I made theses gloves for my daughter from the same pattern as the one I tested, with the left overs from the baby blanket.  I lengthened the cuff and made the space between the thumb and the knuckles smaller.

I have 500 views! Yeah!  I hope at lest some people are entertained or get ideas for projects.

So I watched Running Man yesterday and spun.  It's hard to recognize people sometimes because they reveal them and say who it is quickly.  They said Jung Yong-hwa was from CN Blue (which he is) but I recognize him from You're Beautiful.  When it comes to Korean names I never know it the dash is appropriate or if it's ok to leave it out, I've seen it both ways.  My computer was glitchy last night and irritating me so I think I've had my fill of Running Man for a wile. Today I'm playing WOW. 

I thought I finished a shepherd's costume last night but I realized I did it inside out.  I have to rip part out and fix it and I'm running out of the brown thread.  Not that I don't have more but it's not quite the same color.  Today I'm probably not doing may crafts except trying to fix the costume.  Tomorrow when I get back to podcasts I'll try to finish my husband's socks. 

Ok that's it for today.  Time to chase the kids around and make them pick up.  Not my favorite part of the day.  Wish me luck. 

These are the fingerless gloves that I test crochet for.  The pattern is available now.  It's the Easy Textured Fingerless Gloves by Titti Sigillo, I think it's around $3.  It's really easy and quick if you need some last minute  Christmas gifts.  My only thing is that I would like the cuff a row or two longer but that's an easy fix.

My husband had to work yesterday from 5pm till 2am then again today from 11am till 8pm. (I will not get on my soap box about how Black Friday should start on Friday not Thursday).  I purposely kept the children up till midnight last night so they would sleep in and be quiet for him.  It worked but it made the day get started late.  On the plus side even with the weird schedule I did get my exercises done.  Yesterday was just a quiet lazy day. My daughter  made me a purple wool shop with a herd of colorful sheep in the back using Mincraft creative mode.  I thought it was really sweet.

On Wednesday I listened to a lot of podcasts.  Mostly old episodes of Knitting Pipeline.  I'm up to episode 101 in that.  Yesterday I watched Running Man.  I liked the grasshopper hunting episode.  I'm only on episode 70 of that.  I'm watching more Running Man today also, I just don't feel like playing WOW right now.

Wile I listened to podcasts I worked on my husband's socks.  I got one done and turned the heel on the second but didn't get them done in time for this round of NerdWars.  I did submit them for half points.  I'll post a picture in the next few days.  I've been spinning wile watching Running Man because even thought the sock pattern is simple it's too complicated to read at the same time especially when they talk fast.  I feel like I'm finally making some progress on that.  I also almost finished a shepherds costume yesterday too, it just needs to be hemmed.  We got the names for name draw and they aren't getting hand knits/ crochet so that's off the list. I feel like I'm making good progress even if I am running late today. 

I feel like I had something else to say but I don't remember right now so it must not be important right?  I hope everyone had a great day yesterday. :)

 

 

Here are the pieces of my sweater so far.  You can't really see the leaf pattern but it's there.  I really want to get this finished because it's cold and I want to wear it.

Ok here are some random things.  Yesterday I was picking my daughter up from church and someone was saying something to me and I look over and see a hat.  I turn to my daughter and say "see that pink hat?  Someone made that for her because I recognize that yarn."  I turned back to the lady and said "sorry I'm a little weird."  Today it's cold so we were wandering around the house singing "It's very very cold" to the tune of "Very Good" by Block B.  It really wasn't cold in the house but the kids thought it was.  One of the little girls at the bus stop was crying because her hands were cold.  I tried to help her by telling her to put her hands in her pockets, wiping her tears, distracting her with silliness, and lending her my gloves.  She had gloves on but they were the thin "magic stretch" kind and I don't know how long she was out there before we got there.  And the last thing is that exercising in jeans is not easy.

I did play on WOW a bit but I spent most of the day listening to/ watching the Eat Your Kimchi music awards. Today is podcast day.  I think not as many people are putting out podcasts this week because of Thanksgiving so I will be able to work on catching up on Knitting Pipeline.

I did do my exercises today but I was not as motivated.  I usually walk the kids to the bus in my work out, yoga type pants.  Today was to cold so I just put on the jeans I wore yesterday till after I did my exercises.  The jeans are a little long with shoes but with out (I exercise without shoes) they are really long.  I kept tripping over the bottom.  I'll have to figure out something else to do for the rest of winter. 

Today the kids get out of school early, in fact they should be home any minute.  My daughter and I will make Jello and instant cheese cake for tomorrow (I'd let my son help too but he doesn't want to).  Also I will mix up the ingredients for the ham dish we are having tomorrow so I can just pop it in the crock pot tomorrow.  We are a bit laid back this year.  I probably won't post tomorrow so have a happy Thanksgiving 

Here is the blanket for my niece.  It is bright but what I find interesting is that there is about a stitch worth of black between each color and it doesn't show up in the picture.  I also need to figure out what anime or comic I can tie this too so I can enter it in NerdWars.

I spun and watched Running Man yesterday.  I feel like I didn't get much progress done on the spinning.  I think it will feel like that until I get near the end. Running Man was fun too.  I kind of want to watch more today but today is a WOW day. 

I need to get the card done and get my son to finish his.  I also need to figure out how to tie in my projects to NerdWars.  I didn't make a project page for the fingerless gloves because they were a test and I didn't know if she was keeping that under wraps till the release of the pattern.  I think I need to ask her if she wants a project page now and if I can use it for NerdWars.  Other than that I just need to sit down and write the challenge submissions up.  Still have shepherd's costumes to make.

I forgot to mention that I got a page view from Italy.  I think that's so cool.  Not that I expect them to stay but I like seeing all these countries.  I know I'm easily amused. That's it for today and so I can go get something productive done. :)

This is a picture of the baby blanket I said I was carrying around in my bag.  I didn't notice till I took the picture that I missed a shell.  Oh well we'll call that a design feature. lol

I didn't do much this weekend except listen to podcasts and watch a little Running man.  Paula (Knitting Pipeline) put out her first podcast since the tornado but I haven't listened to it.  I'm tempted to even though I'm still behind on her podcast.  I am watching Running Man today.  Next kdrama day I'll go back to Sungkyunkwan Scandal.  I liked that one but I keep getting distracted by other dramas.

I did get a lot of crafting done.  I finished my niece's baby blanket, a pair of fingerless gloves for a test and one sock for my husband.  I'll post a picture of the baby blanket tomorrow.  I joined a test group on Ravelry for crochet patterns and tested my first one.  The fingerless gloves were easy and quick but I'm not sure I can show them till the pattern is released.  Since I finished one sock for my husband I'm working on the other.  I did find out that even though the patter is easy I can't really do it wile reading subtitles so I'm spinning today.  I also posted for the halfway mark for my NerdWars dissertation.  I feel like I got a lot accomplished.  I still have a bunch to do though, shepherd's costumes and making a card are the two on the top of the list. 

I did my exercises today without fussing.  Usually I have to almost guilt myself into it.  "Come on Sarah, you know it good for you." kind of thing.  I feel like I'm a little inspired by some news I got.  The news is that there is a chance that I may get to see a personal trainer at a reduce price.  I think this would be good for me.  Knowing I have to check in with someone will make me less likely to eat badly as well.  I really need to follow through with this.  I have dropped the ball on other things (like getting a "Y" membership) and I really want this to work. 

I may not post every day this week since it's Thanksgiving on Thursday.  Since my husband has to work we are having a small meal and we aren't even having turkey.  I just hope the black Friday craziness doesn't get him to badly. 

These are some of the first socks I knit as opposed to crochet.  If you can't tell they were for my son (he likes orange).  They are in worsted weight wool.  I think they may have gotten felted in the wash but I have plans to make him better ones. 

I did play WOW a little yesterday.  I ran around a level 20 area with my level 90.  That was fun.  I'm half way through finishing the area for the "Lore Master" title.  I did listen to a couple of podcasts and I'm ok with that.

Today is podcast day.  I was planning on working on my daughter's other sock but I bought yarn for another project that has a time limit.  I think I said before that I usually give a baby blanket but when the newest niece was born my sister had asked for diapers.  My son really wanted her to have a blanket and my daughter picked out some neon yarn.  The one time I timed a blanket it took me 3 hours.  I'm timing myself again but this time instead of trying to do it as fast as possible I'm taking my time and crocheting like I usually do.   I finished the first ball (of three) and so far I'm at 1 hour 15 minutes. The other thing is the other blanket had a thinner yarn I think.  If I finish the blanket (ha) I'll work on my daughter's sock. 

Once I finish the blanket I will be done with any Christmas knitting or crochet unless I get one of two people for name draw.  If we decide to put some soap and lotion in the grab bag I'll make a washcloth to go with it but that is easy and not I'm not even sure we are going to do that.  The kids and I do plan to make some ornaments but those should be really easy.  The Shady Cels group on Ravely is also doing a card swap that we will make a  couple of cards for but again not much.  I just want to finish this baby blanket in time to enter it in NerdWars and nothing else will be done. 

I think that's it.  Nothing new or exciting but that can be a good thing. 

Here are some "monsters" I made and donated to Pine Ridge Reservation.  The pattern is free one called Alfo the Monster by Stacey Trock.  I changed the mouth and when I made the unicorn for my daughter I learned a technique for crocheting the arms in instead of sewing them on after so I did that too. 

Ok I did something "wrong" and this might be a bit spoilery.  Kdrama can be a bit formulaic so I had a suspicion about how Flower Boy Ramen Shop was going to end, so I looked it up on Wiki.  Yeah it's not going to end the way I want so I'm done.  I wanted to yell at the TV and say "there is a great guy right there and you are going to go for the whiny rich brat?" I complained about this a little to my Kdrama group on Ravelry.  One of the other girls said that she though "second male leads" were invented to torture her since that is who she ends up rooting for.  I do to sometimes. I should have know this would happen.  I rarely have to invoke the "watch three episodes" rule.  I usually know right away. The only other exceptions I can think of are Nail Shop Paris where I kept hoping it would get better and it didn't and Shut up and Lets Go (or Shut Up Flower Boy Band) where I didn't like the first episode but the twist in the second tells you that this is not a romantic comedy. One of the other members of the Kdrama group says that it is kind of comforting to know that the actress and second lead in Ramen shop are dating in real life. So I threw my temper tantrum and drowned my sorrows in Running Man.

Some episodes of Running Man are better than others and the ones I watched last night were ok but not the "fall out of your chair" funny.  I did recognize Tiger Jk from the Drunken Tiger interview with Eat Your Kimchi.  I couldn't remember his name before they introduced him but I knew he was in that group. 

If you want to know more about Korea I think Eat You Kimchi is great.  It is a married couple from Canada who went to Korea to teach and fell in love with the country and stayed.  They make YouTube videos on Kpop, kindi, Korean food, interesting locations and even some commentary on things like how race and gender are seen in Korea.  The do have a bit of a dirty sense of humor and swear a bit but have some interesting videos and I have learned so much.

Today is a WOW day so I won't get much crafting done.  I did spin yesterday but there is so much fiber if feels like it will take forever.  I think I'm almost done with my husband's socks, well the first one anyway. I'm excited to get a pair of functional socks done.  I usually have one problem or another with socks so this will be good.

I think that's it for today.  Time to go make all the things. :)

I made this hat with some Easter Egg dyed yarn.  I tried to add less vinegar so it wouldn't be so neon and it turned pastel.  It was my first attempt at self striping and I think the repeats turned out short but ok.  The pattern was Spring Spirals Beanie by Tasha Walsh, it's free on Ravelry.  The fit of the hat feel weird to me but I don't know if it's me or the pattern.

The last two days have been weird.  My husband was home both days which is really unusual.  On Monday we watched some shows from the U.S. I knew that was going to throw off my schedule but I was not expecting Tuesday.  I get about sixish (more or less depending on how badly I'm sleeping) hours of sleep.  I know this is fine or even a lot for some people.  For me it's a little light.  I'm usually fine but about every two weeks or so I get, for lack of a better word, prickly.  I feel like yelling at people for just breathing near me. When this happens I say something like, "I know it's 8 o'clock but I'm going to bed now," and wake up the next morning fine.  This happened yesterday morning.   I got the kids off to school, which some days is smooth and yesterday was not, then I was just done.  I decided it was better to go back to bed then yell at my husband for nothing.  So my whole day was off and I got nothing but the most basic of chores done.  No WOW, no Kdrama, no podcasts not even regular TV.  I am glad to back to my regular routine today.  I even did my exercises, that I skipped on Monday, and everything. 

Today will be Kdrama day.  I'm going to watch more episodes of Flower Boy Ramen Shop.  I really want Yang Eun Bi to end up with Choi Kang Hyuk.  I'm so afraid they are going to end up being siblings or something.  It's the opposite of Your Beautiful. In that I wanted Go Mi Nam (or whatever name you call her) to be Hwang Tae Kyung's sister so she could be with Kang Shin Woo.  I didn't feel that way with Fabulous Boys.
If you like Your Beautiful I really recommend you see Fabulous Boys.

I'm going to spin today.  I did get pretty far on my husband's sock.  I think I'm almost done with the first one.  I really like this pattern and plan to make socks with this pattern for the whole family.  The only thing I don't like is since I'm magic looping it starts with a purl on each needle and I'm not a big fan of purling.  I did get one of the Shepherd's costumes done so I could show the pastors wife and see if that was what she was looking for.  She said it was fine so I'll make the other two that she gave me. 

I think that's it for today.  Sorry about skipping yesterday.  I feel like I'm back on track now so this should be good. 

I love this picture of my son.  Theses were the "book worms" we gave out last year for Halloween.  The yarn was reclaimed from the fist scarf I tried to knit.  The patter is
Michelle's Bookworm Recipe  by Michelle B. (free on Ravelry)

Lets see what I did this weekend.  On Saturday I played WOW.  It was really fun on my level 90 going back to some of the lower areas and just killing things.  It made it fun to play again and the quests are so quick.  I think for Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor getting Lore Master shouldn't be to hard. I almost have my panda out of Outlands but sadly my hunter is about to go in. It's also WOW's 9th birthday so I did a little toon hopping this morning to get the achievement.

Yesterday I listened to podcasts.  There was The Fat Squirrel Speaks, Homespun, and old episodes of Joeli's Kitchen. It's fun to sit and listen wile I'm making things.  It's like sitting with a friend that is showing you their projects.  It's also interesting to hear things about the crafting community in other countries.  Apparently in Europe Aldi sells yarn but not here sadly.

I finished the first of my daughter's socks.  I told her I need a little break before I make the other one.  Size 1 needles are not my friend.  I've been working on my husband's socks.   I really like the pattern.  It's toe up and I'm to the heel.  The heel always makes me nervous.  It's not that I can't make a heel it's just that if you make the heel wrong you mess up the sock. At least my husband's socks are in sport weight and not fingering.  It feels thick after working on my daughter's socks.  I've been trying to sew some for the shepherd's outfits.  I messed up the calculations a bit but it's fixable.

I did do my exercises on Friday but they were late and shortened. I'll do today's late too.  The day is just getting away from me.  That has a lot to do with my husband being home.  He's not a bad guy he just messes up my plans for the day.  Since he's home I'll probably end up watching TV with him and watching my kdrama tomorrow. 

I did want to make a little mention of the tornados yesterday.  We had a massive temperature drop in a short period, hail for about a minute and heavy rains for about 30 minutes.  I had no idea it was going to get so bad for those east of us.  It's always so hard to know.  The weatherman says "It's going to be bad" and most of the time it's no big deal.  "There's going to be three feet of snow stock up on bread" and we get a foot or less.  This time sadly the weatherman was right.  The tornado(s) took out a town about an hour and a half east of us.  The thing is that is the town that Paula of Knitting Pipeline lives in.  With the help of Ravelry it was reported that she was ok and her house wasn't damaged but there was no power and her cellphone was running out of power.  She has over 2000 people in her group and I feel like many of them are waiting, with hooks and needles in hand, for her to say what the town might need.  I know there are things like the Red Cross that always help with things like that but if she were to say something like "we need hats and mittens and scarves" the town would have a flood of hand knit goodness.   Also she is slightly Ravelry famous and I know many podcasters would say "Paula said they need this" and reach an even bigger audience.  This is all to say that I am grateful that we are ok, that Paula is ok and I have hope for Washington Illinois because of the generosity of crafters.  That's it for today.

This was another "Oh no! I'm broke and there is a birthday coming up." The girl this was for had a life size baby doll (it was weighted and everything) and I though she would like this.  The flowers all have pins so she could put them on wherever she wanted.  I did all these things in one day.

I'm up to 400 views!  I think it's people from Malaysia since I have a lot of views from there.  I wish I could say something wonderful about the country but I really don't know much about it.  I can locate it on a map which is more than some people I know.

I did enjoy watching Flower Boy Ramen Shop.  I love Lee Ki Woo's character.  For me he saved the show.  I would put the show higher on my list except for those horrid first episodes.  I found out that the new movie that TOP is in will be playing about three hours from me.  It's only playing in about 7 places in the U.S.  I'll have to wait for it to show up on Good Drama or Hulu or something.  TOP also released a new song.  I saw the video and it is kind of disjointed and surreal.  It was so weird and not what I was expecting I couldn't hear the song.  I listened to the song without the video and I liked it better.  It's not as catchy and a SHINee or Super Junior song but I don't hate it.  There are some YouTubers that go by the name Eat Your Kimchi.  They did a backstage interview with SHINee that is only 2 minutes and very superficial but what is more interesting is the explanation of what they had to go through to get the interview. 

Today I plan to play WOW.  I realized that my level 90 can work on achievements so that is what I plan to do with her.  I'm still lagging but when I'm leveling it's not too bad.  Maybe I can get some of my lower toons leveled up. 

I split my time, yesterday, between spinning and working on the sock for my husband.  The sock was big so I had to rip it out and start again but I like the pattern.  My elbows are still a little sore so I'm trying to take it easy.  The other thing I need to do is some sewing.  So many projects so little time. lol

This is the Easter egg dyed fiber drying.  I think it looks very colorful.  I need to do this more often but I they are so neon colored.  That is why I want to get food coloring colors so I can make less neon colors.

Lets see I did play WOW some.  My level 90 got all her cooking achievements so she is done till I either get a new computer or an expansion pack come out.  Every one is getting a little progress but it's not so fun right now. 

I've been spinning a bit and I found a sock pattern I want to make for my husband.  I want to make a lot of things I feel very inspired.  The down side is that I'm feeling some pain.  I have noticed that I still hunch my shoulders.  I try to stop every once I a wile and make sure they are down.  They haven't been hurting so that is good but my elbows have.  I broke my arm about 15 years ago near my elbow and so that one aches occasionally.  The thing is it's not that elbow it's the other one.  I think it stated because I was working on size 1 needles.  I should probably rest and not do anything but I want to make so many things. 

Today I was planning to watch Flower Boy Ramen Shop.  It's still on probation but I'll probably finish it.  I'm going to alternate between spinning and working on my husbands socks wile I watch.  I am hoping that switching crafts will keep the repetitive use injuries away.

I volunteered at the school today so I didn't do my exercised today.  I need to do those today.  I'll try and do them but I'm not guaranteeing.  I may just walk in place.  I just don't sleep well so I feel bla.  Maybe the exercise will make me feel better.

I finally got a picture of my Hitchhiker by Martina Behm.  It was really easy and it would have taken me a shorter time if I had worked on it exclusively.

I did check back on WOW but the lag was so bad I listened to podcasts.  I listened to Wolfe Farms, Dramatic Knits and old episodes of Joeli's Kitchen and Knitting Pipeline.  I got the second sleeve of my sweater done and have decided I can't work on it any more until I finish all the challenges for NerdWars.  I also finished the baby blanket that was in my bag as the "waiting room project."  I started spinning some fiber as my new "easy" project.  I decided my daughter's socks will be my "hard" project and I may work on one more.  A wile ago I was trying to make socks for my husband.  I made one but the cast off was to tight.  I only have to loosen that but I did it so long ago I don't exactly remember what I did.  It's just the one sock so I think I will make another sock then rip the first out and make it to match.  That's the plan anyway. 

Today will be my WOW day.  I'm just not having as much fun with it lately.  I do go through phase so this could be one of them.  I think I will have to retire my level 90 and that is sad.  I know it's just a game but it still makes me pouty.  In between working on my toons I have another project to do.  I agreed to make some shepherds' costumes for my church's Christmas program.  So it seems I have enough to do without working on the sweater.  It looks like I have a full day ahead of me.

Here is one of the shapes I made for my nephew.  You can see the loop where the end is not woven in so that he can pull it out.  The pattern is from a blog.  I have never tried to link blogs but I can try.  The Royal Sisters  That might work.  They have some other "granny" shapes like a heart and a doily that you can use to make ornaments.  I had a horrid time with the heart but I think it was because the patterns are in a toutorial mode and since I know a lot about crochet I was assuming what was going to happen next.

Since my husband was home we watched Agents of Shield (US show), Hunter X Hunter (anime), Samurai Flamenco (anime) and Strike the Blood (anime).  I really enjoy Agents of Shield and my husband was laughing at me because I was getting weepy about the episode.  We have stayed caught up with Hunter X Hunter since the beginning and that is one dark anime at times.  Samurai Flamenco is just funny.  It's more or less the same idea as Kick Ass but this lead character is so idealistic as to seem childish.  For Strike the Blood we only watched one episode and the concept has potential.  It's about an island off the coast of Japan where all the demons, werewolves, vampires etc. live with normal humans.  A high school student becomes an important vampire and how he has to live with that now.  We will have to watch more and see how it develops.

I did watch more episodes of Flower Boy Ramen Shop.  I watched the first episode a wile ago and hated it.  Mostly because the main girl seemed to have no brain and the lead boy just made me want to hit him. There is a three episode rule for kdrama though so I figured I'd watch those than move on to something else.  The second episode wasn't really better but the third was much better.  She finally hit him (not that violence is the answer) and the introduction of the second male lead made me think I'll give it a chance. 

Today was/is supposed to be a WOW day.  Unfortunately my realm was shut down earlier so I was listening to/ watching a podcast I was invited to. There must be some sort of list or hosts look for names of people who are in other podcast groups.  This it the third podcast I've been invited to.  I will check on WOW again in a wile and if it is still shut down I will call this a podcast day and listen to my regular shows.

I did my exercises today.  Finally!  Now I just have to work on making it a habit and stop skipping days.  That's it for today.

I made this little guy as part of a birthday present.  It's a little off.  I think I will do better if I ever make one again

I got 300 views!!!  I think it's because I mentioned Malaysia yesterday.  I feel bad that I don't know much about that country.  If I was rich I would visit every where but I haven't even had the chance to travel around the U.S. much.

I really didn't do much yesterday.  I read many of "Fresh Stitches" old posts.  I used to read her blog more when she had a podcast.  She has many good tips and interesting insight.  I wish I could blog more like that.  I just don't have anything really different to say or any tips that you can't find on YouTube.  If you do have questions about things I have made feel free to ask.

Today I plan to watch at least two episodes of Flower Boy Ramen Shop to see if I like it.  If I don't then it's back to Running Man wile I pick something different.  My husband is home today so I may end up watching anime or something else with him.

I know I don't really mention world events (like the typhoon) and there is a reason.  It's not that I don't know they are going on or am not effected by them.  It's that I am prone to depression so I don't watch the news because I will end up crying and feeling bad.  I want to help but I can't with money right now.  If something comes up where I can use knitting or crochet to help I will. 

This is my favorite shawl that I made.  It's actually made from silk yarn.  The body of the shawl is easy but the border was kind of difficult.

I played WOW on Saturday.  I did get some leveling done.  My level 90 is one point away from getting all her banquets done.  Blizzard released details about the new expansion pack.  My husband is so excited.  I actually don't like new expansions.  I feel like I just get used to one and they have to go and change it.  I tend to be a laid back, slow player and all the fast ones are done with everything and bored.  I'm just not excited especially since many of the things are for raiders and I am not one.  Also I tend to like every other expansion and this is the "other" one.  I'm sure it will grow on me but right now I feel a bit like a scrooge. 

I listened to a lot of podcasts yesterday.  Fiberista Files, Knitabulls, Skein after Skein and Homespun. Heather (Fiberista Files) talked about her retreat.  It sounded lovely but I don't know if I will ever be able to attend.  The Knitting Pipeline one is closer so I have a better chance of getting to that one.  Something is weird with either the website or something but I have an hard time listening to Homespun.  I didn't even get to Dramatic Knits or Knitting Pipeline.  I'll have to listen to that next time.

Today I'm not getting much done.  The kids are home so it throws off my plans.  I even skipped my exercise today and Friday.  I have to get back on track.  I think tomorrow I'll watch Flower Boy Ramin Shop. I watched one episode and was not thrilled but the rule is three episodes. 

I made lots of little shapes for my nephew.  I may make one or two more but I think I'm done with that.  I usually make baby blankets for everyone but when my littlest niece was born my sister was asking for cloth diapers so I bought her that instead.  My son is very distressed that she didn't get a baby blanket like the rest of the cousins so I may have to do that for Christmas. Other than that I think I will buy the rest of the presents.  I made a doll once for one of the nieces and it was horrid I don't want to make that mistake again.

I really enjoyed getting back to my sweater again.  I worked on the second sleeve and got up to just before the second leaf pattern.  That means it's only 12 more rounds till I join the sleeves.  I'm nervous.  I think I may finish this sweater early.  As my NerdWars dissertation I planned for it to take me till the end of December.  At this rate I'll be 100% finished by the end of November (including blocking, weaving in ends and adding buttons).  The farther I get on it the more I really hope it fits. 

I was looking at my stats and it said that someone form Malaysia had looked at my page.  This made me smile.  My best friend from high school was born in Malaysia.  Her grandmother was from India and made the best food.  I don't know if it was Indian of Malaysian food but it was so good.  I'm afraid of going to an Indian restaurant as I don't think anyone's cooking can live up to grandma's cooking.  I miss my friend.

Here is a unicorn I made for my daughter with Easter egg dyed yarn. 

I had fun with Running Man yesterday.  The episodes where they filmed in Thailand made it look like a fun place to visit.  I had to show my daughter the part with the Turkish ice cream. There was so much interesting food.  The "Running Man hunter" episode was interestingly creepy.  It was funny he was so scary the first day and so funny the second day.  I recognized the characters from Protect the Boss.  It's always fun when you recognize someone.  Today I'm just playing WOW.

I am still working on shapes for my nephew.  I'm making a scarf like piece where I change needle sizes and color periodically.  I want to make a sock like tube before I move on to crochet.  I probably won't get much knitting done today because I'm playing WOW.  That's about it.   

Here is my counter when I was doing some Easter egg dying (of wool not Easter eggs).  It was fun but I want to move on to the nicer food coloring but I haven't had a chance yet. 

I did watch two episodes of Running Man yesterday but I want to watch more so I'm watching today as well.  I used my I-cord maker to make some "snakes" for my nephew to take apart.  I also have some braided pieces.  One of the fun things about this project is that I don't have to weave in any ends :)  I don't think I have anything else interesting to say except that the Running Man episodes in Thailand are really cool.

Here are some mittens I made for my son.  They are way to big.  It's kind of ok though not only can he grow into them he can wear a pair of those cheap "magic stretch" gloves under them for extra warmth.

I did play WOW yesterday but I didn't make much progress.  I'm still sad about my level 90 so WOW is not as fun right now.  I am looking forward to watching Running Man today.  I will sit and watch and work on the little shape for my nephew.  I did finish the Hitchhiker yesterday but it is not blocked of photographed.  I may not get much done today because it's my errand day with my friend and it's parent teacher confrences. I'll try to do the blocking tomorrow but the kids are off school so that may be a problem.  On the plus side my daughter is sometimes my photographer so she might help (the picture of the monsters she took). 

I did get my exercises done yesterday just really late.  I plan to add more jogging in on Friday.  Jogging in place is just not very fun but that's about all I can do right now.  My husband is talking about getting me an exercise bike for Christmas so we'll see.

On a nature side of things we had a frost this morning.  It's not the first but it's not a hard frost yet. It's the kind that just dusts the roofs, grass and cars but melts once the sun really gets up.  The kids really enjoyed the frost edges on the fallen leaves.  They kept bring me ones saying, "Look at this one mommy, isn't it pretty?"  The seasons are changing and it's supposed to snow next week. 

When I was in college I had a group of friends that were really close.  We all were/are readers and have a similar sense of humor. Sadly I live far from them now but through the magic of Facebook we still keep at least somewhat in touch.  Today through a series of posts I am reminded why I love and miss them.  Maybe I can visit them one of these days (sadly the last time I saw everyone was for the funeral).  I don't want to leave this on a sad note, I was just remembering why they are my friends.

Here is my knitting practice.  A lot of people love hand made washcloths but they seem too bulky to me.  I don't know if I need to use a bigger needle (hook) or something else.  I don't think I'll make many more.

I got distracted yesterday.  I turned on Knitting Pipeline to listen to wile I did my chores and then I didn't stop.  I meant to play WOW but I ended up just listening and working on my Hitchhiker.  I'll play WOW today and I'm almost done with my Hitchhiker.

I kind of messed up my Hitchhiker.  Have you ever heard of "Random act of Pattern Tuesday?"  This was started on Ravelry a wile back and one Tuesday, Heather (Fiberista Files) asked if anyone wanted any of her patterns.  I said "yes I would love to make your 'don't cage me in' socks."  She gifted me the pattern and I passed on the love by gifting other people a pattern.  I tried to do the socks and did ok at first.  It was the first time I had done traveling stitches and I felt I was doing well and learning so much.  The problem was when I hit the heel.  Because of my weight my foot is a regular size but after that my ankle and calf grow a lot.  I had a ton of trouble turning the heel no matter what way I tried.  I decided that I needed to make plain socks first so I would know how many stitches to increase before I tried a more complicated pattern.  So I pull it out and make the Hitchhiker.  Now since some of  the yarn was knitted it is all bumpy.  I should have soaked it or steamed it or something but I didn't.  So most of the scarf/shawl is fine but now the last few inches don't lay right (the bumpy part was in the middle of the ball).  I am hoping it will block out if not I think it will still be ok because I don't think anyone who is not a knitter will notice the difference when it's wrapped around my neck.  I seem to do this with projects where I mess it up a little somehow.  I know there are some people who put mistakes in on purpose and I'm ok with that but I don't like the ones that seem to crop up uninvited.    
I have about three rows left on the Hitchhiker (I just have to switch needles for the bind off) and then I can start a new project.  I know I said I would work on my daughter's socks but I just found out what I can make for my nephew.  He has autism and even though he is 10 toys and games for 10 year olds are either to complicated for him or not interesting.  If you buy something for what you think his ability level is he is offended by what he perceives as a baby toy.  This makes buying Christmas and birthday presents complicated.  I was talking to my sister yesterday and we hit on an idea.  He likes to take fabric apart (he has a rag he carries around with him and tears parts off) so my sister gave him some yarn and he likes that too.  I am planning to make a bunch of shapes (crochet and knit) that he can unravel then un-ply the yarn.  I will probably just wrap a couple and give the rest to my sister so she can hand them out one at a time.  I'll make these really quick then back to my daughter's socks.

I feel like I'm on hold for a bit.  Three times a year the apartment we live in sprays for bugs.  I feel like I can't do anything (exercise, shower, organize etc.) till they come.  They are only in the apartment for a minute but I still have to wait for them.  I do plan to exercise but it will be late after they leave. 

The weather here is definitely fall.   Not the fun kind where the weather is nice and all the trees are beautiful.  It's windy and wet and overcast.  I know it's part of the changing seasons but it does make it hard to wake up.  A friend of mine mentioned the November rain and that made me think of the song by Guns and Roses.  It was kind of fun and nostalgic to listen to it so even on this gray day there can be a little smile. 

Here is some yarn I beaded and spun.  I spent a long time putting beads on tufts of fiber.  I then spun the fiber and plied it with an unbeaded ply.  It was kind of fun but it took a long time and has some thick/thin issues where the fiber would not draft through the beads. I'm not sure if I would do it again.

I enjoyed podcast day.  I listened to Wolfe Farms, Dramatic Knits, Homespun, and old episodes of Knitting Pipeline.  I thought it was funny that Dawn (Wolfe Farms) was wearing her Hitchhiker wile I was working on mine.  I really like hearing Paula (Knitting Pipeline) talk about the nature in her back yard.  I think it was funny that she was talking about bats on a day when my daughter and I saw a bat outside. 

The subject I want to talk about is acrylic.  This is can be a hot topic in crafting circles.  They were talking about it on the Home Spun podcast.  The two women (I don't know their names yet) had different views.  One started with acrylic and feels it has it's place but she has moved on now to other fibers and would like to get it out of her stash.  The other was taught with wool and never looked back and won't use it at all.  The sort of "anti-acrylic" one (I think her name is Molly) said she thinks that if more people started with nice fiber they may enjoy knitting more than trying to learn with scratchy acrylic.  Wile she may have a point for some people, my thing with beginning crafting was the price.  If someone had told me I had to make things with wool or something like that I would not have pursued it just based on price alone.  As I continue on my crafting journey I see why people like natural fibers better but many times I can't afford it.  I use the cheaper acrylics for amigurumi (knit or crochet toys) and the "baby" kind for baby blankets.   I have been told this is a bad idea as acrylic can melt.  Wile this is true I don't think me making a baby blanket will mean life and death.  Very few people use open flames and if there is a house fire there is more to think about than a blanket.  I use the nicer acrylics for scarves and even my sweater.  I would like to use more wool and other natural fibers but many people do not know how to take care of them and they are sometimes cost prohibitive.  I just think acrylic has it's place and should not be looked down on quite so much. 

Ok getting off my soap box.  Speaking of my sweater I had some trouble with it.  It was nothing to do with the pattern, just me.  I was using magic loop and lost the end so my second leaf was off a bit.  I "tinked" (knit backward or taking it out) it back and fixed it.  I also lost count of the rows in between the two patterns so one sleeve may end up being one row longer than the other.  I finished one sleeve and am a little concerned that I will finish it early. I can see how experienced knitters say they finish it in one day.  I worked some on my Hitchhiker as well.  I have 34 "teeth." I know I can get to 35 and will have to evaluate after that how much yarn I have left. 

I think that's it for today.  I plan to play WOW today so maybe I'll have some progress tomorrow. 

Here is some beautiful yarn I spun.  I didn't wind it well but it's really pretty.  I'm not sure what the yardage is. 

I'm a little sad with WOW.  I realized that my level 90 is pretty much done for now.  My computer is not able to run raids or anything else.  She's just has to wait till I get a new computer.  Of course I could do dailies and farming (I mean in Half Hill) but that is kind of boring.  I may start a new toon to make up for it.  I still have my lower toons to work on but it was still a little sad.

Yesterday I had an anime day.  My husband and I sat down and watched a bunch of anime to see what we liked and what we didn't.  There is still a bit more we want to see but it's a start.  Next time I have a kdrama day I'll go back to Running Man and pick a new drama to watch.  It's not that I don't like anime anymore but nothing has grabbed me. 

Today I doing a podcast day.  I got an invitation to a new podcast (they only have one episode) but I am having a terrible time getting it to load.  It looks like it will be a good one.  I'm looking forward to working on my sweater.  I'm still not sure how much to increase the sleeves.  I guess as long as it's too big and not to small.  On my Hitchhiker I have 32 "teeth."  I'm really hoping to get to 35 but the ball is getting small.  I need to make more things otherwise I'll run out of pictures.

I did do exercises today.  I marched and plan to add the jogging back on Wednesday.  I got warm almost sweaty but I think that is because my husband put the heat up to high.  It's our little battle as he gets cold easy.  Nothing exciting going on here. :)

This is a shrug I made for my daughter.  The dress had no sleeves and the wedding was indoors with air conditioning on and I thought she would be cold.  The yarn is kind of metallic so she finds it a bit scratchy but I made another out of plain acrylic and she likes that one. 

Wow I got 200 views!  It makes me excited even if they never stay.  I like that I am getting a few views from over seas.  So far it's been Russia, Germany, South Korea, Indonesia and Ukraine.  I have started telling my family about the blog a bit but my hobbies aren't really the same as theirs so I don't expect them to find it that interesting.  I hope some of the people who have looked have found it a little interesting or entertaining.

I tried to play WOW yesterday but I didn't get to do much so I plan to play today as well.  Later today my husband said we can run scenarios  together.  I did get my hunter to level 56.  If she gets to level 57 I'll leave Swamp of Sorrows.  Tomorrow I plan to watch anime.

I haven't done much crafting but at last count the Hitchhiker "teeth" was 25.  I know I'll be able to get to 30 but not sure if I will make 42.  I just have to keep telling myself that I need to finish my daughter's socks before I start something else but it's hard because I have so many ideas running around in my head. I never said I was sane :)

The one and only toilet paper roll cover I ever made.  I think it's creepy but my daughter picked the colors.  It's supposed to go with the monkey shower curtain but you can't see that in the picture.

I did have fun watching Running Man yesterday.  Sometimes it ran fine but sometimes it had a little trouble.  Haha cracks me up.  He's probably my favorite right now.  I'm so terrible when the stars change their hair color and cut I really don't recognize them.  Boys over Flowers was my first kdrama but if Kim Hyun-joong doesn't have that hair style I don't recognize him.  I really have trouble with Korean names too.  I totally get the family name first, that's not a problem.  My problem is there seem to be more honorifics than in Japanese so it took me a wile to understand when they were saying names (I mean when I started watching kdrams).  Also the letters don't seem to make the same sounds.  Like Si-on in Good Doctor, when it's said it sounds like "Shoona" is not what I would think of.  This means it takes me the first episode of every kdrama to figure out who is being talked about and every one's name is.

 Wile I was watching I worked on my Hitchhiker, at last count I was up to 23 "teeth".   Because I was paying attention to Running Man and not my knitting, I dropped a few stitches.  I think I actually fixed one of them right.  My shoulders were hurting and I figured out that it's because I tense up my shoulders when I knit.  Doing this on podcast day with that heavy sweater made them sore.  I made a conscious effort to lower and relax my shoulders and they feel ok today.

Today I plan to play WOW but if I am still having latency/lag issues I don't know what I'll be able to get done.  Maybe tonight my husband and I can run some scenarios. I know he wants to run a flex raid but maybe he'll play with me some.  It's fun to actually do things with other people sometime instead of just running around killing things by yourself. 

I helped at the school today and my son's teacher said the kids did like the spiders and another teacher said she liked the ghosts I made.  I didn't correct her and say they were monsters.  Since the new NerdWars challenges came out this morning I think I'll make some things for the school to pass out like the spider bookmarks.  I'm sure I can make something fit into one of the challenges.

I did not sleep well last night and on top of that my daughter woke up at 4:30am with a bloody nose.  You can't do much with that but keep them company and make sure it's stopping.  I just don't feel the best today so I only walked in place for 10 minutes.  I was planning on walking longer but my stomach started hurting (too much chocolate).  I'll get back on track on Monday.