Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Knitting update

So, here is the progress on the Anemoi mitten. I am about ready to start the decreases to begin shaping the mitten tip. I should have this mitten finished soon - if I don't get sidetracked by other projects on the needles (see below.)

As always - my apologies for the poor photos. It was surprisingly difficult to take picture of my hand.




Slipper (pre-felting). This is Cascade 220 (in an unknown shade of green and purple) knit using the previously mentioned Fibertrends pattern. These slippers really are quite enormous pre-felting (iPod for scale.) These are a thank-you gift for the doctor I worked with during my family practice rotation. The mate needs a cuff and the 2nd sole - they will get felted and finished this weekend!


Grandma Lorrel's scarf - knit with Debbie Bliss alpaca silk in black together with a black eyelash yarn on size 19 needles. The Debbie Bliss alpaca is wonderful to work with, and I imaginne that it will make a very soft, warm scarf. Grandma - I will hopefully have this to you before the end of the winter!

New Digs in Mason City

Hey Everyone,
So, Raul and I survived the storm. The Cirque show was canceled and rescheduled for some weekend in March that we won't be able to make because Raul has call. We also made a quick trip home to Iowa City to see the cat (she sends her love), snow blow the driveway and discover water in the basement. For all you lacking either a basement or experience living in the midwest - water in the basement is generally not a good thing. It typically implies some sort of malevolent process (ie - your sewer line is clogged and your basement is filling with sewage or you have a pipe that froze and then busted and your basement is now being flooded.) Fortunately (or unfortunately) for us, I don't think either of these processes are at work - we're hypothesizing that the sump pump pit system is backed up. I really have no idea how to explain a sump pump system, and we are unsure of how to fix it - I am in the process of calling in the experts. Being out of town really makes handling such matters very difficult.
Another storm is on the way tonight. Snow and ice are again forcasted. Apparently this last storm left thousands of Iowans without power, and with the next storm right on it's heels, the power company can't keep up. I was in clinic yesterday when an emergency broadcast was made on TV - people without power were instructed to immediately call 911 and they would receive transportation to the shelter. Scary.
Anyhoo - I've moved on from Des Moines, and I am now in family practice residency clinic in Mason City, IA. I'm living in a 2br apartment that I was supposed to share with another Iowa med student, but she opted to stay with some in-laws, so I have the run of the apartment. Woohoo. Compared to my previous lodgings in Des Moines, this place is palatial, and there's cable! Here are photos of my hospital provided apartment:



Sunday, February 25, 2007

Look Mom - colorwork!

Here's a current project on the needles - the Anemoi Mittens pattern by Eunny Jang. The yarn is Pallette from KnitPicks in blush and bark. I used size 0's to cast on, and I switched to size 2's for the body of the mitten. I think I cast on a little too tightly - I can barely get the ribbed part over my knuckles, but the body is looking like it will fit my hand well. I am going to try to do a looser cast on for the next mitten - if that doesn't work, maybe I'll start over, size up on my needles and give this pair to someone with hands smaller than mine.

Mitten in progress (palm side up)


Back of hand:


Modeled for you by yours truly:

Winter in Iowa

Hello again,

We're staying tonight again in Ames - driving conditions are supposed to be much better tomorrow. Raul dug out the car this morning (photo documentation below) to retrieve my jacket, and now we are all set to drive the 3.5 miles to the arena to see this show and make this whole ridiculous journey through the ice and snow worth it. After digging out our car, Raul helped an elderly lady liberate her vehicle from the snow as well. What a dogooder.

Iced Trees:





Raul and car:


Raul cleaning off car:


Snow accumulation on car with Raul's hand for scale:

Saturday, February 24, 2007

Hello

Welcome to my attempt at blogging. This is my attempt to keep interested parties (namely my grandma) up to date on current crafting activities. Old and new projects will be documented here as well as any exciting life events. Presently, all excitement (anxiety is the more appropriate term) in life involves the weather. Tonight, Raul and I were scheduled to see Delerium in Ames, IA. The ice storm that came to Iowa this weekend had other plans. We had been looking forward to this show for months, so we weathered the storm and drove up to Ames on Saturday. I distracted myself with knitting during the drive - Raul told me later about the 9+ cars he saw along the way that had run off the road. After we arrived (without incident!) the freezing rain turned to snow, and it started to come down really hard. Raul and I were were debating on whether or not we should take a cab or walk the 3 miles in the blizzard to the show when we called the arena and were informed that the show had been canceled and rescheduled for the next day. Having grown up in California, these Midwestern winters continue to amaze me. Who knew that you could wake up one winter morning and find everything covered in ice (including the roads), and did you know that the cold weather can make your car battery not charge? I slipped on the same patch of ice in my drive way several days in a row this last week - not because I didn't see it....I guess I was expecting it to be wet, not icy. You think I would learn, but no - perhaps it's a sign that I am not cut out for such cold weather. Anyways, we're snowed/iced in at a hotel in Ames - it seems everyone is staying in except for the pizza delivery guys. It could be worse - apparently people in my neighborhood in Iowa City lost power, and I get to hang out in a hotel with Raul eating pizza and watching the Back to the Future trilogy. I'm happy. And in the future, we're making no advance plans (ie purchasing expensive Cirque du Soleil tickets) for events scheduled during winter months.

So, here are some past projects:


Raul's Jaywalkers: These Jaywalkers were knitted with Cherry Tree Hill Supersock in color Life's a Beach on size 2 Addi Turbos. Here is a link to the pattern.




Hilary's slippers - I knit these with various shades of Cascade 220 (combined with eyelash yarn trim around the cuff) using the Fibertrends double-soled slipper pattern.


As you can see from my choice of backdrops (Greta's carrier and nasty drapes in a gross Des Moines apartment), my photography skills need some work.
 
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