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!!!