More Contests

There's another Malabrigo contest over at Happy Handwork. Don't forget to tell her I sent you!

And just for fun...and also because I like to have more than two sentences in a post...I give you my favorite flower: the iris.I love the bluey-purple with the bright yellow peeking through. My sense of smell isn't too good since my allergies at ALWAYS acting up, but they don't bother my nose at all which makes them even more awesome. What are your favorite flowers?

Spring Break!

Time to take a break from studying for class and...study for the boards. Med school is kinda awesome like that. But I am having some fun this break though, I promise. Friday I traveled to Porter Square and visited Mind's Eye Yarns and picked up some Kureyon and some Amity. Logic here: I got my tax returns back and therefore have some money (for now), I had two GI finals that morning, and well...because Noro is pretty and I didn't own any black yarn (those of you who actually know me will understand how fundamentally wrong that is).

I also finished up my Cashmere Charlie Mitts and Tudora. I really love the buttons I found.I picked up some other buttons that I thought I would use for my Doctor's Bag...until I realized that the straps have some gold-tone metal on them and I'm way to OCD to put pewter buttons anywhere near that. Speaking of my Doctor's Bag, I finished knitting it (again). I had a little problem where the long sides were a good 3 inches longer than the bottom of the bag. So I ripped and re-knitted and ripped and re-knitted some more and now it's all done...DONE!!! Now I just have to go buy some black canvas and a button...and some dowels, a little bit of Plexiglas, some feet (like on the bottom on a suitcase), some cap-nuts...I think I'm gonna take my dad with me to the hardware store. I also need to convince my dad to show me how to use his sewing machine again...or at least get the bobbin threaded since I'll be all set once that's done. As much as the final assembly seems like it's going to be more work than knitting the bag (a couple times :P) I'm really looking forward to the finished product. Now I just need to figure out how to crochet all the pieces together since that much three-needle bind-off seems like it will make me homicidal.

In other news, my buddy Dennis (we go way back...like elementary school way back) is trying to raise some money for the Bike and Build project that he's doing this summer. So if you have a few bucks lying around, click on over to his blog and find out how to donate.

And contests...what would life be without contests. Alicia's having one...you should go enter...don't forget to say I sent you!!

Lecture time...

Today was a long day class-wise. I had lecture starting at 8AM and classes of various sorts running until 4PM with a 45 minute lunch break. I was very productive today seeing as this is what I accomplished in the 5 hours of lecture I had today:
It's another pair of Subway Mittens (Ravelry link) using the Cashmere blend that Alicia gave me for Christmas. Thus far they seem as though they will be an impenetrable shield of cashmere and acrylic against the Boston wind...I'm very pleased. I plan on making some kind of neck warmer to match...perhaps Tudora.

As promised I give you the people that make my day...in no particular order
Alicia
Dorothy
Yarn Harlot
Wendy
Soule Mama
David

I won't be holding anyone accountable for passing it on since I took well over a month to get around to it. Med school is eating my life. Which reminds me...I have some studying to get back to...happy knitting!

Photo Blogging...

...because it's just been that long.

I won Miss Me's contest. She is awesome. Smarties are almost as awesome as Miss Me.
I finished the first panel of my Doctor's Bag (Knit 2 Together). I'm a decent way into the second panel. I feel like I'm gonna run out of yarn...but I'll deal with that when/if it happens.
I finished the Alpaca Handwarmers (Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last Minute Gifts). They're purty.
I got a Christmas present from Enid and Adam. She addressed it to Dr. Moriah Wright...this was quite possibly the most awesome part of the present simply because I laughed REALLY hard.
Column of Leaves in finally done...all of it. It has been blocked...and worn a fair amount. And I finally got a color accurate picture...shocking!
I succumbed to the lure of a yarn sale...and escaped for less than $10...I was proud of my self-control.
Dorothy told me that I make her day. I will tell you who makes my day when I have more of my wits about me. Happy knitting!

I've been tagged!

Dorothy was kind enough to tag me in her 7 Random Things Meme. First time I've been been tagged for anything so I'm stoked. Alright...here goes!

Here are the rules, and they must be posted to your blog.
Link to the person’s blog who tagged you (see above).
List seven random and/or weird facts about yourself.
Tag seven random people at the end of your post and include links to their blogs.
Let each person know that they have been tagged by posting a comment on their blog and also so they can look at your blog and not tag the same people all over again!

My 7 Random Things:

1) I have a single fake tooth

2) I was born over a month early

3) I was 8.5 lbs and over 2 feet long at birth...I think I came early for a reason.

4) I am the youngest person in my medical school class

5) There is only one person younger than me in the class behind me

6) I have an uncanny ability to remember things that I don't even realize I know. This is coming in handy as I spend more time in hospitals and am getting "pimped" by physicians. On another note I will never quite understand why getting asked random questions on the spur of the moment is called getting "pimped."

7) I have a massive thing for Eeyore. There are 12 different Eeyores within sight of my computer...I don't want to think of how many stuffed animals I have in my bedroom upstairs.

I tag:

1) Alicia

2) Ann

3) Kniterella

4) Fiberjewel

5) KnittingNurse

6) LadyLungDoc

7) The Knitting Doctor

ETA: Go enter Miss Me's Blogoversary contest...and don't forget to say I sent you!

Snow Day!!!

I was very surprised to find that I did not have school today. Not that long ago it had been mentioned by one of the deans that they haven't canceled school in years. Thankfully my Mom thought to check if school was even open because otherwise I would have been in Chinatown with no where to go.

This weekend was very productive, I got all caught up on my schoolwork (which almost never happens...especially with 7 hours of lecture to take notes on almost everyday), and bought Super Stitches Knitting with a 25% off coupon. I love Barnes and Noble for giving me coupons all the time. Not too much has occurred on the knitting front this past weekend, but I do have some stuff to show you from last week. First, I finally finished the Column of Leaves Mittens. I can remember exactly when I finished them but I finished weaving in the ends on the train home one night as I remember. Next up was a Column of Leaves Calorimetry...because I have a lot of yarn and I liked the idea of being all matchy-matchy. I finished this in one day, cast on on my way in on the train in the working and wove in the ends just before the train pulled into the station on the way home. It was kinda impressive. I also tried to start some fingerless mitts of one sort or another with the Inca Alpaca that I got for Christmas, but nothing really seems to be working out for me at the moment. I think I'll keep going a little bit farther on what I'm doing right now (Hand/Wrist Warmers from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts) and see if it will work out but I'm not all that optimistic.
And because I have have severe knitting ADD at the moment, (I think because I'm a bit sick of the Column of Leaves pattern and as much as I want to make the scarf longer with the remaining yarn I'm sick of knitting the same 8 rows over and over and over again) I cast on for a test swatch for my Doctor's Bag!!!! (Pattern is Doctor's Bag from Knit 2 Together). I'm trying to figure out what size needles I want to use. The pattern is written for US11 and I like the fabric well enough (the whole inch of it :P) but I only have 14" straights in US11 and would not be able to take it around with me. I have some US10.5 circulars but I really want to stay as close to gage as possible...but I'm nervous about running out of yarn (even though I bought more than the pattern says I need)...and I'm generally being wishy-washy about it. My thought is that I will knit a swatch on US11s and another one of the US10.5s and use the fabric I like the best...and if I have to go out and buy some US11 circulrs so that I am not limited to home knitting time to make this bag...because at my current rate it might not be done before I graduate.
Ah well, back to work! Have to work ahead so that I don't want to kill myself when I find out how they rescheduled the classes that we missed today. Happy knitting!!!

Last Day of Freedom

First: HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope you all had a good time ringing in the New Year. I went to a friends house for a little party and had a lot of fun. I don't really make New Year's Resolutions because I know I'll break them within a week and here's a few knitting ones for you:

• Finish my Warm Up America Afghan (including sewing it all together)
• Knit my Doctor's Bag
  
• Knit for charity
• Knit primarily from my stash
  

Second: A contest. Head on over here for a blogiversary contest for yarn or fiber...and don't forget to tell them I sent you!!

Third: Christmas! I've gotten a fair amount of knitting related items for Christmas...mostly yarn so I can't really complain to much about that! Here is a little collage for you so that I don't completely drown you in pictures :P Now admittedly the one in the top left corner isn't knitting related but it's from Alicia so I wanted to put in in there anyway...by the way Alicia, have I mentioned lately how much I love you?

Fourth: Knitting!! I know...it took me long enough. There hasn't been as much knitting as I would like this break but I did manage to turn one long-standing WIP into an FO. The Champagne by Night Afghan!! I started this shortly before I started medical school but since it ws on US50 needles it was anything but portable and difficult to stay focused on. But after a long day of knitting yesterday, with the help of LibriVox, I finally managed to get it done. I used Jiffy in Camel, Color Waves in Pebble Beach and Trellis in Champagne.

I've also gotten a teensy bit of work done on my Column of Leaves Mittens. I've been running around too much trying to see everyone to get much done but I will show you my meager progress: I'm sure with the 14 hours of class that I have between now and this weekend that I will get a fair amount done...if I can just manage to stay awake! I doubt you'll be hearing much from me this semester since it seems to be a bit of a marathon but happy knitting! And remember, knit fearlessly!

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!!!