I got my first Vox box from Influenster!

  If you don't know what Influenster is, it is a website that lets you rate and look at how others rated things.  I love it so far.  If you are really active on there you can qualify for surveys and you might get some free things sent to you to review.
  I just got my first box!  It is the Curel Anti-Itch lotion and body wash.  I have already tested the lotion and I know I will love it during winter.  It has a nice, very faint, lemon smell though there aren't any added fragrances.  I don't have super sensitive skin, but I think everyone will be able to use it.  It absorbs quickly and doesn't leave my skin feeling greasy or tacky. The body wash has the same smell to it.
  The box came with a dollar off coupon to use on some other Curel product and I know I will be totally using it.

Video coming soon!

Knitting Without Neighbors.

  I feel like I've mentioned that joke before.  How Claire couldn't remember the name of Knitting For Neighbors and called it Knitting Without Neighbors.  We then had to give all our theory on how to chase away your neighbors with knitting.  The deadline for submissions was brought up, and it reminded me of it.

  Since I don't have much to show for myself, here are some awesome things that someone else made.

  There is an interesting story behind these huggable monsters.  A local Girl Scout troop donated a bunch of these finger-knit lengths and had called them scarves.  No other detail was given, so we guessed they did enough to get their badge and that was about it.  Though no one at Uniquities thought we would be able to do anything with them, they passed them onto the K&CC anyway.

  Aren't all of those amazing?  The guy on the right with the orange tummy/mouth has those kid's bracelets that look like phone cords for the detail on the eye/fin openings.

   Here is the genius herself, Carola, acting like it is no big deal that she makes such awesome things.  Her huggable monsters are the most creative I've ever seen.

   The other night there was a moon related phenomenon.  It was that the moon was super close to the Earth and there was a lunar eclipse.  Of course, it was also super cloudy.  Since it was so cloudy, I wasn't able to get a good picture of it.

   I did get a good picture of Mr. Jag and the 10 stitch blanket though.  Before anyone worries about him laying on it, I will be washing it before I give it away.

   I was able to get a cool picture of the moon tonight, too bad it wasn't during the super cool lunar eclipse.

   Here is another shot with more of the clouds showing.  It was just so bright and beautiful to look at.

My car, my cat, ...and my can?

  So first my car's check engine light came on.  Then they noticed that I also needed a new front axle boot along with the oxygen sensor.  This took almost a week to do, so I got a really fun Golf TDI clean diesel to use.  While they were still working on that, Mr. Jag started to act a bit weird.  He would hold one ear out to the side some and would sometimes slightly loose balance when walking.
  I took him in and it turns out he had a very slight ear infection in both ears.  I now know the "joys" of putting ear drops in a cat.  Though at least mine isn't a biter, scratcher, or wiggler.
  Since people always say that bad things happen in threes, I was thinking what else could go wrong.  First it was my car, then it was my cat, so I thought it would be funny if my can were next.  Then I tried to take it back really quickly.
  It didn't totally work.  When I used the toilet the next morning it made sputtering sounds when I flushed it.  Somehow some air had gotten into the pipes.  Lucky for me, my three bad things, though hilariously named, went down in the level of 'bad' as they happened.

  I did figure out a way to block the cowl.  This is the small trash bin I keep in the TV room so I have an easy place to throw away anything I might have to while working on things on the couch.
  I'm still waiting on the second one to finish drying before I take any pictures of it.

  I have also started on my newest project.  I have had this chunky yarn in my car for so long that it is starting to fade from the sun.  I also knew I wanted to make one of those Ten Stitch Blankets(Ravelry link) for a while.
  I had to put the call out for needles though.  I have US size 15 needles and then it jumps to US size 50 needles.  I knew the 50s were going to be too big, and the 15s too small.  I asked if there had been any US size 19s donated or not.  Turns out we could only find one US size 19 needle.  Not a set of them, one individual needle.  My mom went digging around in her stash of needles and came out with a pair of US size 18 needles.  I didn't even know that was an option.  I think they are working out though.

  In the pattern you work short rows with wrap and turns at the ends.  I was getting confused because usually when you do that you pick-up and work the wrap at some point to hide it.  This is not the case with this pattern.  I was also worried that if I had to put it down while I was working on increasing the length of the short rows that I would be confused and have to start the whole corner over again.
  As you can see in the picture above, it isn't too hard to tell with this yarn if the stitch in question has one or two wraps on it.  The bulky yarn will also make it a nice and quick project.

Blue Shawl Period.

  I finally successfully blocked the Herbivore inspired shawl.  I also tried to think of some cool place to take a picture of it, but a lot of the plants out in front of my house have seen better days so that wouldn't work.  It is also a large thing, so I just went with where it was.

   It sure is a funny shaped thing isn't it?  I didn't expect it, though I should have since the garter stitch would make that section not as long as the rest.  I am digging the strange shape though, looks kind of like some sort of helmet.

  The odd shape does help to hold it on though.  Though when I did the measuring for where those sections would fall I had planned on them being higher up.  Oh well, they are still really cool.
 

  Anyone remember this guy?  It seems I finished it, blocked it, and once it was dry I just folded it up and didn't take any pictures or mention it or anything.  That makes me such an awesome blogger.
  Who knows how long it would have gone unmentioned if I hadn't been gathering things together?  I have been feeling kind of bad going to the K&CC meeting with nothing in hand.  I know that no one there really cares, but I know I have finished things at home and I know I should bring them with me. 

  I have that cowl I showed before off the needles, but I'm having problems trying to figure out how to block it. The cast on and bind off I used made the edges ripple some, so I want to be able to slip something into the cowl itself to help hold it in shape, but I can't find anything that won't get ruined by water.
  I am also almost done with another cowl using the same slip stitch pattern, but with less color changes.  I know I will be able to use up all of the orange this way, though I will have some leftover green.

Since I always have fun posting links to advertise and spread the word for other people, here are some more:

• The Crayon Initiative: Takes old crayons, mostly from restaurants, and makes new ones for anyone who is in need of them.
• Companion app: This is just really cool.  It makes it so that even though you might have to walk home from the bus or where-ever you were late at night, you aren't completely alone.

   I have not been pushing the GoFundMe as much as I have been in the past, but as of right now we are at 27%!  That's more than a quarter of the way there!