I do.  I'm also going to talk to my team mates (who are more experienced knitters than I am) about the results of the swatch to see what the easiest way to size up the sweater.

Today is Kdrama day.  I'm actually not watching and dramas right not, I'm watching what is called a "variety show" called Running Man.  It is similar to what in the U.S. might be called a "reality show."  There are regulars and every week they have a celebrity guest (or guests).   They go to a land mark and play different games like trying to sing right lyrics to a song (if they fail they get a blast of air in the face), or quiz games (have to act out the word to get the others to guess it).  Some of the games are rigged and some are not (the audience knows what games are rigged but not always the contestants).  It usually ends with a hide and seek game where the hiding team has a mission to accomplish and the seeking team wears bells on their shoes.  There are some "in jokes" and some things are a little lost in translation but some things they do are so funny I almost fall off my chair laughing.  It's not the kind of show that everyone will enjoy and trying to explain to my husband or children why I'm laughing so hard is difficult.  Right now I don't recognize most of the celebrities but I think that will change as I get to more recent episodes.  (Yes I started from episode 1 and there are 160)

For crafting I am making spider bookmarks.  I made them for my daughter a few years ago to give to her class instead of candy for Halloween now it's my son's turn.  His birthday is the week before Halloween so they may go to school for that and give out pencils for Halloween but we will see.  I need to ask the teacher how many students she has but I figure if I plan on making 24 that should be about right.  I waited till today so that I could fit it in a NerdWars challenge and there is a perfect one.  One of the challenges is to be inspired by the zoo.  I went to the zoo in St. Paul (Minnesota) this summer and they had a whole tropical rain forest set up (it didn't have many fences) and they had one display with a big tarantula in it.  The other thing I want to do is work with some yarn I got from a club.  It's going to take lots of swatching.  It is variegated with very short color repeats.  Someone showed me a computer program that you can input how many stitches of each color so you can make it pool on purpose. I want to try this but I need to make some decisions on needle size and things like that first.  When I started getting into crochet and knitting I didn't realize there would be so much math. :)

Ah exercise. Eventually Tuesday and Thursday will be my strength days (push ups, sit ups etc.) but for now  I'm trying to concentrate on my walking.  The boxer type dog was very well behaved but I really would not like to meet any more dogs when walking alone.  There is a little field behind the apartment complex I live in and one of my sisters suggested, as boring as it may be, to just walk around and around it.  Not thrilling but it would solve my dog problem till I can figure out something else.  That's it for today, it was much longer than I thought it would be I hope that's ok.