I DID IT!!!

I finished the semester and my Christmas knitting and I'm still in one piece!! I also abandoned my blog for about a month but I was doing a lot of knitting during that time I promise. I'll even show you most of it! I spent most of the last month studying my buns off for the three finals that I had this past Wednesday. I'm sure I passed all my tests but I won't know how well until probably a few weeks into next semester. Speaking of school, my class does a Secret Santa-esque gift exchange that we call Holiday Ho (not sure why but we do) and this year I opted my make my Ho the Subway Mittens from IK Winter 2007. I know that she rides the T everyday and that she's always cold so I figured I couldn't really go wrong. I missed her face when she opened them...but I found out from one of our mutual friends that she not only loves them and wears them everyday...but she thought that I bought them at a store!!! I love that. I already felt super smart when I was closing up the holes at the tops of the mitts and the thumbs...but to find out that it didn't even occur to her that they were hand-made just makes my month. My Holiday Ho gave me a Dunkin Donuts gift card which is always loved and appreciated and the book Knitting for Peace. I read the book pretty much in one sitting and I want to do all of the projects now. One of my other in class knitting projects over the past few weeks was a pair of Irish Hiking Fingerless Mitts for my Mom's friend. She works at BJ's and sometimes ends up working the registers and the cold from outside was really bothering her carpal tunnel so my Mom asked me to make a pair for her for Christmas...so I did. I like the way that they came out...but if I ever have to work with whatever yarn that is again it will be too soon. It's a very thick acrylic that just made my hands ache.I also finished up the Column of Leaves Scarf! I haven't blocked it or woven in the ends yet but I also want to make mittens and a Calorimetry to match so I'm gonna wait until they're all done so that I can wash them all together. I started out just planning to modify the fingerless mitt pattern to make them mittens, but I decided that I didn't really like the way that they were coming out so I'm improvising something on my own. I'll post details when I'm finished. Yesterday I exchanged Christmas presents with my friend Sarah from home. I gave her the Gusseted Dashing and she took me to Graceful Stitches in Medfield. She bought me three beautiful hanks of yarn and I love her for it.

Cascade 220 The Heathers in 9491Classic Elite Inca Alpaca in 1107 Camacho Periwinkle

Hopefully I'll be writing again soon. Most likely after Christmas. Merry Christmas/Happy Hanukkah/Happy Solstice or whatever you celebrate at this time of year but most importantly Happy Knitting!!

Let Them Have Cake!

Yarn cake that is!! It's been a hectic couple of weeks over here in med student land. I had three finals right before Thanksgiving, then a big family Thanksgiving dinner at my house, and finally a little bit of relaxation before I get to hunker down for this next block of classes. Yesterday I went with Alicia to (blog-free) Enid's for a little surrogate-family time. Earlier in the day I was on a mission to purchase a ball-winder...a mission that failed horribly I might add since apparently neither the Michaels nor the A.C. Moore in Natick/Framingham had ball-winders...heck the Michaels didn't even have DPNs! At least I managed to find the DPNs I wanted and some very pretty yarn to make myself feel a bit better after all of the traffic and frustration I dealt with trying to get around the Natick Mall area on Black Friday.

Caron Simply Soft in Deep Plum Heather

So I was resigning myself to learning all about winding on a Nostepinde using lace weight when Enid busted out her ball-winder. Then the hilarity ensued. Alicia and I had far too much fun winding my hanks into yarn cake...apparently I had quite the entertaining panic face anytime the yarn got semi-tangled as it was coming out of the hank. Our first labor of love was the Gossamer that I purchased a while ago.

Knit Picks Gossamer in Sunrise

Then came the purchase that I made on Wednesday after my combined Microbiology/Infectious Diseases finals. After a quick stop by the local dive bar for some liquid relaxation, Sarah (also blog-free) and I wandered over to Windsor Button to pet some yarn and look and books and things. I found some yarn that was just too beautiful to leave behind...even if it was more expensive than I should really afford.

Cherry Tree Hill Supersock Merino in Jewel Potluck

Now it is also a beautiful yarn cake.I've also managed to get some work done on my Column of Leaves Scarf. I'm on to the second ball now...I think I'll be done after three.

Column of Leaves Scarf in Tahki Chelsea Silk

I have one more day of freedom before it's back to the awesome-ness that is 4 lectures everyday starting at 8AM. Hopefully I'll be doing more knitting than sleeping and I'll finish this scarf before winter break! Happy knitting all! Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!!

Charging Forward

First...I got my Microbio exam back this afternoon...I did pretty well on it...but it's hard to tell how I actually did since they dropped 7 questions and took 2 answers for another 2. Knitting has been progressing quite nicely. I finished my second Calorimetry, my last Christmas present, and I've actually made some headway on my Column of Leaves scarf.

Second Calorimetry: Cast on 100 stitches and 12 repeats of row 5. It's a little bit smaller than I would have liked so I think it'll be 112 stitches for the next one (yes I am already planning to make another one).

Christmas present is top secret so no pictures for you!

Column of Leaves Scarf: Started using the charts on the pattern website...much easier to read than the written out instructions. When I first looked at it I wanted to run and hide but it's a lot easier than I thought it would be...and I get to frighten/disturb my classmates by having it out next to my notes while I knit during class :P I frogged what I had before(a little more than one repeat) and started fresh on US8 needles. As of right now I have about 8.5 repeats completed!!!

I have been all kinds of exhausted lately. I mean I'm used to being able to fall asleep sitting upright without much difficulty...I'm sure this will come in handy during internship. But it's not that often that I manage to sleep a full 40 minutes past my alarm...and even then I only wok up because my Dad came in to see why I wasn't moving around. This weekend doesn't look too promising on the sleep front either. My plans for the long weekend? Saturday: Study in the local public library Sunday: Church, drive to school and study in the library Monday: Drive to school and study in the library...I am so not prepared for the finals that are coming up right before Thanksgiving. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend...and I want stories so that I can live vicariously through all of you :P Happy knitting!!!

Accomplishments

I have managed several accomplishments in the past week: I went to Windsor Button...and I survived only $15 poorer. I finished a Calorimetry in a single day of class (4 lectures and 2 train rides). I actually went out to a med school party. And this morning I took my Microbiology midterm.

Windsor Button was amazing in sooo many ways. So much yarn to pet...it was all so yummy!! I brought one of my friends from school who is a recent convert to knitting. I helped her find some new yarn for washcloths and needles to make them with. I escaped with a single skein of Trekking XXL in the 147 colorway. That same day my order from the Knit Picks Clearance came in. Two beautiful hanks of Gossamer in the Sunrise colorway.
My Calorimetry (the first of many seeing as I've already cast on for a second one :P) was from the sparkly White Multi Wool-Ease I bought a while ago. I followed the pattern as it was written...but I'm definitely downsizing for the next one since this one just kinda sits on my head. I love the buttons I got...they work so perfectly!! My second one is a smaller version of this one casting on 100 and working 12 repeats of row 5...but I'm using the same yarn and buttons because I love them so much...and the first one is a present for a friend.
Actually getting out to a party with my friends from med school is always an achievement on my part. They always start so late and it's such a pain for me to get in and out of town at night that I don't do it that often. But this past Friday was the second annual Stache Bash, a fundraiser for the Niramaya Foundation (which I think may have been founded by one of my classmates) involving a moustache competition. This of course results in a lot of nerdy fun...and the money raised provides micronutrients for children and their mothers in India. It was tons of fun...right down to a group of my classmates performing Stroke Heroes Act Fast.

As for the Microbiology midterm...it's over...which means that it's time for me to start getting caught up on Oncology and Infectious Diseases. Happy knitting!!!

The Confessional

So...I have a few confessions to make. First of all...I am an ignorant knitter. Why do you ask? Because I came to the realization that for the past year I have been going to school just over 2,500 feet from Windsor Button. This is sad given the number of times I've gone shopping in Downtown Crossing...and the fact that I take the train from Boylston out to my lab twice a week. Care to see how pathetic this is? In the picture below you will see the approximate walking path starting at the bottom and going toward the top...this will take less than 10 minutes. I virtually live less than half a mile from WINDSOR BUTTON...I have failed as a knitter.
Second confession: I found the knitting section of my public library while I was there this past weekend. I took out three books...I have already photocopied several patterns and have been neglecting my school work in favor of reading Knitting Rules. Part of this confession is my contemplation of using the Interlibrary Loan System to get copies of certain IK patterns...especially since the Fall 2007 issue is sold out. Not so bad as confessions so...all things considered.

Third confession: There is a significant part of my stash that I have not been owning up to. This wasn't on purpose. It wasn't in with the rest of my stash in the big Rubbermaid bin...and it's all jumbled together in a bag such that it's a bit difficult to figure out what's what...and I'm clearly making excuses for myself. So here it is:What I'm assuming to be about 6 hanks of Cascade 220I can't believe I forgot about it since I was thinking about making a striped tube scarf with it...Not sure when I'm going to do that...but I'll post the pattern when I do. I hope you don't think poorly of me for keeping these things from you :P Happy knitting everyone...I need to go learn about fastidious bacteria...

Ultimate Me-Time

As some or all of you may know. I take the commuter rail into Boston everyday. Depending on my level of exhaustion and the amount of room I have I usually knit on the train (there is another knitter on the train that I usually take home that seems to be making a sweater in a very pretty orange). This past weekend I saw on SouleMama's blog mention on Librivox, an awesome website that offers free audio recordings of books in the public domain. Well after my recent run-in with Jane Austen I felt compelled to listen to all of her novels. So now I have turned the train into the ultimate me-time: knitting and Jane Austen. My mood has improved remarkably...despite having class at 8AM all week. I can't show you much for knitting since I am working on Christmas presents and I do not want the recipients to see the finished product ahead of time. But I do have one thing I want to show you:
Not only am I knitting something that isn't gray...but I'm using the beautiful stitch markers that Alicia made for me.

I got all of my finals back today...I passed everything...no honors again *le sigh* (Medical school is honors/pass/fail) hopefully someday soon I will stop missing honors my mere fractions of points. Back to work! In the hope of maybe getting honors in something this block.

Now With More Knitting Content!!

It's been a helluva week over here in med student land. Way too much studying than is good for anyone's mental health and three finals. Have no fear though...I start three new classes next week...and this is supposed to be a much more difficult set of classes. The things I have to look forward to hunh?

So much knitterly stuff has happened since the last time I gave you anything! I finished the Gray Dashing that I had been working on...after running out of yarn and having to buy more. I bought some really pretty yarn while I was at JoAnn's getting the yarn I needed for my Gray Dashing...because I am dangerous when in the presence of yarn. I started a new set of Dashing...now with gussets! And I have a couple funny stories for you. So let's start with some pictures...

These are the Dashing that ran out of yarn. In a desperate attempt to not run out of yarn I shortened most of the hand portion of the gloves. I did 20 of the 24 suggested rows between the last cable and the opening for the thumb; and 10 of the 18 rows between the thumb and the top of the glove. I still ran out of yarn...so off I went to JoAnn's where I purchased: I got some acrylic fingering weight yarn in a pretty lavender to try my hand at socks...I also picked up some US1 DPNs for the same purpose. I was also unable to resist the shiny white Wool-Ease or the pretty pretty colors of the Decor. I have no concrete projects for either of these but I'm thinking a simple scarf for the Decor to show off the colorway. Here's the first funny story: As I was going through the check-out at JoAnn's the cashier said "Wow, you're one of those really talented knitters!" I have no idea what she's talking about since I do not think of myself as all that talented...I mean c'mon I haven't even made a sweater! She indicates that I must be talented if I can use all of those needles...I tell her that I plan to teach myself to make socks. I think I may have become some sort of idol for her in that moment...it was more than slightly unnerving. As I was leaving I found myself thinking...I know they're supposed to be friendly...but that was just odd.

After my exams were all done I started in on my next pair of fingerless mittens. My friend Sarah had expressed interest in my first pair of Dashing so I decided that I would make a pair for her for Christmas. She also expressed her dislike for the gap-y thumb that is built into the pattern. So I've opted to use a gusset thumb. I'll give more details when I've finished the pair. But here you can see the first one finished: I suppose I do have some level of talent hunh?

Since this was the long weekend and my break from studying I spent a fair amount of time out and about with friends this weekend. Friday involved a little bit of morning drinking celebrating the end of hell week...followed by a very yummy and very cheap lunch in Chinatown. It was on the way home from the train station that my second funny story happened. Let me start by saying that my dad drops me off and picks me up at the train most days to save money on parking ($10/week adds up!). But because I was coming home early on Friday and my Dad had taken some of his use-it-or-lose-it vacation I got to take the car. On the way home from the train I drove home the same was as always and I looked at one of the stores across the street from me. "Fancy Purls"...I thought "Hey, that's spelled like a knitting purl!" I continued down the street trying to look in the window to see what's inside while not getting myself killed...and I see shelves full of yarn and I scream "Ohmigod YARN!!!!!" At this point I had to remind myself that I was driving and that I should pay attention to the road...but YARN!!! Later that night Aaron took me out to dinner for my birthday to Aculpoco's. It was good to catch up and see him again. Saturday I went to the Cranberry Harvest Festival in Wareham with Enid and her adorable son Adam. It was so pretty! We went to dinner and did a little shopping at the Wrentham outlets. It was fun and I was definitely glad to see them again. Then last night I want to see The Jane Austen Book Club with Alicia. It was cute...decent movie but I wouldn't go see it in the theaters again. We then went to dinner and talked and went back to her place and knit and talked. I love her so much! She gave me shiny pretty stitch markers too!!!
*sigh* Now I have to get back to med school...since I should really read ahead for tomorrow. Happy knitting!!!

Nope...not dead yet

It's been a while hunh? Not much to show in the realm of knitting since I ran out of yarn to finish the mitts I was working on so I cranked out a few squares for my afghan. School is keeping me very busy right now. I have three finals this coming week and none of them are going to be fun (as if a final could ever be fun...but that's beside the point). But next weekend is the long weekend and I'll get to see a whole bunch of people I haven't gotten to see in a while. In lieu of something actually worth reading I give you my results for a quiz I found on Dorothy's blog a little while ago.

You are Elizabeth Bennet of Pride & Prejudice! You are intelligent, witty, and tremendously attractive. You have a good head on your shoulders, and oftentimes find yourself the lone beacon of reason in a sea of silliness. You take great pleasure in many things. You are proficient in nearly all of them, though you will never own it. Lest you seem too perfect, you have a tendency toward prejudgement that serves you very ill indeed.

Take the Quiz here!

I must say I'm not all that surprised...although I'm definitely happy since that is one of my favorite books of all time. Someday when I have money I'll have to buy the A&E miniseries...because Colin Firth is love. Ah well, back to studying!

Thomasina

That's what we call the turkey that lives in my backyard. Why Thomasina? Because she's a mom...earlier this summer she had two turkey chicks but lately we've only been able to find her with one (sad panda :'( )...that is when we've been able to find her. She doesn't trust us even when we're in the house...to many sudden movements (such as running to go grab a camera to take her picture) and she runs away/flies into the trees. But one morning not that long ago I was awoken by my Dad with a "Where's your camera?!?" It took me a minute to figure out what was going on...since it was about 6AM and I am chronically sleep deprived/a med student...but I managed to get downstairs (without hurting myself!), grab my camera, and take the following picture of Thomasina in my backyard (She's that weird looking thing between the two trees...I promise)
In other, more knitterly news, I have completed my Gray Fetching and moved on to a pair of Dashing. Both are of Wool-Ease in Oxford Gray on size 7s. The Fetching took me about 8-10 hours I think. I'm quite a bit farther along on the Dashing since I took that pic, but there's still a ways to go. I think I'll knit for a bit tonight before I finally go to sleep...maybe I'll make it to the thumb.
Now, I love my DPNs...and I love fingerless gloves, but I need some more interesting patterns. I've been looking all over Ravelry...but I can't seem to find anything that I really like. I'm thinking about trying to make something up on my own since I've made a few pairs now and I have a pretty good idea of what I like and what I don't like...but it's a bit intimidating. So, I have a question for all of you: What is your favorite stitch pattern (links with pictures/instructions appreciated and welcomed) and why? Also, if you can think of any particularly awesome free fingerless glove patterns that would be good too...because I know that Ravelry doesn't have everything just yet.

Nate

Success! I have completed yet another pair of fingerless gloves! I have also learned that I *hate* making fingers. These are a birthday/Christmas gift to a friend of mine who saw pictures of my DK Dashing and decided that he *had* to have a pair for himself...I showed him a few patterns for him to choose from and he picked Natalya...but insisted I call it something more masculine. So here's Nate:
Nate is *just* over one skein on Lion Brand Wool-Ease in Oxford Gray on US8 DPNs (only the thumb and pinkie on the second glove are from the second skein...so close!). I made the arm portions a good 3 inches longer than the pattern suggested per the recipient's request. Now all they need is a wash to get all of the nasty train and lecture off of them and they are good to go!

Of course I have already started another project...because I would go crazy if I didn't have something to knit in class...so I show you my meager process on my first pair of Fetching. I say first because I intend to make a few pairs as gifts. I don't know if you have all seen the new Knitty, but there are two things that I want to make so bad it hurts. Obviously they've been added to the Ravelry Queue...to be added to the queue here when I have the time and presence of mind to edit that code.

Classes are progressing. They've decided to give us the questions we missed on our last exam as a separate "mini-exam" on Tuesday...which means that I do not get this weekend off from hardcore studying...and that makes me a little bit sad. But at least I only have to study the Psychopharmacology this time. I'm loving Neuroscience in the kind of dork-tastic way that only I can manage. You would not believe how totally enthralled I was by the lecture on the Thalamus that we had the other day...I actually stopped knitting *gasp*! Tomorrow night I'm headed to see Wicked as my birthday present from my friend Sarah.
I'm so excited! I'm meeting her and her mom for dinner and then it's off to the show! I have been listening to this soundtrack all summer and I can hardly wait to see it live! Someday when I have time (hahaha...hilarious I know) I'll read the book that it's based on...but that day will not be here anytime soon. Have a good weekend everyone!! Happy knitting!

Ok, ok, ok!

Alright...you've convinced me...I'll but new yarn! I'm gonna wait until I get closer to actually knitting it to buy the yarn...but I'm going back and forth between the Claret Heather and the Onyx Heather. I know I want dark and something that looks good with black since I have the black handles already.

Had my Psychopathology midterm this morning...it would appear that they left off a whole section of questions since there was no pharmacology on there whatsoever. Now I just have some time to kill until my next class. Someday they will not inadvertenly schedule like an hour and a half for most of us to be free between the exam and class. Ah well...time to get back to studying for that online quiz that's due tomorrow night.

Dilemma:

I now take this quick study break to present you, my fellow knitters, with the following dilemma:

Thinking about what I want to use to make my Doctor's Bag, I came to the realization that I have more than enough of this old acrylic in my stash. But I could also buy new yarn (KnitPick's Wool of the Andes) for about $20 (including shipping).

My reasoning thus far:

• I should buy nice new yarn because I want this bag to last for a while since I will most likely be using it all the time.
• I should use stash yarn because I am a poor med student and $20 buys a lot of coffee
• I should buy nice new yarn because the pale gray isn't a great color for something I'm going to be using all the time and getting really dirty
• I should use stash yarn because it's acrylic and therefore washable...if it gets dirty wash it!!
• I should buy nice new yarn because this is a gift to myself...and I deserve better than old acrylic (or some other such entitlement-type logic)
• I should use stash yarn because there's nothing inherently wrong with it
• I should buy nice new yarn because then I will have the stash yarn left over to make other things with...like present for people...which will probably cost more than the $20 I would probably be spending on new yarn

So tell me what you think...because my mind is far from made up...

Weeee Birthday!!

Thank you to all of those who have given me birthday wishes. It's been a great day. I'm here to show you all of the amazing things that my awesome friends (and parents) have given me. Let's start with cards:

Two of these cards were especially awesome. The one on the bottom left with the girl and the donkey on the front had this on the inside (This is why I love Julie)

But the card that made me laugh so hard I almost cried was from Laura...she made the card work for her:
That's right...I got a card for a 2nd birthday with extra 2's and twenties written in as necessary. My friends rock!! Laura also got me a book of crossword puzzles to honor our times in the library doing crossword puzzles instead of last-minute studying for our Anatomy exams *sigh* Ah, memories!
Susana got me a gift certificate to Au Bon Pain...and therefore has my love forever. Elinor made me brownies and gave me an adorable card. I of course gave most of the brownies away to my fellow classmates since there was no way I could eat a whole pan by myself. Alicia and Enid got me a bouquet, Michael's gift certificate, balloons, and a little hand-crank music box that plays Happy Birthday. I cannot begin to explain to you the amount of entertainment I get from this music box...something about it just makes me want to giggle uncontrollably.
My parents got me Knit 2 Together (which I have wanted forever because of the Doctor's Bag pattern), purse handles for when I make said bag, and a gorgeous aquamarine necklace.
Yes...I am that freakishly pale. I've also been knitting Natalya...what you see below is the product of 6 hours of lectures and 4 train rides:
Time to get back to studying!!