Well I had an adventure this weekend and not the good kind.  My head had been itchy and I thought I was allergic to a new shampoo but the itching got worse.  I discovered I somehow got lice.  Not my kids, me.  I don't know how, I don't share brushes or hats. My sister thinks it's just from being in the school in general but I don't know.  So I had the fun of treating the whole family and washing tons of laundry.  It's so frustrating and because I was busy I didn't do any crafting for about two days.  See not all adventures are fun.

I didn't really get anything done yesterday mostly because I had a meeting at the school for my son.  Since he's been struggling they want to help and now we have some ideas for that.  We are getting together again in about two months to see how it's working. The other people in the meeting kept saying it was good that I was involved but I kind of feel like that's my job.  As much as it is in my power I feel like I need to make sure he is getting the best education possible.

O.k. now on to crafting.  The sock on the top is the second of the stripy socks.  It's a little farther along, I turned the heel.  I did something strange and it looks like I made a little hole in the heel but that was because I was trying to do the Fish Lips Kiss heel by memory instead of looking it up.  The giant totoro has been put aside because I ran out of yarn so I'm working on the flower accents for my nieces' hats.  I have three flower styles, a bow and a butterfly and they are in three colors so they can mix and match.  I'll try to remember to take pictures.  I'm almost done with that so I think I'll work on the accessories that go with the hats.  The yarn came for the little fox but I didn't even open it because I want to make sure the lice issue is taken care of.  I'm still working on the socks a little here and there and I need to do my charity knitting for the week.  As usual I have lots of plans.

I have caught up on my kdrama.  I'm enjoying the ones I'm watching but I can't seem to get to the old ones.  I'm going to try Running Man again and see if it works.  I do enjoy them but I'm not sure I have anything else to say about them.  With all the stuff going on I didn't catch up on my anime either.

I think that's it for today.  Hopefully I won't have anymore  adventures.  I better go get something useful done so I'll see you next time.

Sorry, I had too many errands yesterday so I didn't get around to blogging.  This weird lump is the head of the totoro I'm making.  It's huge.  This picture is from a few days ago, I have more progress now.  The arms are made and attached.  I'm almost to the decreases at the bottom of the creature.  It's already kind of heavy so this is kind of going to be a bit like a bean bag.  I ran out of yarn.  It ate up all the yarn from the sweater.  I'm trying not to buy more yarn so I'm going to put it aside for a little wile.  I did order one skein of yarn, for the little fox, for the art exchange.  I'm going to add in a couple of hair ribbon/scarf  kind of things.  I made them from some yarn from the dollar store and they were really quick.  I even made one for myself and my daughter.  I'm going to make the leaf for the totoro's head then make a scarf for my nephew until the yarn for the little fox comes.

I caught up on my podcasts.  James (Wolfe Farms) is making some really different cable needles and Heather (Highland Handmades) is making some cool colored yarn that is a fundraiser.  Sadly I am too broke to buy either of those things.  There were a couple of short podcasts and some people didn't post new ones so it was easier to catch up this week,  Maybe next week there will be a ton.  Tomorrow I'll try and see if I can get Running Man to work.  

My son had his open house for school yesterday,  Sadly it is becoming increasingly obvious that he is really struggling in a lot of areas.  We will be having a meeting about it on Monday.  It's not that he has to get straight A's but he is so uncomfortable everywhere except in front of the TV and that makes me sad.  Life and especially parenting is balance and hopefully we can find some for him.

I wasn't trying to end on a sad note but it's been on my mind with this meeting coming up.  I have a few more projects coming up and knitting helps me to stay calm so that's a good thing.  I'll see you next time.  

Here is the little Totoro.  I finally sat down and finished him. The pattern called for and "F"  I used a "G."  I think I should have used the "F" but it's still o.k.  He has a tail but I forgot to take a picture of that. I have been working hard on the giant totoro.  It's huge and eating yarn like crazy.  I really didn't think it would use all the yarn in the sweater and we are almost at that point.  I know the sweater took 11 skeins but I think I bought more so I'll have to look around.  I may have to buy more which really surprises me and tells you how big it's going to be.  I originally made it with the thought to sell it but I think it will be out of everyone's price range and my husband may want to keep it.  I did get an idea for stuffing from Ravelry.  As a yarn crafter people give me yarn.  Always acrylic, usually old, ugly, and scratchy.   I was even given some Lion brand Homspun in a weird green with a Good Will price tag taped to the actual yarn.  Using that and mixing it with fiber fill should work and get unwanted things out of my stash.   I have a picture of the head for next time.

I finished my kdrama. I like My Lovely Girl so far.  I tried to watch Running Man but when I got to the first commercial break it would just stop.  I guess I'll have to watch it next time.  I was planning to play WOW but my prepaid time ran out.  So today will be a podcast day.  Maybe I'll hear something interesting to tell you about next time.

I think that's it, just regular life.  I'm feeling better and the cold is almost gone.  Have a good day.

Oh dear here I go again skipping days.  This time thought I was sick.  It is/was just a head cold but it knocked out two posts.  I wanted to post on Sunday because that was the one year anniversary of blogging.  As of right now I have 250 posts and over 2,000 views.  Thanks!  Let's see if I can entertain you for another year.  On the plus side I have a bunch of things I want to show you so I hopefully won't be skipping days for a wile.

The picture is of the Sunday's mitts.  Sadly that was about all I got done on Sunday, I was so tired. On Monday I finished the little tootoro so I'll show a picture of him next time.  I have also been working on my socks, both the stripy one (I'm about to turn the heel) and the "Don't cage me in" socks.  The big thing I have been working on (and I mean big) is the grey totoro.  Since it;s a bulky yarn held double it's big and holds it shape fairly well.  I still need to stuff it and am not sure what to use, I'm not sure my usual fiber fill will be enough. I kind of feel like I need to put fabric in the middle and surround it with the fiber fill but I don't have any fabric I want to spare.  If I do use only fiber fill I think it will take a lot. I'll keep you updated. the last thing I will be making is a fox.  I arranged an art exchange with someone I know on the internet.  She will draw me a picture and I will make her a little stuffed fox.  I can't start that for a wile though because I have to order the yarn and I'll do that on Thursday.

I didn't do much this weekend because I was sick.  My husband and I did get caught up on our anime.  I'm really enjoying Haikyu!! The characters in this volleyball anime are so cute.  I did watch some kdrama.   Surplus Princess is still cute and I'm enjoying Plus 9 Boys.  I think I will also start My Lovely Girl.

Outside of fighting a cold the only other thing is that it is my daughter's 11th birthday.  This year, like the year she was born, it's the first day of Autumn.  I actually considered naming her that since she was born on that day but then my husband told me this story he swears is true.  One time wile I was sleeping after she was born my husband asked her the three names we were considering and when he got to Autumn she stuck out her tongue. He decided that was rejection so it was out of the running.   It's a cute story to end this post with.  Have a great day.

I know I skipped a bunch of days but this time it was a conscious decision not a forgetful thing.  I just didn't feel like I had enough (or any) progress to show you.  I think this will be the way it is from now on.  If I don't feel like I have anything to show I'll skip days. There will probably be things on Monday because I will at least have made my charity knitting on Sunday.  If you can't tell this is the blue totoro.  He has a nose but you can't really see it on the dark blue.  It should have been more of  blue gray but I was limited to what was at Walmat.  I didn't notice till I took the picture that his arms were kind of off.  I blame that a little on my daughter.  She said it was too high so I made it lower.  I'm trying to decide if I should take it off and change it or not.  If I do I'll probably take the other arm off and un-stuff it a little.  I'm still working on the little white totoro and I started the big gray one.  On the white one I need to stuff the tail, make the eyes and attach them both.  That won't take long if I just get to it.  I stated ripping out the 5X sweater so I can hold that yarn double for the grey totoro.  It's going to be huge and it may take me a little longer so I don't hurt my hand.  I'm going to try to attach the arms as I go instead of sewing them on later.  The only problem with this is I forgot to make them.  I need to attach them about row 22 so I figure I have till about row 20 to get them done.  I sewed this guy's appendages on with sewing thread but the big one I think I will need to use yarn.  I feel like there was something else I wanted to say but I can't think of it now.  The only other thing that I have been doing is working a few rows on the sock here and there.

Lets see what have I done that is non craft related.  I listened to all my podcast and got to work on some of Yarnivore's as well. Many podcasts were using a site called Blip but over the course of the last year or so they have slowly been kicking the knitting podcasts off.  I think this is the reason that I can't access the Yarnivore podcast on the site anymore.  Some of the episodes are on YouTube but I had to skip from 45 to 98.  I think I may run into this with other podcasts as well.

What else did I do?  I went on a field trip.  My son has been having a hard time at school so we have been keeping an eye on him.  He came home the day before the field trip absolutely insistent that I go and I was afraid he would have a meltdown if I didn't go.  It was about agriculture so they showed the kids cows (beef and dairy), chickens, pigs, sheep and horses (three sizes).  They talked about why farming is important and what we use animals for.  They also helped pack snack bag for a local food pantry (with things from each food group) and planted seeds in a little cup.  After lunch they went to the John Deere Pavilion to learn about farm machines and a little about how things were in John Deere's time with a black smith and someone dressed up as John Deere.  I did enjoy seeing the sheep but the blacksmith was the highlight of the day for me.  He was so funny with these little throw away lines that went right over the kids heads.  It was not a bad day but not what I had planned for that day.  I of course brought my knitting and got in a couple of cute conversations with some of the kids.  One girl actually guesses correctly that I was making a sock.  I know a couple of times there were some kids watching me knit in the back and not listening to the presenter.  I was o.k. with that because do you really think the second graders care how much horse power a tractor from 1949 had or how much it cost?  As long as they were sitting quietly we were all good.

The only other thing I did is kind of silly.  I signed up for an underwear subscription service.  I know, I know, it's a bit weird but all the reviews seemed good and the price wasn't outragous.  I got my first shipment today and they're cute.  I figure I can do it for a few months then cancle.    It's called Volupties if you want to check it out, they have sizes up to 3X.

I think that's it and now you are caught up.  I think I may skip a few days again till I have something to show.  Maybe I can knit faster and show you more things.

I skipped Saturday because I didn't have anything to show. I made these yesterday. I'm starting to put the totoro together.  I am not enjoying that part.  I really have to find my cords for the interchangeable needles.  They all seem to have disappeared.  I always meant to rip the 5X sweater out but now that I'm about to do it I feel a little sad. I need to finish the totoros then the accessories that go with the hats and lastly the cupcake.  We'll see what I get done and how fast.

On Friday I volunteered at the school.  It was fun but not many people needed me.  I didn't get the YMCA application turned it but I tried. I waited till the last minute and I tried to print my tax information (to prove I need financial help) and it wouldn't work.  I should have done it earlier in the week.  Hopefully I can do it this week. I watched kdrama and on Saturday I played WOW.

When I watched kdrama I finished It's Okay, That's Love.  The two main characters are Ji Hae Soo and Jang Jae Yeol.  Hea Soo is a psychiatrist who has a fear of intimacy and Jae Yeol is a playboy author who has a messed up family life (his brother stabs him with a fork in the first scene).  They meet on a TV program where they debate about the creepy characters in Jae Yeol's book.  Through various circumstances they live in the same house with some other people and start to fall in love.  The show follows their budding relationship and we slowly find out that there is something darker in Jae Yeol's past and in his head.  Even thought it tackles some harder psychological issues they treat it with respect.  For example the problem for the transgender woman is not her sex but the abuse she has because of it.  There is also enough light hearted and sweet moments it's not a depressing show.  It ends with a happy and sweet ending but some of the episodes right before it need a box of Kleenex.  I liked it and would recommend it.  I'm also still watching Surplus Princess and Plus 9 Boys.

I think that's it for today.  I'm going to go do something useful like laundry.  I'll see yon next time.      

Here are all the pieces of the totro.  We have a body, ears, arms, eyes, tummy and tail. This pile of random things now have to turn into a totoro.  This is the part I find time consuming.  The sewing just isn't as much fun as the crochet. I will use the long tales to help hold the piece on but I will actually sew it on with thread.  I was going to make my sister's tea cozy next but I think I'm going to make mitts that go with the hats I already made for her kids.  (well baby mitts, fingerless mitts and a scarf depending on the kid).  I'm sneaking in a bit on my socks here and there as well.

Besides playing WOW yesterday I did some errands so I didn't get much crafting time in. The one thing we did do yesterday was go to my daughter's open house. Because there are so many kids (300 5th graders) I didn't get a welcoming feeling.  It kind of felt like the teachers were saying "hi, bye."  I know it's not a parent teacher conference but it didn't feel terribly friendly even though I'm sure they are great teachers.

I think that's about it for today.  Nothing exciting is a good thing right?  I'll see you next time.

Socks! O.k. well just one and the ends aren't even tucked in.  I adjusted the numbers from the blue socks and this one fits even better.  I started the second one.  The stripes won't match but that won't bother me for these. I did 60 stitches for most of the foot but about an inch before the heel I increased.  I also went back to US size 1 for the cuff after the size 2 on the leg.  The next pair I have even more modification plans.  The fist one is to start the toe (I like toe up) at the join between two colors.  You will get a small stripe of the previous color but the rest should be a full stripe.  The other thing is to use the other end of the yarn for the heel so the stripes run correctly on the front of the sock.  I'm going to use these modifications and start the "Don't Cage Me In" socks that all the size testing has been for.  I'm excited.  I'm still working on the totoro but I didn't make much progress since I was finishing the sock.

Yesterday I played WOW. I deleted my glitchy character and made another with the same name.  Hopefully this will turn out better.  Everyone made a little progress.  I played WOW today too so tomorrow will be a kdrama day.

Yesterday I finally felt like I got everything done I needed to.  I feel like I'm going in the right direction for the exercise and cleaning.  I need to clean a little harder because they are having an inspection next week.  I think this weekend will be a scrubbing weekend,  I don't think I have anything else interesting to say so I'll see you next time.

Wow sorry I skipped so many days.  I just didn't have anything I wanted to show.  Maybe I need to knit faster.  I made these on Monday.  I tried to take a picture of them yesterday but the light was just horrid.  Lets see if we can get back on track now.  I have been working on the totoro as well and have almost all the bits and pieces done so I can assemble it.

I have some thoughts on shawls.  In the mornings it's starting to be a little cool but later in the day it's warm. So I dress in a shot sleeve shirt and just want to cover my arms between the end of my sleeve and my elbow. I have been making many of my shawls out of one skein of sock yarn.  I'm a big girl so, wile these are interesting, they aren't really shawls but scarves. The cover my shoulders but end where my sleeves do so they aren't really helpful. Now they would be toasty under a coat or fashionable artfully arranged around my neck but right now that's not what I'm looking for. I need think more about the yarn I buy so I have a project in mind and can get a decent size shawl out of it. I also think I have to pay attention more when I pick patterns and look at the size instead of just the design.  Not that you wanted a lecture on shawl but I have been thinking about it since the weather is getting just a touch cooler.  

Let's see, what did I do over the weekend?  On Saturday I caught up on my kdrama.  It's Okay, That's Love was a very "heavy" (for lack of a better word) episode.  We knew it was coming for a wile but it was still a little hard to watch.  It was so sad that it kind of colored all the other shows I watched. Surplus Princess wasn't a "sad" episode but it wasn't quite as light and funny as usual and Plus 9 Boys is about bad luck so that didn't help.  Both of those might not have been so bad if I hadn't watched a sad show first. It's okay... ends this week so we'll see how it goes.  On Sunday I played WOW so I did my charity knitting on Monday, wile I watched podcasts.  It was fun to see that Kimberly, The Giving Flower, had a new episode out.  Hopefully she will be able to make podcasts on a regular basis now. I got caught up on all my regular shows so today will be a WOW day.  

Part of the problem I'm having with posting is getting used to my husband's new schedule.  It's not a bad schedule just different and it will take us a week or so to get used to it.  Other than that it's just been rainy.  I'm going try to get back to exercising regularly but that's difficult when the sky is dripping.  I did get another application to the YMCA and I plan to turn it in on Friday so that could help when the weather gets cold.  Two steps forward one step backwards.  There is forward progress but it's slow.  Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow with some sock insights.

I skipped days because I had noting to show.  Now I have something to show but the day got away from me and I can't take a picture.  The light is horrible and makes everything look weirdly yellow.  I will do my best to have a nice post for you tomorrow.

This is the totoro body.  It has such a funny shape.  I'm working on the detail today. The actual crochet I don't mind but the sewing isn't so fun.  One of Amey's former teachers wants to make a crochet hat for a gag gift and wants me to teach her how.  I don't have a problem with that but she has no basic knowledge to start from.  I'm not sure how I can find the time to show it to her.  I think I'm going to have to look up some you tube videos that may help her.

I didn't get much crafting done yesterday because I was playing WOW.  I didn't get much progress but I did get a little.  My one character still can't click on anything and aparentaly I never sent a ticket about it.  I think I will delete her are and start another one right away so I can use the same name,  She is only level 12 so it's not like I have invested a lot of time or energy into her (it?).  Today I think will be a k-drama day.

I volunteered at Mookie's school today for the first time this year.  I really like helping out.  I may start working in the library as well.  Well volunteering, I'm not getting paid. Yesterday the kids got out of school early for heat but it was kind of nice.  When I was in the building today at 8:30 or so it was already really warm and humid.  I feel bad for those kids.  It was bordering on uncomfortable for me I don't know how they can study like that and they still had the whole day to go.  That's it for today, hopefully I will have more totoro progress tomorrow.  I'll see you then.

Does this look like there is progress?  The missing green stripe is in the heel.  The leg is about four inches so I'm getting close to the end of the first sock.  I'm going to see how the stripes line up so that I can use one of the thicker brown stripes for the cuff. Just trying it on it feels like it fits better than the blue ones.  I really didn't do any crafting yesterday so today I'll work on the totoro.

I really was feeling bad yesterday so I didn't get much done.  I did minimal cleaning and some reading but that's it.  I feel better today but that means there isn't really anything to write about.  Sorry this is a tiny post.  Maybe there will be something interesting (in a good way) tomorrow.  Have a good day.

I know this looks weird but it is the beginning of the totoro.  I finished the body and it's about the size of a bowling ball. next are the arms and ears.  Those aren't hard just kind of fiddly to put on.  I should have made the arms first and crocheted them in instead of sewing them on but I didn't think of it till to late.  I don't think I'm going to have any exciting pictures for a wile.

I actually got all my podcasts listened to yesterday.  I wanted to play WOW but it was Tuesday so it was down for part of the day.  I felt like there was something interesting that I wanted to say about one of them but I don't remember it now.  A lot of podcasters are talking about a book called Big Foot Knits that teaches you how to measure your foot and make socks custom fit for you especially if you have big feet or calves.  I really want to get that book,I think It will really help me.  

My husband had an unexpectedly long shift yesterday so he's tired and I had a bad depression day so I didn't get much done.  Hopefully tomorrow will be better.  I have some running around I need to do so I hope to get some work done on the sock (or socks).  I don't think I have anything else to say.  See you next time.

These are the baby mitts that I made on Sunday.  For some reason the background came out blue. I tried to fix it without  changing the color of the mitts. I'm not sure it worked so well.  I started working on one of the totoros that I plan to make.  I guess I assumed that most people know what a totoro is and never explained it but maybe I should.  There is a studio Ghibli movie called My Neighbor Totoro about two little girls who meet a spirit of the forest that is called a totoro.  If you are curious you can look it up.  I highly recommend it, it's a really sweet movie. The creature is kind of roundish with a kind of cat type face. In the movie there are three sizes a small one that is about small cat size, a medium one that is about medium dog size and big one that is about the size of a bear.  I want to make all three but of course they won't be proportional.  Right now I'm working on the medium size one and when I get to the eyes I'll make extra for the little one.  The little one's body is done I just need to do the finishing like eyes, tail and feet.  The medium one is going fairly quickly so I'm hoping to have the body done today so I can work on the extremities tomorrow.

I watched kdrama yesterday.  I caught up on It's Okay, That's Love and Surplus Princess. It's kind of hard to explain It's Okay... without spoiling.  Basically we are learning about our hero's back story so we can understand why he's crazy.   With Surplus Princess (The Idle Mermaid) it's just funny, there isn't really anything deep going on that I see.   The thing that made me laugh the most was a parody of GDragon's "Crooked." I also started a new one called Plus 9 Boys.  The concept of this one is that when your age ends in 9 you will be unlucky.  There is a family of boys who have just turned 9, 19, and 29 with and uncle who is 39. The drama will follow their progress as they try to break their curse.  I watched one episode of it but I was having trouble with my internet so I couldn't watch all of episode 2.  Today I'll watch/listen to podcasts.

I think that's about it.  The kids are back in school so I have house work to do.  I feel like I had something else to say but I don't remember so it must not be important.  I'm going to go do something constructive.  See you next time.    

On Saturday we went to my husband's hometown Labor day festival.  It's not far away from us, only about forty minutes or so.  We went to his moms house and spent some time with her then went to the parade.  We also went to visit his grandma for a little wile and then we went to the carnival.  We left before the lights came on so I couldn't have any fun pictures of lighted carnival rides.  My poor husband got stuck riding on some of the wilder rides with Amey, they make him kind of sick now.  Mooky still rides the calmer rides so I get to stay with him.  We had fun and it wasn't really as bad as I was afraid it would be.  I always get worried I will be tired from the walking or get dehydrated.  

I think this picture turned out well.  I took knitting with me but I ended up not doing any and taking pictures instead.  I ripped out the tea cozy and plan to redo it with a bigger needle.  I only made one pair of baby mitts yesterday.  I think I will work on a Totoro next, I just haven't really been feeling motivated.  After the Totoro I'll finish the tea cosy and either work on another Totoro or make some crochet flowers. That's the plan anyway.

I wasn't aiming to take this picture but I think it's interesting.  If I had been paying more attention I would have tried to get a better angle.  Yesterday I watched kdrama.  I don't know if I mentioned I've been keeping up on Running Man.  The episode before this one they played bells hide and seek and that was fun.  This week was not as fun since they didn't really do much.  Someone in the kdrama group on Ravelry mentioned a new site and they had Absolute Boyfriend (I know it's technically not Korean).  I was having trouble with my computer so it was kind of hard but I got through one episode.  That's Okay, It's Love is getting really interesting.

This is a picture of the kids waiting at the parade for someone to throw candy.  The last picture I thought was just funny.  If I needed septic service I would definitelly remember the name.  Tomorrow is back to our regular school schedule.  The mimosa we bough back in June has a flower.  That's about it.  See you next time.