Pay It Forward

The projects are done and packed, the packages are sealed...all that's left for me to do is go to the post office tomorrow and send them on their happy way! There are so many things I want to say about the projects but I'll wait until the recipients (Mommy+Knitter and KnittingNurse) get them so as not to ruin the surprise.
Now its time to go back to making fingerless gloves...because it seems like everyone wants a pair. But hey...it gives me a reason to continue my Japanese Death Star knitting...I mean using DPNs :P

Classes are going well so far...I've been getting lots of knitting done in Pharmacology since it's about the only way I can stay awake, but Neuroscience and Psychopathology are incredible and interesting and generally awesome. Almost as awesome as my med school friends who took me shopping with them at Downtown Crossing on Friday. I forgot how much I miss these people. *sigh* Time to go back to studying though...I have a test in Pharmacology on Friday...eek!!!!

First Day of School

Today was my first day back at school!! It was great to see everyone again...although a little weird to keep hearing them refer to us as second years. I'm trying to get my desk organized and all my syllabi unstapled so that I can actually read them. But I did manage to get a fair amount of knitting done today. I finished my second DK Dashing shortly after they finished talking at us for the day. I waited until I got home to weave in the ends since I wanted to use my tapestry needle (using a cable needle to stab the end through a hole was really not very effective). Overall I must say that I am extremely pleased with the final product.
I also got started on one of my PIF items on the way home today (no pics because I want them to be a surprise). I really like the way it's turning out so far...but I'm also only bout 7 rows in. Speaking of PIF, I spent yesterday helping Alicia move...good times. Well...except for the part where my bumper got in a fight with a retaining wall and lost. Good thing is the parentals weren't really upset at all.


Right now it's time for me to finish re-configuring my desk so that I can actually get my binder and my keyboard on the desk in front of me at the same time. Posting's going to be slow from this point forward but hopefully I'll be able to keep going at a respectable rate. Happy knitting folks...hopefully I'll have something pretty to show you soon!

YARN!!!

First, head over to Jean's blog right now and enter her amazing contest...and don't forget to tell her I sent you!!

Second, last night I went to AC Moore to get some yarn. This in and of itself is amazing since I have more yarn than I could ever hope to use from my grandmother's stash. The best part though was that I got everything for $15.29.
I picked this stuff up for some projects I had in mind and since they are of a gifty nature I just couldn't bring myself to subject the recipients to that various kinds of acrylic that lie in a plastic bin under my bed. The needles and the hook...well, despite the fact that my grandmother was fully convinced that I would never need to purchase another needle she was very wrong. Ok...here's some yarn pr0n...cheap yarn pr0n...but that's better than nothing I suppose.

Wool-ease in the Denim Colorway

Wool-ease in the Oxford Gray Colorway

Sugar 'n Cream in the Jewel Colorway

Sugar 'n Cream in the Patio Pinks Colorway

One Down...

I finished one! Overall I'm pretty happy with how it turned out...the perfectionist in me is having little mini-fits over a couple mistakes I made but I can fix that for the other one. I cast on the mate before I go to bed so that I can easily knit on the train tomorrow. And...close up cable shot!!!This makes me happy...hopefully it will make my fingers warm in lecture too. Time to make with the casting on!!!

Simply Dashing...

So...since I have become familiar with the art of DPN knitting, it is clear that the very next thing I would want to do would be to knit something with DPNs. This, combined with my severe project ADD/cast-on-itis has led to this:

My very own pair of Dashing! I'm knitting them in some acrylic DK weight stuff I have from my grandmother's stash...so amazingly soft!!! I think the second picture is closest on color and I apologize for the fuzziness of the pictures (they looked a lot better on my camera). I would also like to point out the latest JAMA in the background...med school has taken over my life in so so many funny ways.

Speaking of med school...I saw this in KnittingNurse's blog and I just had to do it. I must admit, although I loved Arthur...I will not miss going down into the basement of the Tufts M&V building to discover all the wonders of a cadaver on an almost daily basis. This also reminds me that I am one week from starting classes again...and that means that I'll probably be blogging a lot less. Hopefully I can finish at least one of these up before I start back...don't see why not since I did most of this today.

$5875.00The Cadaver Calculator - Find out how much your body is worth. From Mingle2 - Free Online Dating

Mingle² - Dating Site

PS - If there's anyone still interested in PIF I have one more slot left!!! Better get it while it's hot!!!

I Did It!!

Today at work, I taught myself to work with DPNs!!! I feel so accomplished!! For me the main thing was using the knitting cast-on instead of my usual backwards loop cast-on. I also let my mini-tube hang out with the bamboo! Now I can knit all sorts of cool stuff!!!
I also have a couple more slots open for the PIF Exchange if people are still interested. Let me know!!

PIF Exchange

I saw this on Alicia's (look I got the second "i" in there this time and EVERYTHING!) blog and I really like the idea. It will be good to have people other than my family to knit for :P It's based on the movie Pay It Forward with Helen Hunt; I've never seen the movie but I'm familiar with the concept. For those of you who also haven't seen the movie this is how the PIF Exchange gonna work...

(I copied this from Alicia who copied it from Alaina who copied it from Jodie etc)"Here is how it works! I'll send a handmade gift to the first 3 people who leave a comment on my blog requesting to join this PIF exchange! I don't know what that gift will be yet, and you may not receive it tomorrow or next week...LOL... but you will receive it within 365 days, that's a promise! The only thing you have to do in return is pay it forward by making the same promise on your blog..."

So if you're one of the first 3 people to leave a comment and I'll make you something pretty! Can't wait to see who it'll be!!!

OMG FO!!!!

Behold the finished Reversible Cable Scarf:
I have no idea why I am so proud of myself...perhaps because this is the second thing that I have actually finished since I started medical school. Also probably because unlike the purse I made over Christmas Break this is not going to fall apart on me. (I would like to point out that I am not actually tall enough to take this picture...I managed to get this on my first try just holding the camera in the air over the ironing/blocking board.) I'm actually really pleased with the way it turned out. Here are some more lovely pictures for your viewing pleasure one of the blocking process and a closeup.

I have been contemplating making some matching mittens, and I think I'll give it a shot, but I'm concerned that I won't have enough yarn. There's also the part where I have never worked with DPNs before and my first attempt a few minutes ago failed horribly. Alica, we need to get together and knit...and you need to teach me how to do this mitten thing!

I've also updated my queue on the side-bar. I was looking at my Ravelry Queue and noticed that I was very much behind on that front. I have no idea when I'm actually going to knit all these things, but the goal is to use up most of the yarn my grandmother gave me before I actually go out and buy some.

I hope that all is going well with your respective projects. Time for me to get back to work on the Champagne by Night Afghan...maybe get it done in time for my Grandmother's birthday on the 13th? I doubt it but it's worth a shot!

ETA: I'm sorry I suck at formatting so bad...I think I finally got it right this time!

"We don't knit for crack-hoes!"

Last night was Yarn Harlot's visit to Burlington. It can really be summed up in one word: AMAZING!!!! Her blog may be funny but she is absolutely hilarious in person. There was a bit of a fiasco on my part getting there. Because I work all day everyday it did not occur to me that there would be a Red Sox game getting at at the time that I was trying to get to the commuter rail station right next to Fenway (Yawkee for those who care/didn't know). So I got on the bus that the MBTA website told me to take at the time the MBTA site told me to take it. We turn onto Broolike Ave...and then we stop. We inch along for a while and I'm looking at my cellphone wondering if I'm going to make my train. So I get off the bus and I jog/power walk down Brookline, up Boylston, down Yawkee and then book it through the parking lot. Get on the train without issue but then there's a medical emergency so we're waiting and waiting. I was supposed to meet Alicia at 5...I got off the train at 5:30. After that it was pretty much smooth sailing...the traffic wasn't that bad at all. We got there at about 6 and decided to just grab seats and start knitting since there were already a fair number of people there. So we were just sitting there knitting and talking about the parts of Alicia's life that are not going so well at the moment, when Jess (Frecklegirl and Ravelry inventor extraordinaire). She skwooshed my Reversible Cable Scarf *glee*. Sorry, it's not too often that I find myself sitting nest to someone famous. That sucker's getting huge now...less than ten repeats left to go...I sense an FO in my future!! I also got one of the amazing Ravelry pins which is now prominently displayed on my backpack. Then it was Harlot time. Again...AMAZING!!! Then Alicia and I headed off to dinner at Not Your Average Joe's which was really good...and was made even better when Alicia decided to pay...oh how I love that girl.


As for other knitting, I have not touched Column of Leaves...I just can't bring myself to do it at the moment. So most nights I've been working on my Champagne by Night Afghan...I've determined that the best part about this project is that the needles are so huge that I have tripled the length in a few distracted hours. Still a long way to go since I still have quite a few balls left to go but it's making me happy and that's what matters.