Long time, no blog!

I can't believe it's been about 2 months since my last post. I've been so busy I just haven't had time to blog. I spent March suffering through the medicine ICU and call every third night. Bleh! I basically worked, slept, then worked some more. This month I've been busy with more interviews for fellowship and taking call on the pediatrics wards (I'm actually on call right now). Thankfully, I have time for some knitting. I've had a chance to finish some projects I started way back in February and cast-on some new projects I've been really wanting to knit. Ready for some finished objects?



Anthropologie Inspired Capelet
Pattern: Peony Knits
Yarn: Rowan Polar #646 Silver Lining
Needles: Boye Needlemaster Interchangeables size 11
Date Started: March 12, 2007
Date Completed April 22, 2007

This was super easy and the first garment I've knitted that I actually like. This was also my first time using the Boye needles and honestly, I can't stand them. I think that's one of the reasons it took me so long to finish this project. These needles were so uncomfortable and hard for me to work with; they actually hurt my wrist. Good thing I didn't pay a lot for them or I'd be so disappointed. I'm sticking with my Denise's and I just got the Options from Knitpicks which I love! I'll see if someone at my knitting group wants to give these a try.




Clutched
Pattern: Yarnplay by Lisa Shobhana Mason
Yarn: Peace Fleece Siberian Midnight colorway
Needles: Bamboo straights
Date Started: Feb 7, 2007
Date Completed: Feb 19, 2007

This color wasn't what I expected at first, but I liked it for once I started working with it. This was another pretty quick project to knit. It's knit with 2 strands of yarn held together, but I still felt that the fabric wasn't that stiff and it was a little floppier than what I wanted. I added lining and a stabilizer I found for fabric bags at my local fabric store and now it's perfect. I love the buttons! Cute, right?


I'll probably make another one (or two) of these in a brighter color. I can think of a couple of friends who'd love one.

Ugh, my pager's going off now so it's back to stomping out disease!

Feeling Blue

This month, I'm the resident on the wards at one of the hospitals and have been pretty busy. My on-call nights have been kind of draining me. By luck of the draw, I’ve been getting all of the altered mental status patients; no fun at all. On top of that, my call schedule has me missing out on my favorite parades of the Carnival season. I already missed Krewe de Vieux and Barkus; this week I’ll miss Muses, a fun night parade with cool throws. And to make it even worse, I’m post-call on Mardi Gras! This is actually the first year that I’ve had to work on Fat Tuesday, so I guess I can’t really complain. When I first moved here it amazed me that Mardi Gras is a full on holiday. Holiday as in a day with no school, no work (for some), and no postal service!

I’ve also been interviewing for a fellowship position this month. I like having the opportunity to visit different programs, but interviewing with 7-8 different people in one day can be tough! Talking about my background, research, and career plans gets old after about the second or third time in one day. On a recent interview I was asked: If you could be any cell in the immune system, which type cell would you be? I chose to be a T-cell, which my interviewer admired. Per my friends (medical and non-medical), the fact that I even had an answer to this question makes me a big nerd. I’ve never been called a nerd (at least not to my face), but if it gets me a fellowship spot, hey I’m a nerd.

As for knitting, I've put down that second sock I was working on. I just can't look at it any more. I swear, the next pair of socks I knit will be done two at a time. Right now, I'm participating in Project Spectrum II. February and March are dedicated to blue, white and grey. These aren't colors I normally reach for, but one of the reasons I joined PS was to explore more colors with my knitting. I've really been inspired by the colors this month and raided my stash for some options. I'm really feeling all the various shades of blue...

My current project is Clutched, the cute handbag in YarnPlay. I'm using the recommended yarn Peace Fleece in the Siberian Midnight colorway, a pretty mix of midnight blue, blue, grey, and white flecks.

Love the color, love the texture! My photo doesn't really do it justice. It's coming along pretty quickly and I'm searching for some buttons to add to it.