just keep swimming

Good morning my sweets,
And happy Halloween yesterday to all of my American and Canadian friends (and anyone else who celebrates this holiday). Our kiddos had super fun trick-or-treating last night. Little man was a jack-o-lantern, lady was a witch, I was a widow, and love decided last minute to be a ninja turtle. When I say last minute I mean yesterday morning he asked me to keep my eyes out for something that could work as a ninja turtle costume while I ran errands. Of course there was nothing, so I decide to do this:

It is really amazing what a couple pieces of felt, a sewing machine, some stuffing, and a sharpy can do. It took maybe 40 minutes, and now we have a turtle shell pillow.

In other news, I took the first sub-test of the CSET last Tuesday. For those that don't know, the CSET is a type of entrance exam for a masters or credential program-- think LSAT (lawyers) or MCAT (medical). In this case it is an exam that must be passed before you can be accepted to a teacher credentialing program here in California. Any way, I took the first of 3 sub-tests last Tuesday, and I did better than I thought I would. There is a distinct possibility that I passed, and this makes me very happy. My next exam is in 2 1/2 weeks, then I have the last one 3 weeks after that. So my posts will continue to be spotty at least until the end of the year.

And finally, this is what I have been doing to stay sane:

 why, yes that is the sweater for the lady. I have only been working on it for a bit in the evenings before bed and on Wednesdays when I hang out with my knitting buddy (and very good friend). Even with this limited amount of time, I feel like it is flying off my needles.





Another project I have started working on is the Doctor Who scarf.

My father grew-up watching Doctor Who, and is a big fan. I thought this would be a perfect Christmas present, but it is very long so I thought I should start early. I started it last week and it is proving trickier than predicted, because you need to keep track of how many rows you do in each color and I changed it a little by using chunky yarn and size 10.5 (6.5mm) needles, so I could do fewer rows in each color and be finished sooner.

 Of course I can't leave without giving you an update on the quilt:

 
As you can see I am in the home stretch: the top is done and it is pinned to the batting and backing. The second picture is to give you an idea of how it will look with the binding.

Well I must get back to studding (math and science up to 8th grade...I can handle it)

Thanks for checking in,
XO Lue Lue Ellabee