This is the progress on the sweater as of yesterday.  The sleeves are at 18", I only have six more inches.  Taking a break from it was a really good idea.  It didn't feel like such a horrible project when I went back to it.  Even though Nerd Wars in over, for now, and I didn't finish this as my dissertation I will finish this eventually.

Since I kind of took the weekend off I had a lot of podcasts to catch up on.  I did listen to a few episodes of Knit 1 Heat Too as well.  I'm almost up to 2012 on that one.  One downside to listening to poodcasts (if you can call it that) is that I keep adding new projects to my queue.  At least I won't be bored.

It's been rainy and overcast so that makes me sleepy.  Other than that there is nothing interesting going on here.  I guess this will be a short one today.  Once again I feel like there was something I wanted to say but I can't remember.  Oh well, see you next time.

This was as far as I got on the Shaelyn.  It's fairly simple.  I really didn't like it at first because my first lace section doesn't look good.  Now that I'm to the second lace section I think it looks a lot better.  I have quite a bit of the blue so I should be able to make lots of repeats.  I'll work on this tomorrow wile I watch kdrama.

On Saturday I did play WOW so I didn't get any crafting done.  I think I may play WOW on Saturdays in the same way I craft for charity on Sundays.  My level 90 finished Bloodmyst Isle so I'm on to Darkshore which will take a wile because there are 90 quests there.  My hunter got out of Teokkar Forest, into Nagrand and hit level 65.  After taking such a long break it was kind of fun.

Yesterday I worked on the baby mitts but I only got two pairs finished. I'm a little disappointed by this.  The first day I made them, I made five pairs and the times after that I've always made three. Hopefully I'l get back to three next week. I was planing on listening to/ watching podcasts yesterday but my son wanted to spend time with me.  We ended up sitting in bed all day watching Young Justice. Mooky said he had fun.

It's been very rainy here but that's normal for this time of year.  "April shower" and all that. Things are starting to turn green and that's nice to see. I think our May 1st picture will be nice, hopefully I will remember on Thursday.  See you next time.  

It's finished!  I'm doing a little happy dance.  I didn't notice till the picture that the lines of the cone are off.  That is the stuffing not my crochet so I can fix it easily.  My husband was teasing me about the progression of projects form "This is a cool idea I can't wait to get started" to "Ug I hate this I can't wait till I get done."  Part of it was I was making four.  If I had only wanted to make one it wouldn't have been so tedious.  Also I'm crazy because I'm already planning to use this pattern again.  I'm going to use the top scoop and modify the cone to make a cupcake for my niece that will be one in July. I do plan to put beads on it for sprinkles but I'm going to sting them on not sew them on so I don't think she could get them off.

I thought I might skip yesterday because I had a lot of errands.  On Thursday I did work on the shawl and it seems to be coming out well even though my gauge is off.  I worked a little on my Trillian in the car yesterday and when I finally got home I finished the pillow. After I finished the pillow I started working on a shawl. I like the patter it's easy and looks much more complicated than it is.  I have to rip it out though because it calls for a US size 9 and those are in the shawl so I tried a 10 and that's just too big.  I was going to listen to podcasts and work on the sleeves today (yuck) but I think I may play WOW.   I told my husband he could cancel my account but he never did.  Tomorrow I'll work on more baby mitts.

I don't remember anything special about podcasts on Thursday.  I did get to watch a few episodes of ... Alice yesterday.  Everything is about to fall apart.  I have been told that everything will work out in the end but there are going to be a lot of tears first.  I think I have four episodes left, so maybe one or two more watching days.

I don't think I have anything else to say.  The weather was beautiful yesterday and I really enjoyed it.  It's time to start supper (crockpots are wonderful things) and that's it.  See you next time.

This is my plan for my secret sister shawl.  The main body in blue and the last edge in red.  I would have liked to mix it up more but this is all I have.  It's the left overs from my sister's sweater.  I decided to go with the recommended needle size even thought my gauge is not the same. I think it will be o.k.  It also starts with a provisional cast on for a garter tab which seems excessive.  Why can't you just do a garter tab?  So I'm going to. Hopefully tomorrow I will show you some progress.  I did work on my husband's sleeves but they are not fun to work on so I didn't make more progress.  If I don't get more stuffing for the ice cream pillow I'll cast on something new tomorrow.  I washed the baby mittens (in fragrance free soap), tied each pair together with a little tag and put them in snack bags.  I hope to mail them tomorrow.

...Alice is about what I expect right now.  He loves her, she loves him and they want to be together forever but that can't happen, someone will try to mess it up.  In the standard formula there is about to be a big miscommunication.  There will be tears and I suspect someone will threaten someone else's family.  It's not a bad drama I just would kind of like something a little funnier.

I think that's all I have to say today.  My life just isn't that interesting, it's pretty normal.  I'm at the point in the housework were I think might have the majority of it under control so I can start going through closets and storage.  I'm always nervous to do this as it seems to make a bigger mess.  We'll see what I get done.  I'll see you next time.

I was hoping to post a finished ice cream pillow picture today but I ran out of stuffing. Instead you get a growing Trillian.  It's a fairly simple mindless pattern but I did get off a couple of times.  I don't think anyone will notice.  Today I plan to work on m husbands sleeves and see if I can hit 20".  I also need to get the things I have made written up and put into Nerd Wars but I just haven't gotten around to it.

I did listen to some podcasts yesterday but nothing stands out.  Today I'm going to watch more kdrama and I'll try it on Gooddrama for now and maybe nxst time try Hulu again.  It's kind of making me think I may want a little kdrama break.  We'll see.

I told you I finished Let's Eat but didn't say much about it.  It gives me the Flower Boy Next Door feeling where neighbors who don't know each other come together over something.  Wile there is a murder sort of in the background it is a really light and fluffy drama.  I don't think that it's a spoiler that the bad guy is caught but the actor who plays that roll does a good job.  He's sweet looking one minute and looks completely crazy the next.  The food really is the star of the drama so there is a lot of slurping, munching and "mmmmm" over the food.  If food noises bother you this is not the drama for you.  I don't mind them and every once in a wile it felt like it went on just a bit too long.  I think it's a good drama but not the best ever.  If you like sweet romantic comedies you should like this.  

Yesterday wile we were waiting to have the carpet cleaned (the apartment complex pays for it once a year) my husband and I watched some new animes.  Black Bullet was o.k, another "giant bugs that will eat you" premise.  Baby Steps is a tennis anime.  I don't think it's as good as Prince of Tennis but much more realistic. I enjoyed the fact that there really wasn't any fan service. Haikyu! is a volleyball anime in the classic shonen style.  I may watch those more than Hunter X Hunter since it's so dark.  That is my problem with anime right now, no plots are really grabbing my attention. Ones that are kind of interesting are really dark and ones that are lite are way to "Moe."

I think that's it for today.  I feel like there was something else I wanted to say but I can't remember it now.  That's pretty normal for me though. See you next time.

Here is another picture that isn't very good but here is the Trillin so far.  I think the yarn works well with the pattern.  It's a bit bigger than that now since it's my "waiting room knitting. "

I made a swatch for the secret sister shawl but I really don't like the way most of the fabric looks.  I set it aside so I can look at it with new eyes later.  I had to go up two needle sizes to get gauge and it just seems so loose.  I do have more yarn than is called for so if my gauge is a little tighter it might be o.k. I'll figure it out later. Today I will work on getting the last of the ice cream pillows sewn together.  I have no idea when I can mail it since it's so big.  Tomorrow I plan to work on my husband's sweater again.  bla.

I finished Running Man and Let's Eat on the same day.  A new Running Man should be out next week but I'm caught up for now.  I went back to ... Alice and I remember why I liked it but I feel bad waiting for the misunderstandings that will come (and they will come).  When I finish ... Alice I plan to finish Faith.  I've noticed that my Kdrama watching style has changed a little.  I used to love watching shows on Hulu, in fact I would avoid shows that were not on Hulu or Netflix.  I liked to sit comfortably on the couch and watch rather than in the hard chair in front of my computer.  I couldn't watch Running Man on either of those so I was watching things on Gooddrama.net.  Gooddrama breaks the episodes up in four to six pieces and you have zero to two adds before each section that are about thirty seconds long each.  The commercials are repetitive but they tend to be for cereal, cleaning products or allergy medicine.  Now that I'm done with the things that I had to watch at the computer I went back to Hulu and was a bit disappointed.  I know they have commercials and I don't mind that but I mind what the commercials are for.  I know they are trying to get the information out there but I don't enjoy the political commercials, they just seem to be shoving things down your throat.  They also had a couple adds for a very scary (to me) movie and I was just glad my kids weren't around to see it or they might have had nightmares.  I'll have to think about it more but I may go back to Gooddrama.

I was watching the birds out the window today.  The sparrow and the robins both seem to be building nests in the bush outside our window.  It's funny to see them flying around with bits of dried grass in their beaks.  I could be wrong but it really seemed that the robin was harassing the sparrows.  The day it beautiful today and the sun is shining so I think today is a good day.  I'll see you next time.  

It feels like Saturday because the kids are off school for one more day.  This is the project we worked on.  We got the little colored "chocolate" discs, melted them and squirted them in a mold.  This was the first time I tried doing the double boiler method and I didn't do it well. They still taste sweet but they don't look the greatest.  These are the ones that turned out the best.  The other shapes were dull and broke easily.  It also makes a big mess.

I worked on my husband's sleeves but I didn't get very far.  I think they are at 17" last time I measured.  I'm glad I am doing them two at a time because I think I would dread making the second sleeve.  Yesterday I made three pairs of baby mitts in red and orange.  Today I'm swatching for my secret sister's shawl.  The Trillian is getting some love as a before bed and waiting room project.

Running Man wasn't that great till near the end.  It was a cross country race so I felt like there were a lot of shots of people traveling till the end when there were more games. This is the last episode and I'm caught up.  I've also been watching some Let's Eat and I'm on the last episode of that as well.  I'm going to finish up ...Alice after that.  I have lots of plans.

Podcasts yesterday were good.  It was interesting to hear Heather's (Highland Handmade) recap of Stitches South.  Knitting Butterflies had some interesting information on photography.  On Knit 1 Heart Too they had Meliabella from His and Hers on and they really looked like they were having fun.  I was going to listen to Dramatic Knits but he hadn't posted when I looked.  I'll catch him next time.

Outside of making chocolates I don't think we had anything else going on.  We did go to Easter service and I got a great picture of the kids in their Easter cloths (same ones we will use for E's wedding).  It's raining today but it's warm so we are headed in the right direction.  I think that's it for now.  See you next time.

Here's me with another weird look on my face.   The picture with the best background has the weirdest expression.  The stripy scarves now have matching hats.  When it gets colder again I'll make matching fingerless glove.

I was feeling like I didn't want to do any of the projects I was supposed to do so I cast on something new.  I started the Trillian by Martina Behm.  I don't really like tweed but it's so popular.  My last yarn club shipment was tweed and I wasn't sure what to do with it.  This pattern looks really good with the yarn and the pattern is really good "waiting room knitting."  It's a nice easy thing when I'm tired or stressed out.  I did finish the cone on the last ice cream pillow, I just need to sew it together.  Today I will definitely work on my husband's sweater.  I really need to start the shawl for  my secret sister as well.

The last time I watched Running Man it was the second part of the Australia episode.  I got about half way through and Gooddrama stopped working. I don't know if it was me or them so I switched over to Hulu and watched a couple of episodes of Let's Eat.  I remember how much I liked it.  It's very cute and cheesy but then right when it starts to get too sappy they remind you there is a murder on the loose.  There are only a few Running Man episodes left so then back to Let's Eat.

Yesterday I watched podasts.   Knitting in Circles was back and I also watched Home Spun House and Knit 1 Heart Too.  I can't remember anything especially interesting or different.  It's still fun to see other people's projects and get new inspiration.  I have too many ideas and not enough time.

Yesterday was not as fun as I was hoping.  I was trying to do something fun for the kids but it just turned into fighting and crying.  It figures that I want to make up for it and do other fun things with the kids and will probably try again.  I think I may just be crazy or something.  If this project turns out well I'll show it next time.    

It looks like a little volcano or something doesn't it?  This is my second stripy hat.  It's actually finished but I didn't take a picture of it yet.  Today I don't know what I'll get done but I'll try to work on my husband's sweater.

Listening to podcasts yesterday was interesting.  Kimberly (The Giving Flower) went to a German wool fest. It was interesting and makes me wish I could go to one. So many pretty colors and it looked like fun. Sadly I'm trying not to buy yarn I don't need.  Right now I have the yarn for My husbands sweater, the ice cream pillow and the shawl for my secret sister so I don't "need" more.  Amy Beth (The Fat Squirrel Speaks) was funny but I don't remember anything specific.  The rest of the time I listed to Knit 1 Heat Too.

I'm not trying to be mean but the music teacher is not getting on my good side.  I'm sure she is nice in real life but the notes she sends home are worded badly to me. She has a big project for the kids to do for their final grade.  The paper that was sent home about it explained that there was a big project coming and that the parents can help but not do it for the kids.  That's fine but does she have to add that they need to spend more than five minutes on it?  I think she could have worded it better. The kids are supposed to build an instrument and present it to the class.  I hope she sends home more instructions on how the presentation should be made (she was vague in the note).  It actually sounds like a fun project but I just get this weird vibe from her notes.

The weather has been slowly warming up (it's in the 40's not the 20's) but I haven't been sleeping well.  Today it's a bit overcast so I just want to crawl in bed and go back to sleep.  I have to leave in about an hour to take my son to an appointment so that is not a good idea.  I'm just whining now so I'll stop and  see you next time.

A wile back someone talked to me about making his daughter a Totoro.  I told him maybe for Christmas but since I had the stuff out I made a little one.  I have eyes too but I didn't put them on yet.  It will probably stay like this for a wile as a back up project so don't expect much progress on it.

I have been working on the stripy hat.  It took me forever to cast on because it kept getting twisted when I joined in the round.  I think I'm over half way to the decreases.  The problem there is I don't think I have any more stitch markers.  I'll probably use the tiny rubber bands from my daughter's bracelet making supplies. I found my cable needle! The sleeves are what I'm going to work on as soon as the hat is finished.  I finally got the yarn for the cone on the ice cream pillow so hopefully I can get that finished and mailed soon. I also bought fragrance free laundry detergent so I can wash the things I will send to the PRR OB ward.

Running Man was kind of fun. They recruited  students from different universities to build boats to go across the Han river again. I thought the water bottle and can boats would do better and I thought the plastic bag boat would do worse.  I actually thought the blanket boat was a good idea. The cast is in Australia now.  I can't believe I only have about five episodes till I'm caught up.  On Eat Your Kimchi they had a "black day" kdrama watch-a-long.  Black day is April 14th because February 14th is when girls give boys chocolate and March 14th when boys give girls something white so black day is for single people.  On black day you are supposed to eat black bean noodles so they ordered that and watched Let's Eat because it's about food.  It made me want to watch it again.  Maybe next week I can get back to it.

I got a view form China!  I haven't had more new views so that was exciting.  The weather here is still colder than I would like but it's not too bad.  Other than that there's nothing interesting here so I'll see you next time.

These are the baby mittens I made on Sunday.  Since I'm just making the same thing over and over in different colors I may not show them next time.  I do want  to make some nursing covers but I don't have the yarn for it and I am really trying not to buy more.

I finished the secret project and sent it off.  I forgot to take a picture of it.  I've given up on getting the sweater finished so I am going to make one more hat first.  The only things I have left for the Epic KAL/CAL are a hat and the sweater so I'll do the hat and get it submitted.  I have to write the solar flair hat up for Nerd Wars. Planned upcoming projects are a shawl for my secret sister and making something out of the yarn that I got from the person who had me as a secret sister for her.  That sentence was awkward but I didn't know how else to explain it.

Wolfe Farms podcasted from a poppy field so that was interesting.  I'm still getting caught up on Knit 1 Heart Too.  That may take a wile because they have been podcasting since 2011.  Today I'll watch Running Man.  

Yesterday it snowed and now it's cold.  We didn't have any snow stick by north and east of us it did.  It's supposed to warm up by the weekend but I pulled out the kids winter coats again. I was talking (on Ravelry) to someone who live about forty five minutes north and she joked that the weather in the Midwest is so crazy so we have something to talk about. At least there were no worms on the basketball court this morning.  See you next time.    

I finished the Solar Flair hat.  I've never made a hat this shape before.  I'm not sure I like the style but it was fun and easy to knit.  It is the Barley by Tincanknits, it's part of her "Simple Collection" where she shows you how to make different things.  I may make this again with out so much slouch.  It looks really good on my son surprisingly enough.

This weekend I finished the hat and on Sunday I worked on the baby mitts.  I had more things to do this Sunday so I only got three pairs done, I'll show those next time.  Today I'm assembling the secret knitting so that hopefully I can mail it tomorrow.  I still haven't found my cable needle so I'll have to use a bigger size which is harder but I can make it work.

I've been enjoying Knit 1 Heart Too.  It seems that like many podcasters aren't putting out new episodes as often as they used to.  For Running Man there wasn't an exceptional episodes.  The winter Olympic one was o.k. but it seemed more focused on pain than on fun (doing things in freezing cold water).  The CN Blue episode was fun but that was more to do with CN Blue than the games.  The "My Love From Another Star" episode was kind of dumb actually and Ji Hyo looked horrid in 1600's men's cloths.

We were cleaning over the weekend. I washed and put away the winter coats.  It was so warm and beautiful on Saturday.  It even smelled like spring if you know what I mean. Yesterday was warm and rainy on and off all day.  The grass was green this morning instead of the yellow brown it has been.  There were also worms on the basketball court.  My daughter hates worms.  She was freaking out and had to go all the way about the basket ball court. I told here they were still in the grass she just couldn't see them.  She said "No, no their not" in her best denial voice.  Some kids at the bus stop were playing with some which didn't help.  They came up to us and said "We put worms in our pockets"  I told them that wasn't a good idea since they would die so they put them back in the grass.  Amey was not amused.  She should be fine coming home though since it's snowing now.  Snow!  (grumble)  It's melting as soon as it hits the ground and looks like rain.  Spring in the Midwest, what fun.  I feel bad for the robins hopping around outside the window, they look so cold.  Maybe they will eat the worms and solve the whole problem.

I only exercised one day lase week.  I decided to add Tuesday and Thursday in so that I will be getting something done even if I have a crazy week. I only did three repeats of the interval and plan to do four on Wednesday and some push ups  and sit ups tomorrow.  I think that's it for today, see you next time.

Here is progress on the hat.  I was supposed to work on my husband's sleeves but I can't find my cable needle.  I worked a bit in the secret project but it needs assembly so I didn't finish.  The hat is going very well.  It's so soft and squishy.

Running Man hasn't been that great.  I did like the boys against girls episode but it could have been that it had just been Lee Jong Suk.  Since I have no interest in fortune telling that episode wasn't really interesting.  The episode that the the fan from Hong Kong made was fun.  We'll see how the rest of the episodes shape up.  

I really have nothing to say.  No interesting stories or new projects. The weather is beautiful. It's such a nice spring day, sadly we are spending it cleaning.  We'll do more fun things as the spring goes on.  I'll see you next time. 

This is a terrible picture, I look drunk or something.  It's hard to take a picture of yourself.  I have some comparisons from one "Hitchhiker" to the other.  The first one was made from 400 yards of 80% merino and 20% nylon on a US size 4 (3.5 mm).  The second one was made from 425 yards of 60% Merino, 30% Bamboo, 10% Nylon on a US 3 (3.25).  After blocking they are a similar thickness but the second one is a tiny bit thicker. The fist one is an inch longer and a quarter of an inch smaller at the widest point. The first one has 37 points and I had a little left over but not enough to make another point.  The second has 38 points and the left over yarn was the size of a grape.  I was getting worried about the bind off.  It's interesting how they can be so similar and so different at the same time.  I'll have a picture of them both at the end.

I didn't watch many podcasts yesterday because I drove my friend around (That was a mess in itself).  I couldn't get Homespun House to play so I'll have to check back tomorrow and see if it's working.  I only got a tiny bit done on the sleeves and the hat is now the easy knitting so it got a little work as well.  Today I'm working on the secret project and back to the sleeves if I finish.

My friend tends to pay cash for things and try and use lay-away plans when she can. Unfortunately most systems are not set up that way so she got a bit of the run around yesterday.  We went to a store to make a layaway on a double stroller.  The one style they had in the store was not one she wanted (one kid facing forward the other facing back) so I suggested that she asked if we could go on line and see if there was a better style and still get the lay-away (so maybe this is all my fault).  "Sure you can do that" says the people at the lay-away desk.  I told her my friend we can look it up later an do it at home.  "Oh you can do it in the store at the front desk" they say. Great even easier.  Nope. The computer at the front was having some sort of issue and kept kicking us out.  My friend found some lovely styles and wanted to buy one but the lady at the desk said, "I'm sorry this says it's shipped by the parent company warehouse not ours so we can't do lay-away but if you go to the parent company store maybe they can help you." (She was not rude at all and really trying help) Less great but o.k.  The parent company store is across the river in another state but not terribly far.  We go to the parent company and have more trouble.  There were no double strollers carried in the store at all so we had to look on line. Style 1 is only available at a store hours from us and can't be shipped for some reason (no note of this on the website till you try to buy it).  Style 2 is not shipped from their warehouse but and outside company so it does not qualify for lay-away and needs to payed in full before it will be shipped.  As we were checking out our other items she told the cashier "I'll be back tomorrow and my aunt will get it for me" (then she would pay her aunt back).  The cashier (up till this point we had been dealing with management) says "Oh I'd have to ask management about that since you are having it shipped to your house." At this point I call BS.  I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I walked in there and said "I would like to buy this but it's a gift for my sister so ship it to her address" they would do it.  After all this I was a bit frustrated.  Part of my frustration was that this company has been in the news sometimes for having financial issues.  If this is the way they do business it's no wonder.  Until the last cashier the employees were trying to be as helpful as possible so it's not their fault.  Something is wrong with the company if they make a purchase so complicated.  Now I realize my friend is not trying to do things the "normal" way but still this seems unnecessarily complicated.  I guess it's a not that big a deal in the grand scheme of things but it was frustrating.

O.k. now that I'm done fussing I'll tell you something a little more fun.  The third grade class I make copies for read a story called "Suki's Kimono" so I took Amey's yukata in to show the class.  I borrowed Amey form her class because it just doesn't look the same on a hanger and I can't touch any of the other kids (you kind of have to touch the person to put it on).  I showed them which way to wrap it because the other way means your dead.  One little girl said "so if you wrapped it that way you had to kill yourself?"  The teacher said no it was just like how we dress people when they die.  The next question (night have been from the same child) was "why do we put clothes on people when they die?"  I said, "that is an entirely different subject." The rest of the demonstration was uneventful with the teacher just pointing out the sleeves and the obi.  Before she took off the yukata Amey wanted to show her teacher then I moved on to stapling for the kindergaten.  I thought it was kind of funny so I thought you might too.  Here is the picture of the two hitchikers together. See you next time.

I know I said I would talk about the Hitchhikers but Mooky's tie came.  I bought the fabric and and sent to to Play Patch on Etsy who made a tie and sent it and the left over fabric back..  If you need something custom for you kids (like a 1st birthday shirt) I would look into them (if you are in the U.S., other wise shipping might a problem).  I have a bunch of fabric left I could make him a vest front or something, we'll see.

I did lay out the Hitchhiker and it seems blocking it is making a big difference.  I didn't pin it or anything but I think the weight of the water when I rolled it in a towel stretched it some, so now it's similar to the first one.  I worked on the hat some but I forgot to bring the bigger needle tips to the Hockey game so I had to stop after the ribbing.  I don't usually like orange colors but I really like this hat and it's really squishy. Today I'll work on the sleeves, 16" at last count, and tomorrow I will work on the second part of the secret project.

Running Man was o.k. I'm trying to remember if there was something that stuck out.  Oh, the cooking battle. That was a lot of fun and made me really want to try bibimbop (or how ever you spell it, there are multiple ways).  They did play a tiny bit of Zotto Mola in the background in one scene and in made me fan girl a bit, I really like that song.  Other than that I really don't remember anything special.   If I think of some thing else I'll write it next time. The rest of this will be about hockey so if you aren't interested see you later.

I was really nervous about going but we had a lot more fun that I thought.  I learned a lot of things.  The first was I know nothing about hockey.  If someone was to ask you "How do you play basketball?" and you said that you dribbled the ball and tried to get in the basket that wouldn't be wrong but it would leave out a lot. That was my level of understanding of hockey.  You hit the puck around on the ice and tried to get in the net.  I knew a bit more than that like that scores were generally low and there were three periods.  I didn't realize the hitting the puck in the air was a legitimate tactic, not a mistake and I have no idea what things were "wrong" that people were getting penalties for.

Another thing I learned was that hockey may be interesting enough not to take knitting to. The only other professional sport I have ever attended was baseball (the Cubs at Wrigley) and I didn't like it.  It's so slow.  I have attended college football but I never considered myself a spots person so it was more obligatory than because I thought it was fun.  I didn't mind basketball but there were other things to watch on TV.  I really wanted to watch the WNBA when it started but I didn't get that channel at the time.  This was different.  It was fast which I liked and there was a really fun atmosphere.  Now I haven't been to a Cubs game in fifteen years but there is an nostalgic feeling about the place and it just feels old sometimes and this felt modern and lively.

Our local team are the Quad City Mallards and we won so that made it even more fun. Apparently the referee was not a good one.  The one and only goal the other team scored had some sort of pile up in front of the goal where a member of the other team tripped over the goalie and ended up in the goal.  The regular fans were really upset.  The other team scored the one goal and we got two in the first period and then no points were scored in the second period at all.  When we scored a third goal with eight minutes left in the third period I was pretty sure we would win since wile it's possible to score three points in eight minutes that it rather difficult. At the three minute mark the other team pulled their goalie and we scored another point so they put the goalie in and we scored again.

I was worried about little seats and they were, but at least there weren't a lot of people so I found a comfort but but weird way to sit. I was worried about my son getting bored and he did really well till about the last ten minutes.  The other problem was that it was really loud for him.  If we go again we may need to get him some ear plugs.  It wasn't the best idea to do it on a school night but I think it will be o.k.  My husband and Amey are going again on Friday.  She is really craving some daddy/daughter time.   Sorry I blathered on so much but this may be a new hobby.  I promise not to talk about hockey next time.

I just cast this on, I guess that's obvious. I finished the Hitchhiker so I cast something else on.  I am working on the secret project (which I'm not taking a picture of) and the sleeves (that look the same but longer) so I took a picture of something new.  The yarn is from the yarn club I was in.  It's a fingering so I am holding it double.  I'm not really a orange person but I really like this.

Since I finished the Hitchhiker it's getting ready to be blocked.  When I fished it I found out something interesting.  I thought I made my last one on a US size 3 (3.25 mm), since that is what is called for in the pattern, but I didn't I used a US size 4 (3.5 mm).  It made a big difference.  Once the new one is blocked (I might pin this one out) I'll measure them but the new one is way shorter and of course thicker.  You wouldn't think a .25 mm would make a difference but it does.  So today I mostly finished the secret project or at least part of it so now I'm working on the hat.  Tomorrow it's back to the sleeves.  At last count they were about 15".

Yesterday I caught up on all my podcasts, finished The Giving Flower and Started Knit 1 Heart Too.  I wanted to watch Knittin' on the Fly but for some reason it wouldn't work.  I don't know if it was my computer or her Blogger page or what but I couldn't even get the page to load properly.  My son saw a little of Knit 1 Heart Too and said Wendy looks like me.  When my daughter saw the The Giving Flower was hosted by a mom and her kids she wanted to do a podcast.  I told her we couldn't because we don't have any of the right equipment but she still wants to try.  Maybe she'll forget, one can only hope.

When my sisters were here I showed them some funny patterns on Ravelry, like a banana hammock (literally a hammock that you use to get your bananas off the counter) and grape cozies.  L is obsessed with the grape cozies and wants some for her birthday. They seem so fiddly and unfun so she's not getting any.  Maybe if I get her name for Christmas.  My husband got us tickets to a minor league hockey game and I'm kind of not looking forward to it.  Besides not being a big sports person the idea of sitting for hours in a seat that is too small for my big butt is not thrilling.  I really want to do more things as a family so this is a start and you better believer I'm bringing knitting.The weather is getting warmer but I'm cold today so I think I'll get up and do some housework and maybe that will warm me up.

These are the baby mittens I made on Sunday.  The pattern was Baby Mitts by Susan B. Anderson.  It's free and really easy.  I also printed out some "hand made by:" labels so they are ready to mail.  People are saying that I knit fast but I really don't feel like I do.  I have more of the brown but after that I have some rainbow that I'm excited to use. Yesterday I worked on my secret project and it was o.k. but not quite what I was wanting and I don't know how to fix it.  Today is those horrid sleeves.

Running Man's end of they year (2013) episode was amazing.  I have never seen anything remotely life threatening till this.  The task was to make a boat out of cardboard, duct tape and plastic wrap.  That is an interesting project but then they had to paddle it across the Han river.  Let me say it again.  Paddle a cardboard boat across the Han river! It blows my mind.  On top of that the first boat crossed in just over twenty minutes.  Who thinks of these things.  I am now in 2014 so I'm not that far behind.

I saw a red wing black bird and some sort of weasel creature.  I only saw it's back end as it dived into a hole on the side of the road but it looked like a big weasel.  One of the other ladies in the apartment complex said that she had taken a walk and the big dog wasn't there so maybe I'll start walking again.  I'll finish The Giving Flower today and I still haven't decided what to listen to next.  I'll think of  something when the time comes.  See you next time.  

My sister brought this for me from India.  It's hand beaded ribbon about 1 1/4" by 3 yd. I need to save it for a beautiful project.


My sister (L) went to India for a wile to do medical things since she it a nurse.  Since we hadn't seen her in a wile she and another sister (E) came and visited for about six hours on Saturday.  I felt terrible after they left because I didn't ask her much about her trip, instead we talked abut E's upcoming wedding.  I think it was hard for L in India because of the high mortality rate.  She felt like had there been better equipment, like we have in States, more people could have been saved.  On a happier note we did have fun together. She brought Amey some beaded and mirrored pens and Mooky some mehndi so he can draw his own tattoos. I won't let him play with it now but maybe he can get a cool design for E's wedding.

I did watch some Running Man and I was right the suspect episode was fun.  I have watched Coffee Prince and didn't like it much but Gong Yoo was so funny on Running Man.  It's fun to get to see the actors actually smile and laugh.  The "who is the best looking" episode was a little weird but I did enjoy that Gary was near the top. As far as my podcasts go I am about three or four episodes from finishing The Giving Flower.

I tried to start a sock when my sisters were here but it wasn't working.  Yesterday I made five pairs of baby mittens.  I did mittens because there was a note form the OB ward that mittens are what they have the least of.  Next Sunday I think I may try a different pattern. Today I'm going to work on a secret project.  I  don't think the person it's for reads my blog but better safe than sorry.  I think it's going to require a lot of ripping out and restarting.  If I get it finished I'll go back to the sleeves.  I've taken a bit of a break from them so it may not be so tedious.  I forgot I need to get more of the yarn for the ice cream cone so maybe I'll do that later today.

O.k. today's random thing has to do with WWE wrestling so if you don't care about that then I'll see you next time.  My husband doesn't drink or smoke or cheat on me so outside of a caffeine addiction his vice is WWE wrestling. As stupid as I think it is since he is a good man and a good provider I don't think I need to nag on this topic.  So this week was the big pay per view so of course he was going to watch it.  Since the TV is in the bedroom I get to watch it by default.  I know more about professional wrestling than I ever really want to.  On Saturday night they had the hall of fame induction ceremony and they always induct one celebrity and this time it was Mr. T.  He spent 20-25 minutes preaching (there is no other word for it) about how much he loved his mother.  I'm not making fun of him it was just a surprising topic and style given the program.  It ended late and I was up early with my son so I was already tired when last night's Wrestlemania started.  There was a big upset that has the wrestling community all a buzz.  I was kind of upset because as much as I try not to I do have favorites.  Of course I ended up being up late again so I'm tired today and I blame my husband.  At least it's over, at least until nest year.

Now my blathering is done.  I'll post pictures of the mittens next time.  Now to go do something productive, like laundry.  

We have ice cream pillow progress!  I finished the cone at the knit group.  I have only a tiny bit of yarn left so I need to buy one more ball to finish this off.

Yesterday listening to podcasts was interesting.  I'm not in Instagram and I don't participate in the Knitabulls group because they are so big and talk so fast I can't keep up. Because of this I didn't know that Diane's bulldog Mae died.  It made me cry because I know how much she really loves her bulldogs especially Mae. After telling the story of that she went on a  twenty minute rant about some things that are going on in her life. It seems there has been some high school "he said, she said" things going on in her real life and on Ravelry (same people just in both places).  She apparently has been really hurt and just need to get it off her chest.  It was kind of unprofessional but she never said she was a professional and it must have really hurt her a lot to push her to air it publicly (she never said names or gave specific situations).  Also she did warn that a rant was coming so I could have skipped ahead.  I have felt jealous of Diane before since she has so much more money than I do but I would never want her to be hurt the way she was.  Hopefully getting it out in the open is cleansing and will help her feel better.

As you can see I finished the cone and just need one more cone piece.  This knit night was more fun for me. Part of it I think was I got there earlier and left earlier so it was still light outside.  Another thing that was diffrent was the one lady that seemed to struggle with everything to the point of giving up wasn't there.  I ended up sitting next to the owner and had a nice talk with her.  Not everyone was talking about shows I didn't watch.  I also had a tiny bit of wine but that just made my cheeks hot not anything else.  Now that the weather is nicer I'll try and go more often.

Next time I'll tell you about the visit I had with my sisters and how the charity knitting went. Oh,  I forgot the pattern I made the socks with was called Hearts for you by Megan S. Wright.  Talk to you later.

I know this isn't the best picture but I like the artsy look.  It's the "toy camera" setting on my camera.  I'll put a better picture on my project page.  You can't see the pattern well but that has a lot to do with the fact I didn't know how to make proper yarn overs.

I finished a scoop on the ice cream pillow.  Now all I have left are the cones and the sewing. I did get a tiny bit done on the sleeves but not much.  Today I'm working on a cone then back to the sleeves.  I really am not going to get the sweater done by the end of April since I didn't even start on the front yet.

Running Man was fun.  Ryu Hyun Jin (pitcher for the Dodgers) is so funny, it almost makes me want to watch baseball. What's stopping me are two things: 1) He won't be funny when he plays, 2) I know a couple of die hard Cubs fans that would kill me if I rooted for the Dodgers.  EXO was in an episode but it was really brief so I'm glad I didn't have my daughter sit through the whole thing just for that.  The "suspects" episode I'm watching now looks like it might be funny.

Yesterday I was watching the sparrows outside and decided to look up what kind they were.  It turns out they are House Sparrows.  Aparently they are not native.  I really want to get at least one bird feeder.  My Husband's overnights are over! Yeah!  Now maybe we can get back to a regular schedule.  Today is gloomy and I even saw some snow for a second but the temperature is going in the right direction.  That's it for the random thoughts.  See you next time.

Our late April picture is here.  Look no snow!  This was the first time we saw birds, we have heard them before but couldn't locate them.  Those robins are bold, and every where.  Amey was chasing them around the field trying to get a good picture.  There were other birds there too but I'm not sure what they were.  I thought they were starlings but someone said they could be red wing black birds that don't have their color yet.  I couldn't get close enough to see if them well.  The trees have the little nubby places where the leaves will grow.  I'm glad we went yesterday because it's raining today.

I finished the socks! I don't have a picture yet but they are finished, finally.  I also got another "tooth" on the Hitchhiker and worked on my husband's sleeves.  Today I'm going to work on the ice cream pillow today (remember that?) and then the sleeves again.

I listened to a lot of The Giving Flower yesterday. When I said Kimberly is most like me I meant in family size, age and income.  I like her sense of humor too.  She is way healthier than me and she doesn't use acrylic. I think I'm about half way through her episodes.  She just had her Kintpurlgurl episode.  I always hate when I get to those. Not that I think Knitpurlgurl was a a bad person but seeing the podcasters sad and struggling with the surprise of it all is so sad. I have to start thinking of a new podcast to watch.  I was thinking Knit One Heart Too or Yarnivore.  I need to get around to Knittin' on the Fly as well.

The thing I'm thinking about doing now, and am excited about, is setting aside Sunday for charity knitting (or crochet).  I've been looking for a charity that accepts hand made things and really serves poor people and I think I found it.  On Ravelry there is a group called Bundles of Joy that sends newborn items the an OB ward on Pine Ridge Reservation.  It seems that what the baby gets is what the OB ward can send home with them so there is always a need.  They also have links and addresses for bigger items for school children or the elderly.  I know people say that Sunday is suposed to be a day of rest but making these things is not work for me it's fun.  I'm really looking forward to this.  I think that's it for today.

I like this picture because it makes me feel like a real photographer or like I know what I'm doing. The color is still off a bit but not too bad.   At last count there were thirty two "teeth." I stopped working on it for now because it keeps the kids awake.  Since my husband is working overnight I'm letting them sleep in my room and if I knit they won't go to sleep.

I watch too much Running Man.  I even had a dream about it last night.  I have noticed some weird things about the editing though.  I don't remember them doing this so much before but they seem to cut whole games out and just tell you who won.  There was also a game where if you lost you got a cup of water in the face (a water slap) and when they were saying "o.k. lets start" there was already water all over the floor like they had started and then went back to film the beginning.  On that episode they also didn't show the girls getting water in the face which I thought was weird if they showed the girls game.  I just watched the episode with TOP in it and it was one of the stupidest episodes I've ever seen.  I don't think it was the guests fault, I think it was the writers.  As much as I like TOP I would not recommend that one.

Yesterday I worked on my husband's sleeves, they are finally about half way done.  I know I messed up one sleeve (I skipped a row) so I tried to make the other sleeve a row shorter but they still measure different.  I really don't see how I can finish this by the 28th.  Today I'm working on my daughter's sock. I think I will finish it today.  If I do I'll go back to my husband's sleeves (again, sigh).

I'm tired because my brain woke up at 4:30 am and I couldn't get back to sleep.  I did my exercises but I marched in place instead of jogging.  We forgot to take our April 1st picture yesterday so we will take it today when the kids get home from school.  Two more days of my husband working overnight then he won't have to do them anymore.  It will be nice when we can all get some proper sleep.  When I'm laying awake in bed I can think of lots of interesting things to write but I can't think of them now so I guess that's it.

Here I am writing in the evening again.  These are the sleeves so far.  The color looks funny for some reason.  I think I'm just tired of this project.

I didn't get to listen to as many podcasts as I would have liked yesterday, but what I did listen to was fun.  I'm still jealous of Kimberly (The Giving Flower) because her son likes Star Trek.  My kids just don't like these things.  Maybe some day they will decide it's fun.

I have one more repeat and the ribbing on my daughter's socks.  I'll work more on that tomorrow.  Today I've been working on the sleeves, they are about 13" right now.  I really need to get back to the last of the ice cream pillows.

My husband has three more overnights.  I hope we can make it without getting so tired we start fighting. I had Amey make cornbread from a box and she really enjoyed it.  I know it's not the healthiest but I think she may enjoy "cooking" more with easy things like that. I have a little tickle in the back of my throat, I hope I'm not getting a cold.  See you next time.