Stitches

Santa Barbara...

2009-07-04T09:17:00.000-07:00

Is totally awesome!!

Raul and I had a much needed weekend getaway last month, and I totally fell in love with Santa Barbara. Like I want to move there right now. Seriously.

We happened to be in town for their annual Summer Solstice parade. Santa Barbarians really get into their summer solsticing and parades. It was quite impressive. Take a look.

It reminded me of Iowa City, except without the snow and like a million times more expensive. And there's a dog beach!

I'm back!

2009-07-03T08:47:00.001-07:00

Medicine conspired to exhaust me and kill my spirit since March, but no more! Intern year is behind me, and I am slowly starting to repress the memories of the last four months. I will say that my streak of going a rectal exam free intern year ended in May. And my streak of not physically managing anyone's fecal incontinence also ended that same day. Oh ER - you are the ultimate psychiatry appreciation rotation. But now I'm done!

Here is a project that I made back in April for this contest. I made the shirt within the allotted time frame, but I am just getting around to blogging about it now.

Here it is:

Oy vey. Intern year is bad for the waistline. So is all the good food in LA. It's almost cruel to put pack so many tasty hamburger joints into a 10 mile radius. Yes, I have eaten at nearly all of them.

Details:
Pattern: Simplicity 4589 (view A)
Fabric: The body of the shirt is Naomi Ito Nano Iro that Raul picked up for me at Purl in NY. I would link to the Purl website, but it's down right now. It's double gauze and very lovely. The neck is Robert Kaufman linen/cotton (purchased at the Purl Warehouse in Orange County - yes, it is akin to heaven.)
Musings: I had read online that this Simplicity patterns run big, thus it is generally a good idea to size down. So, I made the size 12 (instead of the 14). Good idea in theory, but I forgot to consider the sizing up of one's body that generally occurs during intern year. So, the shirt turned out a little small in the hipster area, but I quickly remedied that problem with these fancy triangles.

Hello, I am a fancy triangle. My twin sister is located on the other side of the shirt.

Then the back was a little baggy, so I made a back dart of sorts. And rather than hemming the bottom of the shirt, I left the selvedge on. It's really cute - it almost looks like Naomi Ito signed my shirt. All in all, I was able to make this shirt in about a day and it involved minimal crying spells. And it's comfortable! Thumbs up!

Dog Beach

2009-04-25T07:56:00.000-07:00

There's a stretch of beach in Hungtington Beach where they allow dogs off leash, and it is absolutely amazing. The beach is at least a mile long, and it's beautiful, and if you visit on a weekend day, it's packed with happy dogs and people. Few things can lift the spirits like a happy dog - and hundreds of happy dogs, well that's about as good as it gets.

A couple of weekends ago, we met up with some friends down in Orange County. It was a gorgeous, hot day, so on the way back we stopped by the dog beach.

We'd brought Flynn here when we first moved to LA, and at that time, he seemed to be quite frightened of the ocean. Now he's a CA dog through and through, and was fearless in the waves.

Flynn says, "Just give me a couple more visits and I'll be tackling these waves on a board!"

BTW, I am going to try to tackle some waves on a board -- next Wednesday, in a surfing lesson (!?!).

Eat your heart out Ralph Macchio!

2009-04-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

As you probably know, Raul is a super trooper. I don't make many trips to fabric stores, but when I am ready to make the occasional pilgrimage to downtown LA to hit up Michael Levine, Raul is always my ready companion. So, when he wanted some handmade pajama bottoms, I was all over it.

I skimmed this tutorial and then kind of winged it. And it actually resulted in a totally wearable pair of pants!

The smashing headwear was his own design.

Woohoo!

2009-04-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

Raul and I have finished our step exams for the USMLE!

Here is some misc. baby stuff I made while on medicine for my cousin that's about to have a baby!

Hello. I am a flannel receiving blanket in the background. And in the foreground we have a bib, yellow lab onesie and burp cloth.

Details: I followed this tutorial for the flannel receiving blanket. I bought the flannel from Micheal Levine - they have really great selection of prints and colors. I think next time, I might try to do some bias tape sort of edging. For the burp cloth, I sandwiched a piece of cotton batting in between flannel and some white terry cloth material that I had in my stash. I used this tutorial to make the bib from flannel and the white terry. These projects were fun, quick and easy.

Last but not least - the yellow lab onesie, made during my labrador-themed-onesie-making-extravaganza! I am sure my cousin's two yellow labs are super excited about their soon to be arriving lil sis. Raul told me that some dogs rival a human two year old in terms of intelligence. I totally believe it. I think Flynn is super smart, and yet so like a two year old when he tears through the trash to eat raw chicken trimmings when he's angry at us for leaving him alone in the house for 8 hours. Sigh.

Oh Happy Day

2009-04-16T22:08:00.000-07:00

I survived that month of internal medicine. Hallelujah. Raul was on Labor and Delivery at the same hospital for the last two weeks of my rotation, and I called him for help on a daily basis. He is smart, and fluent in Spanish (very helpful with patients on my service that were always trying to die and did not speak any English.) In the end, three of my patients had heart attacks while they were on my service, and another 2 had cardiopulmonary arrests - while I was on call. It's really a terrible feeling hearing "Code Blue, Code Blue - 7East" and knowing that it's most likely your patient that's coding. But, I survived (and so did they), and it's over and I learned a considerable amount. I am very happy to be back to psychiatry. I'm on outpatient internal medicine now, but I've taken a couple psych calls. I saw a decompensated schizophrenic off meds that had smoked catnip earlier in the day. And another very agitated person that proceeded to call me all sorts of very rude names when I told him he was being placed on a 5150. Oh psych patients, how I've missed you. Crazy, but completely medically stable. I don't have to worry about your heart failure or your transplant rejection or your ischemic limb. Ahh (I am sighing in relief.)

So, I consoled myself while on medicine by spending rather exorbitant amounts of money on fabric. I'm not going to admit to exactly how much I spent because it is rather embarrassing. I was apologizing to Raul about going overboard in the fabric purchasing department, and he said, "Don't worry about it, you're not buying heroin." And I realized that he was absolutely right, and my guilt completely evaporated because heroin is bad news. Over the course if this year, I have encountered many a heroin addict, and I have gotten into the habit of thanking Raul on at least a monthly basis for not being addicted to heroin. I am being completely serious. Thank you for that perspective, Raul. If everyone could spend their money on fabric instead of heroin the amount of suffering and devastation in this world would decrease a gazillion-fold, and there were probably be a lot more nifty handmade goods circulating around out there. Enough with the crafty grandma-style fantasies, let me show you some of the stuff I made with my haul.

Two quilt tops:

Numero Uno:

Made from a Moda Wonderland fabric charm pack (the fabric comes pre-cut in 5"x5" squares. What genius!) and the sashing is Kona Cotton from Micheal Levine (aka heaven.) I was talking to Quilting Grandma about how it was a little difficult to line up the sashing, and she said that there's a rule in quilting that quilts should be scrutinized only from the point of view of someone galloping by it on a horse. That's a good rule.

Numero Dos:

And this is a stripe quilt from the West Hill by Heather Ross fabric line. So easy and sew fun!! I became totally spoiled working with this fabric. It is so soft and so decadent. I don't think I will ever be able to use the Cheapy McCheaperson fabric from discount fabric stores again.

And finally, a visit from some favorites of favorites!

Good Stuff

2009-03-14T15:21:00.000-07:00

Raul is enjoying a much deserved vacation (mostly a staycation, as he has been staying at home and helping keep me sane.) He did make a quick trip to NY last week to see his oldest friend and his wife and their cutie patootie of a daughter.

Here is Raul with aforementioned cutie patootie:

Before his trip, I teasingly asked Raul if he was planning on making a trip into Manhattan to buy me goodies from Purl. I have never been to NY, but I really aspire to go, so that I could visit this store. I'm a lucky girl - look at what he handed me when I picked him up from the airport:

Four skeins of koigu sock yarn (two in the purple color and two in the brown/black colorway) destined to make socks for both of us (me the purple and him the black/brown, in case you were wondering.) And 1 yard each of three beautiful fabrics! The yellow in the foreground is a handpainted fabric from Japan. And a little bundle of fat quarters. Que rico! He's a keeper.

Hello

2009-03-11T16:55:00.001-07:00

Inpatient internal medicine is hard. And tiring. And scary. A few days ago, I admitted a woman that came in with vomiting. Turns out that in older people (and diabetics) nausea and vomiting is often atypical chest pain. And a couple days later, she had a heart attack while going to the bathroom. Not my cup of tea. I like my medically stable psych patients. I can handle crazy, but acute medical illness, that just makes me want to cry. However, I am learning a lot, and I have much more empathy for my darling husband, who has been oh so patient when I have demanded that he "hurry up and get [his] work done and come home!" while in inpatient internal medicine. Silly me, I really didn't understand. Now I do.

Here are some pictures of happier times. Just last month, I was paid a visit by my lovely friends from grad school. Good times were had by all. Here we are hiking in Malibu:

Along the way, I picked up an unwelcome hitch-hiker:

Hello, I am a tick. On Shannon's belly.

All my medical training came in super handy, because as soon as I noticed the tick attached to my stomach, I turned to the person closest to me and screamed, "get it off!!" I then came to my senses and called Raul. Good thing one of us has some serious medical smarts. He promptly told me to take a picture of the tick (so that he could later determine if it was a breed that carried Lyme Disease) and to pull it off ASAP. The little blonde in the picture above yanked the tick off without even thinking twice. It was pretty gruesome - I had to avert my eyes. She is hard core. After the hike, and the tick incident, we all had fancy cocktails and seafood at a beachside cafe. Yay for good times and good friends!

Oh - and for those of you wondering, no worries about the Lyme's Disease. I would have been at risk if the tick had been attached for >72 hours. And mine was only on there for like 10 minutes. If you do have a tick that's been hanging on for a couple days, pull it out (make sure to get the head) and go to a doctor so you can get yourself some doxycycline.

Night Float Craftiness

2009-03-02T14:45:00.000-08:00

Vacation is over. Sad. And I am back to work on night float. 6pm to 8am. Yahoo. I've been lucky, though and have been able to sleep at least 5 hours most nights. This has allowed me to partake in some zombie-like craftiness during the day time. Again, yahoo.

Exhibit A:

More hand-stenciled onesies with a senior resident on night float. I love the sheep. I'm not sure what motivated me to make that giant red chicken. I must have been delirious. And yes, more baby fever. It's like a broken record around here.

Exhibit B:

Box bags! With this tutorial. The bag turned out smaller than I expected, but I am really happy with it. The tutorial is great and easy to follow, and now I have a handy dandy bag to hold my works in progress in my larger bag that I carry every day. This every day bag is like the pit of despair - random knitting projects, knitting books, toothbrush and dental necessities for when I am on call, snacks for when I get randomly hungry. This little box bag will now keep knitterly items away from my dental floss and potato chips. Yahoo.

Also, I am in love with the book in the background. New Pathways for Sock Knitters by Cat Bordhi. If you are a sock knitter, it is a must have. For sure.

On Thursday, I start inpatient internal medicine. I have not done a medicine rotation in over a year. If you feel like it, send kind thoughts the way of my patients in the hope that I don't harm them in my ignorance.

I Made a Quilt, and I Liked It.

2009-02-17T09:55:00.000-08:00

A new hobby!

I spent some time with my grandma (aka quilter extraordinaire) on vacation, and I made a quilt, in like 4 days. We started the quilt last August, and I pretty much let it languish when I returned home. I had some of the cutting already done, but the project went so fast once we got started again. It has been my experience (my "sick" days spent sewing with Hilary in med school) that sewing is much more enjoyable if you have a buddy. And it really helps if that buddy knows what they are doing and can give you helpful tips throughout your project.

Details:
Pattern: Beefcake Fat Quarter Quilt by Two Sisters at Squirrel Hollow
Material: Amy Butler fat quarters and various other stuff from my stash
Size: 66x80 inches

I sent the quilt top and backing off in the mail to a woman that does machine quilting. I should have it back in about 6 weeks. I thought about quilting it on my sewing machine (via stitching in the ditch) and quickly realized that this would take far too long, cause me many headaches and would likely result in the quilt never being finished. It's good to have help in life, especially it if saves you hours of time and headaches.

This quilt was made in my continued theme of baby fever. I think it's a little larger than twin-sized. The day is fast approaching when our schedules will be such that we could actually seriously think about having a baby. And babies grow up right? And he/she will need a colorful quilt for their twin-sized bed. Yes, I am insane. And I (and Raul) like it that way.

Yummy part II!

2009-02-10T11:46:00.000-08:00

I joined a fiber club a few months ago, and every so often, I get some fiber in the mail. I've been spinning some of it (like here) and some has been going in the stash.

Here is the stash that has gathered thus far:

I have eight ounces of colorways 'sleepy hollow' merino and 'smokestack' merino and four ounces each of 'pet rat' merino and 'smokestack' corriedale cross. What shall I make?? The possibilities are limitless!

Hey Pretty Lady

2009-02-08T11:51:00.000-08:00

I have a grandma that hearts hearts. I heart knitting. And my grandma. The sweetheart vest from Interweave Knits was designed with us in mind, I'm pretty sure.

I originally planned to finish it for my grandma's birthday in September. Well, that came and went, as did Christmas. But now it's finished and ready for me to hand deliver of my vacation!

Here is a photo on my table:

Here is a modeled shot by my lovely grandma:

Project details:
Pattern: Sweetheart Vest by Theresa Schabes from Interweave Knits, Fall 2007
Yarn: Plymouth Galeway chunky #722 tan heather, #16 red, #91 orange, #142 pink, and #712 dark brown heather
Size: Medium?
Needles: size 10 circs

Comments: I slipped stitches on edges. Note to self - never do that again. Other than that, I am happy with the pattern and fit and colorwork!

Yummy!

2009-02-06T11:38:00.001-08:00

Yesterday was my birthday. Yay! And it was also the first day of a two week vacation, so I have time to blog. Also, yay!

As a pre-birthday present, we went to a local spinning and weaving shop to buy some goodies. I bought a little less than a pound of washed and picked fleece (wool shorn from the sheep that has been minimally processed.) I am blending it with some hand-dyed merino roving from my stash and make a vest for Raul (aka best husband ever.)

Here is a photo of roving + fleece:

Dee-licious.

I also bought some hand carders. You use these to separate the raw fleece and blend it with the roving to make it ready for spinning. That thing at the top is a rolag (the wool after carding), and it's ready for spinning!

Here is a shot of what I have spun so far. Very excited!

A Blonde, a Brunette and a Redhead

2009-01-22T21:23:00.000-08:00

Raul and I got to visit my oldest friends this weekend. They have the cutest 9 month old daughter ever. My friend and I stenciled on onesies using this tutorial, and our husbands played Wii.

Hello. We are A-dorable handpainted onesies.

I have known Shannon since kindergarten, and now we are painting onesies.

We (and Flynn-dog) are the inspiration for aforementioned onesies.

So fun.

It's going to be a long winter

2009-01-21T21:17:00.001-08:00

This is what our world looked like last January:

Here is where we are now:

It is a tough life.

P.S. Thank you all for your kind comments about Pluto.

Good Night Sweet Boy

2009-01-05T21:12:00.001-08:00

As some of you may know, Raul and I recently adopted Pluto from a local animal rescue organization. He was an 8 year old Irish Wolfhound/Lab mix, and he was really a prince among dogs. We found out last Friday that Pluto likely had metastatic cancer, and an oncologist confirmed our suspicions today. His disease was so advanced and his pain was such that putting him to sleep was the only option. To Pluto, we would like to say that the days we spent with you were precious, and we are better for having known you, even if it was for a short time. You will be missed.

Koolhaus, part deux in handspun!

2008-12-30T13:16:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, my first Koolhaas somehow ended up in the washer and then the dryer and felted down to an unwearably small size. Boo hoo. And here I am in LA in frigid temps with no hat to keep my ears warm! Koolhaas 2 to the rescue!

All up close and personal

Details:
Pattern: Koolhaas by Jared Flood
Yarn: My handspun!
Needles: Size 6 circulars
Final word: Love! So satisfying to knit with handspun. Is there anyway I could quit my day job and devote my life to fiber based hobbies?

Holidazed

2008-12-29T13:07:00.000-08:00

Raul was one of the three lucky people that received handknits from me this year. One of those three handknits is still a work in progress and is about halfway done (oops.) I also knitted a pair of socks for my SIL, but I forgot to take pictures before wrapping them up (again, oops.)

This is the November installment of the Rockin Sock Club sock yarn and pattern. The photo is a little washed out - the colors are more vibrant 'fall-esque' colors than what is pictured here. Pattern was "Holidazed"by Anne Hanson (ravelry link.) Using Socks that Rock Mediumweight sock yarn and my trusy size 2 Addi turbo circulars. Quick knit and super fun!

I signed up for next year's sock club too. So excited!!

Here is another picture of socks with cute dog.

Christmas Dinner

2008-12-28T12:52:00.000-08:00

At the last minute, I was able to trade calls with a co-intern, and Raul and I were able to both have Christmas Day off. Yay!

We made dinner at our house that night. Here's what it looked like:

Hello. I am Christmas Dinner. I would like to say hi to my friend HMMD, who loves to see photos of peoples' dinners on blogs.

We made Cornish Game Hens using this recipe. We do not recommend it. Not sure if the problem was the recipe or with our preparation. Either way - it was a ton of work and not very tasty. The other stuff was way good - mashed parsnips and potates, yams and roasted brussels sprouts. And dark chocolate covered peppermint Joe Joe's for dessert.

The best part was the company.

Hello. We are very good guests. We ate everything (even the hens) and told Shannon and Raul it was delicious!

Happy Anniversary to Us!

2008-12-26T13:05:00.000-08:00

We celebrated our 2 year wedding anniversary on December 11th! Woo Hoo! The weekend before, Raul planned a romantic getaway to Catalina Island.

We flew there by helicopter - a lifelong dream of Raul's and a great fear of mine. I had anticipated that it would feel as if I were hovering above the ocean in a tin can. I was pleasantly surprised as the helicopter was very un-tin-can-like.

Hello. It is our anniversary and we are in a helicopter. Above the ocean.

We stayed in Avalon. It was a super small town - very much a cruise boat sort of town, but it was such a nice get away from the city.

We stayed in a great place, right across the street from the harbor. We ate breakfast on our balcony in the morning.

The final word is that Raul did such an excellent job planning (and not over-planning as is my compulsion) this vacation that he has been elected to the high position of "Vacation Planner for All-Time." Way to go Raul!!

I will end this post with words from one of my patients, "If you want to get it right, never eat peanut butter in front of a god." If this statement makes sense to you, I would advise presenting to your nearest psychiatrist for evaluation.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T12:52:00.000-08:00

Hello. We are super cute boys, and we say happy holidays!

Babies in Handknits

2008-12-07T21:28:00.000-08:00

Remember this sweater?

Here is an action shot modeled by recipient (and dad)!

So cute!!

Squashed

2008-11-26T15:10:00.000-08:00

More handspun!

Hello. I am roving.

All spun up.

In skein form.

Details:
This is 4oz of superwash merino roving from Sakina Needles in colorway 'squashed'. I believe I have about 170 yards of worsted weight yarn. No overtwist this time! I am working on attempting to spin yarn finer than worsted. Spinning is my new obsession. So fun.

Whose blood are you covered in?

2008-11-25T15:07:00.001-08:00

I am now rotating through a county psychiatric ER, and I used the above line to open a patient interview after introducing myself. Exciting times. I was on call last Sunday, and an agitated and violent patient had to get tasered. The situation was terrifying. I remained safely in the nurses station while the patient was being subdued; I am not trained to take down patients, and I have resolved to myself (and repeatedly promised to Raul) that I will not try.

I am glad that Thanksgiving is coming up and I will have a bit of a break from this rotation.

Life

2008-11-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

No posts for the month of October. Hmm. Things have been busy, and well - I kind of lost my groove there for a couple months. It was very hard to come back from rotations after having 2 weeks vacation. And I came back to night float. Sleeping on a gross plastic mattress in an office at the VA is way less preferable to sleeping in my own bed, at home with my husband. And let me tell you, during those two weeks, few things could have been more annoying than to be repeatedly woken from sleep by nurses that don't know their patients to go see patients that really can't tell you what's wrong. I truly enjoy psychiatry, but I like sleep more.

And then I went to a geriatric psychiatry rotation, and that was wonderful at first. My patients were very high functioning for the most part, and they were largely admitted for the management of mood disorders. I found the therapeutic relationships that I was able to establish with those patients to be immensely satisfying. But well, they got better and were discharged. The patients that have been admitted to my service lately can be generally described as severely demented or delirious, admitted for management of behavioral problems. Caring for a demented patient is extremely challenging. It is often impossible to explain the therapeutic purpose behind your actions - how do you explain the need for postural restraints to a patient that is severely cognitively impaired. They can't understand that they are a huge fall risk, and you're worried about them injuring themselves. They just know they are unable to get up out of the chair they're sitting in. And the management of agitation...it's such a fine line between good control of agitated behaviors and oversedation. In these interactions, sometimes it is difficult to see how I am actually helping these patients. And one of my co-interns attempted suicide last month. It was a lethal attempt, and he has not yet demonstrated significant neurological recovery. It is so sad. He is a beautiful person, and we are all holding out hope that he recovers. These last couple months have been hard, and I am tired. I'm only working about 60 hours/week, but I am have been so tired. It is helpful to remember that life won't always be like this - I look forward to my third year of residency when I no longer have overnight call, and I will get to work ~40 hour weeks. And I had a good week last week. I got sleep. I was able to have dinner with Raul for 5 nights in a row (gasp!) and I was able to remember that I actually have it pretty good.

So, though I have been neglecting the blog, I haven't' been neglecting the hobbies. Spinning is fun. Here are some photos.

The middle skein is 4oz of superwash merino wool from Chameleon Colorworks in colorway 'Taos'. This roving was super soft and luscious and very fun to spin. I was attempted to spin worsted weight yarn, but it came out a little heavier than what I was aiming for. I am making a baby surprise jacket from this yarn. Pictures to follow when I finish it (hopefully this week.) The skeins on both ends are 8oz of superwash merino pencil roving from Crown Mountain Farms in colorway 'I Feel Free.' This was also very fun to spin. I am thinking this may become a Tomten. I am still getting the hang of spinning. At present, I am able to spin worsted weight yarn fairly consistently, but I am noting lots of overspin in my finished yarn. I'm not sure if the problem is with my singles or my plying.

Fairtime

2008-09-30T09:01:00.000-07:00

I meant to post this earlier, but well, I've been busy.

On vacation, I spent quality time with the grandmas, and I also went to a small-town county fair. Here is a photo of me enjoying both aforementioned activities:

While at the fair, we ate these:

Hello. I am an Indian Taco and I am delicious. Never tried one? Well then, you haven't really lived.

Spinning

2008-09-28T20:48:00.000-07:00

So, I have been busy in my blogging hiatus. I started a new rotation - on geriatric psychiatry, and I am really liking it. I also caught an upper respiratory tract infection, and I spent more than a few days feeling very sorry for myself. No worries - I am on the mend. Sinus irrigations are really where it's at people. No Joke.

I've also been spinning. I took a lesson on my wheel a couple weeks ago, and since that time, I have spun up nearly every bit of roving in my fiber stash. I am learning, and getting a little more proficient with each skein I spin. Here are some photos:

This is my first spinning endeavor. The roving was a wool/donegal wool blend. 8 oz.

I am bulky and will likely be made into a soaker for cloth diapers.

My second attempt at spinning. Merino wool. 8 oz. I have no idea how many yards I have - I suppose I should figure out some way to measure that.

Singles on bobbins.

Awkward photo of plied yarn on niddy noddy.

So many hobbies. So little time.

Quilting is in my blood

2008-09-13T10:24:00.000-07:00

It was inevitable that I take up this hobby. I have a genetic predisposition. Here's proof.

Grandma's quilts.

So, during my recent vacation I made a trip to a local quilting store to buy a magnetic pin cushion with Quilting Grandma. While there, I happened to see that the shop had cut up a bunch of fat quarters in Amy Butler fabric and were selling them as a kit to make this quilt. So, of course I had to buy it. And of course, we had to have a quilting date the next day.

Me with Grandma in her craft room.

My squares.

So fun.

My goal is to have all the squares done by February, and I think that's totally doable. I have about half of the fabric cut and ready to piece together!

Down with Anonymity

2008-09-11T10:21:00.000-07:00

My friends gave permission to post entire photo, so you could see their beautiful faces in addition to their feet.

Flynnjamin's Great Adventure

2008-09-03T14:08:00.000-07:00

So, the dog has been my buddy for the past week as I drove up and down California visiting family and friends.

First up, the bay area:

Hanging out on a d-mn lovely porch with friends' feet.

Then playtime with cousins:

Blogging world, meet my new niece, Tess. She's cute.

Finally, with the whole family:

What a life.

The Knitter's Heart

2008-08-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

About two years ago, I made a pair of Fibertrend's Felted Clogs for my mom and gave them to her for Christmas. Just recently she informed me that she had worn them so much that the soles now had holes. Take a look:

Hello. I am a handknit, and I am literally worn out. How cool is that?

Seriously, if you want to be the recipient of an unending stream of my handknits, wear holes in the ones I've already given you. Way to go Mom. So, despite my earlier claims of retiring this pattern, I promptly walked myself to a local yarn shop, picked out some Cascade 220 wool, cast on, watched the Olympics, and presto! a new pair of slippers were born.

New slippers, modeled by darling mother:

A lovely profile shot:

Details (same as the previous 15 pairs):
Pattern: Fiber Trends Felted Clogs
Yarn: Cascade 220 wool, about 2.5 skeins
Needles: Size 13s?
Comments: Mom, I will happily make you another pair should you also wear these out.

Wheeeee(l)!!!!

2008-08-22T09:04:00.000-07:00

I just started two weeks of vacation. The first two months of intern year have really flown by. So, I'm on vacay, and Raul just started a month of trauma surgery - I last saw him when I dropped him off at the hospital at 4:45am yesterday morning. Pobrecito Raulito. Before leaving, he made me (really twisted my arm) promise to pamper myself while on vacation. So, I promptly went out and purchased a spinning wheel.(!!) I have long been fantasizing about owning a wheel, and now my dreams have come true. Take a look!

Isn't she beautiful?!

The wheel is an Ashford Kiwi, purchased here. I love the wheel and the shop where I bought it was great - they offer lessons, too, and hopefully, I will be able to squeeze in a lesson before my vacation ends. I haven't tried any serious spinning on it yet - I've just been reading up on handspinning and practicing treadling. Very excited!

So, with the darling husband working 12-14 hour days back home, the dog and I set out to drive up and down the state of California over the next week to visit friends and family. We will keep you posted of our adventures!

Sweet-tart Anklets

2008-08-15T06:49:00.000-07:00

I have said this before, but it bears repeating - I love ankle socks. I think I have some subtle wool allergies that make wearing full socks a little unbearable at times, but ankle socks I can wear with gusto and pleasure. I wore this pair on call last week, and my ankles could breathe and were happy.

As a side note, I have become an Olympics addict. That's why there have been no recent posts. I can't get enough of swimming and gymnastics and beach volleyball. I just wish the programming started earlier in the evening, so I didn't have to stay up so late. Last night I pre-napped for the Olympics. Good strategy - will repeat. I have also been knitting like a fiend during the olympics and on my rotation (!), and I was able to finish the July installment of Rocking Sock Club socks in record time. Here they are:

View on 2 feet:

Gusset and such (with a strand of Flynn's hair for garnish):

Details:
Pattern - Sweet tart anklets by Marilyn Kaleikilo
Yarn - Blue Moon Socks that Rock Lightweight in colorway Goody Goody
Needles - Size 1 dpns
Comments - Quick and easy, and I have already professed my love of ankle socks, so no need to go there again. My first picot edge - love it!

So, I think it was when I was finishing the gladiator socks that I had a thought that went something like this - "I did a pretty good on these socks, but if I were on a reality show for knitters, I would probably get voted off." I then came to my senses - how boring would it be to sit around and watch a bunch of people knit, week after week, on a reality TV show? I really like knitting, and I'm not sure that I would even watch that. Do any of you watch Bravo's reality TV (ie Shear Genius)? So good.

Family is Good

2008-08-05T14:03:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend in my hometown. After being a way for 4 years, it's so nice to be less than a 2 hour drive from my family. They are wonderful. My brother got a new puppy, sorry no pics, I forgot the camera. Very much looking forward to future playdates with my dog and his!

Gladiator Stockings

2008-08-03T13:42:00.001-07:00

Apologies in advance for the photos. My dear Raul has been putting in 80 hour weeks on his present rotation, and I had to handle this photo shoot solo. It's really hard to take pictures of socks while you're wearing them.

So, I saw the Sex and the City movie recently. I really like the movie, but I totally hated many of the shoes they wore. Those of you that know me, know that I am in no way a fashionista. I think I have been dressing in the same style since I was about 12 years old. I'm cool with that. I pay little attention to passing fashion trends. But I really have to say that I totally hate gladiator style sandals. Blech. After finishing these socks, I noticed they were a little gladiator-ish - the traveling stitches remind me of laces. I like these socks, but I still hate gladiator sandals. I will now stick my head back in the sand, continue to wear the same clothes I've been wearing for the past 10 years, and ignore all things relating to fashion.

Onto the socks!

View of both feet:

View from the back:

From the side:

Details:
Pattern - Cleopatra's Stockings by Yarnissma
Yarn: STR lightweight in colorway "Incredible Shrinking Violet"
Needles: Size 1 (2.25mm) for the foot and Size 2 (3mm) for the upper part of the cuff.
Comments:
I am so happy that I joined this sock club - it's really been a wonderful experience. I love getting a surprise skein of yarn in the mail every other month, and I've really expanded my knitting horizons with the patterns included with the yarn. This pair was quite challenging - knit from the toe up with a provisional crochet chain cast-on. A first for me, and not as difficult as I had expected. All in all, love the yarn and the pattern and the finished socks!

Goody Goody

2008-07-31T08:27:00.000-07:00

Yarn in the mail!

July installment of Rockin Sock Club sock yarn. I cheated and looked at spoiler pictures of this yarn on someone else's blog before I got mine in the mail. I was not too impressed by the photos - I'm not a huge pastel fan. However, when my yarn finally arrived, I found that it is much lovelier in person than in photo. Colorway is 'Goody Goody' (hence the title of this blog entry.) And this month's patterns are quite exciting.

Now I just have to finish May's socks. Almost done. Pictures soon.

Feels like home

2008-07-29T21:48:00.001-07:00

First earthquake since we've been back! Oh CA, how I've missed you.

All is well. No injuries were sustained while we were diving under tables and jumping into doorways. No fallen pictures or pantry items. The dog thought it was fun and asked if we could do it again, please.

Knits in the Works

2008-07-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

So, you may thank the blogger option of 'scheduling' posts (ie having an entry post automatically several days after writing it for all these recent entries.) Yay for the magic of the internet and computer programming!

So here is a view at what I've got on the needles.

First up, the sweetheart vest. It's for my grandma for her birthday.

So, you might notice that I omitted the white stripe running through pink section because I could not find this yarn in that white colorway. I think it looks ok.

Now, tailgate rag rug from Mason-Dixon Knitting.

I'm using 4 strands of the worsted weight peaches and cream held together and the contrast rows are knitted from 1" strips of fabric I had in my stash. I accidentally left this project on the living room floor the other night, and it had an unfortunate incident with the Roomba in the morning. Luckily, Raul was able to extricate Rooma from tangled yarn web; Roomba was unscathed and tailgate rag rug sustained minor injuries that will be easily mended.

Ode to the Roomba

2008-07-14T18:59:00.000-07:00

For years, Raul has wanted to buy a Roomba. Our former house was small without much carpet, so I resisted. Now, our place is covered in carpet - light beige carpet, too. And us with a cat and big black dog that love to shed. I finally relented, and Raul purchased a Roomba about two weeks ago. It's effect on our lives has been profound. Every morning, it wakes itself up, runs around our house vacuuming, and when it is done, it puts itself back to bed in its charger. It's magic. Roomba, thank you for your vigilence in keeping our floors free of dog and cat hair, and thank you for allowing me to spend my free time knitting and not vacuuming. We heart the Roomba.

I can see clearly now..

2008-07-12T17:23:00.000-07:00

Because I have cool new glasses!

Just a peek (trying to minimize identifiable photos of myself on the interweb because I don't want any stalkers.)

Seriously

2008-07-09T13:55:00.000-07:00

OMG! What kind of sadist puts motion sensing lights in a call room? Really? Who needs the lights to go on everytime you roll over in bed when you're only getting a couple hours of sleep? And how funny is the wikipedia definition of a call room? It must have been written by a resident - someone well acquainted with working herself to the point of exhaustion.

Call is fun by the way. I like psychiatry, and I am liking this city much more. The dog is still happy as a clam in mud, and the cat's doing better - at least she's been urinating exclusively in her litter box.

Leafling socks

2008-07-03T21:04:00.000-07:00

March installment of Rockin Sock Club Socks finished!

These photos were taken while I was visiting Raul on call (I brought him dinner on a night when he had to stay overnight in the hospital. Yes, I am a very wonderful wife, you don't have to tell me.) He was kind enough to help me with a sock photo shoot in his call room.

View on 2 feet.

Full frontal.

Intimate heel detail.

Details:
Yarn: Socks That Rock mediumweight sock yarn in color Lucky
Pattern: Leafling by JC Briar
Needles: Size 2 circs
Comments: So FUN! I loved this pattern. The author said she was inspired by Cat Bordhi's new book New Pathways for Sock Knitters. I have to get this book. This sock construction is ingenious. You add the gusset stitches as you go, so you don't have to pick up any stitches for the heel. Amazing. And I love the almost cabley-look of the pattern in the front. I am so going to make this pattern again.

Adjusting

2008-07-01T19:06:00.000-07:00

So, life here is way different from Iowa City. Overwhelmingly so. So many people everywhere, all the time. So many cars everywhere, all the time. I walked from one hospital to another the other day, and the route I took required that I cross 4 different interstate on-ramps and off-ramps. It was kind of terrifying. I don't think I am ever going to walk that route again. Even if it is shorter. Though there are some cool things about LA. Like my family. I have seen them so much since I've been out here, and that has been wonderful. The food is really good. The farmers' markets are phenomenal. And the weather isn't so bad. : )

Raul and I started residency last Tuesday, and it is going well. It's busy. We both have to take overnight call (where you have to stay overnight in the hospital to handle any problems with your patients and to take any new admissions) once or twice a week. We don't get to see each other as much as we used to, and I miss him, but we're getting used to it.

I took my first overnight call in the hospital last week. It was an interesting and overwhelming experience. And terrifying. I survived, and by the early morning (I got my last admission at 2am), I was actually having fun.

Raul is doing well. He's saving babies in the Pediatric ICU. I think we could all take some lessons from him on how to handle stress and to leave work at work.

The dog is loving it here along with all the attention he's getting from my frequently visiting family. And he doesn't have to sleep in his kennel anymore - we moved his dog bed next to our bed. He's a happy camper. The cat, not so much. She really misses Iowa City, and her cat door that provided her with constant access to the great wild outdoors. She's been going to the bathroom in places other than her cat box. Those of you with cats know that this is not a good thing. I've started letting her outside when I'm home, and she seems to be doing a little better. I bought her a cat bed today, and I think she likes it.

ETA: I later found out that Greta was not nesting in her new bed. She was urinating in it.

Slowly, but surely, we're getting there.

Happy Birthday Mom

2008-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday Mom!

Whoa, Indigo Ripples Skirt is finished?!

2008-06-18T20:20:00.000-07:00

Finished!!

Close-up of lace:

I am cool and rippley.

Specs:
Pattern: Indigo Ripples Skirt by Kat Coyle from Interweave Knits Spring 2007
Yarn: Elann Den-M-Knit denim yarn in color dark denim, 14 balls
Needles: Size 4 circulars. I think the pattern called for 6s or 5s. I'm not sure, but when I swatched (whoa!) I found that the resulting fabric was a little see-through on the larger needles. Not something that I am really interested in in a skirt. I was able to achieve a more densely knitted fabric with the smaller needles, and all was right in my knitting world.
Size: So, this was a little tricky. My waist measurements matched the large size and my hips, the extra-large. I cast on for the large, and increased (in a way that I do not remember because it was over a year ago) up to the number of stitches required for the hips of the extra-large size. It was a bit of a gamble, but it turned out pretty well. I also increased the lengths of both the solid panel and the lace panel for a longer skirt.

I am really happy with how this skirt turned out. And it only took me a couple years to make. The time flew by, really. I had been hitting the knitted denim skirt pretty hard since I finished my rotations, and I finally cast-off the final stitches during our drive out to LA. Let me say, finishing it was a total beast. The ruffle at the bottom of the skirt ate yarn like crazy, and to make it even more ruffle-y, you do this increase thing with the cast-off where you add a stitch for every one stitch you cast off. So, I ended up having to cast off 1200 stitches. It took some time. Overall, the pattern was excellent and very easy to follow.

Unfortunately, we no longer have a washing machine and dryer at our immediate disposal. We do, however, have coin-op laundry in our building, but no matter what temperature setting I choose, the washing machine always washes my clothes in scalding hot water. Not the best laundering conditions for handknits. I was finally able to wash the skirt during a visit to my mom's (sidenote - it's totally awesome being 30 years old, and still taking dirty laundry to mom's. really.) And it shrunk to the dimensions I was aiming. For those of you unfamiliar with cotton denim yarn, the knitted garment should shrink approximately 30% in length.

Also, I opted for some braided elastic in lieu of a drawstring because I am not a huge fan of drawstrings.

Absorba

2008-06-16T07:54:00.000-07:00

We've just moved into a new apartment, and some hand knits were totally needed to spruce up the place. First up, bathmats! Raul's dreams have finally come true - we have two sinks in our bathroom. He may now brush his teeth without worry of knocking over any of the miscellany that I invariably leave lying all around the sink. Whew! We also now have two bathrooms - this is one more than we previously had, and in this new place we had a definite shortage of bathmats. Mason-Dixon knitting to the rescue!

The pattern calls for three strands of double worsted to be held together throughout. I found cones of worsted weight at Wal-Mart (yes, the evil empire, don't hate me.) I bought six cones - six strands worsted = 3 strands double worsted, right? It all worked out, and I have a ton of yarn. I made two of these bathmats for our bathroom, and I think I have enough yarn left over to make the Tailgate Rag Rug from the same book.

Here's a photo:

Hello. I am squishy and quite delightful to stand on. I am also somewhat camouflaged in this photo. Please click on picture should you want a more detailed viewing. Thank you.

Specs:
Pattern: Absorba from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Peaches and Cream worsted weight, 6 strands held together throughout, 3 strands ecru, 3 strands white
Needles: Size 15s
Comments: Super quick knit. And fun, too. I haven't yet washed them, and I am wondering if they'll shrink a little. Log cabin knitting is fun. Maybe I should start quilting in my spare time.

Butchart Gardens

2008-06-13T09:39:00.000-07:00

We stopped in Victoria and visited a garden.

They were beautiful.

They were built on land that was mined for limestone. The 'Sunken Garden' lies in what was the former quarry.

Japanese Garden.

Ziplining

2008-06-12T09:18:00.000-07:00

We also ziplined. This is possibly the most fun I have ever had. We highly recommend it.

Can you see me?

How about now?

We were about 130 feet up, zipping along the tops of the trees. So fun. We did about 8 zips total, and we walked across 3 suspension bridges.

All smiles.

Cruising Alaska

2008-06-11T09:12:00.000-07:00

We are returned from our cruise. It was way fun.

We laughed.

We hiked.

We were told many a tale of salmon spawning in streams such as this:

We wore fancy clothes (note presence of handknits in photo.)

We (I) knitted.

We saw glaciers.

Alaska is beautiful.

Vegas Baby

2008-06-05T22:52:00.000-07:00

Where can you see the Statue of Liberty, the Eiffel Tower and the Roman Colosseum all in one stop? Vegas, baby!

The dog and the cat liked it, too.

Chillin' in front of the Bellagio.

Does anyone make a cat carrier with a pillow-top mattress and high thread count linens?

Hilary won big at the slot machines and drove home in style!!!

Roadtripping

2008-06-02T10:28:00.000-07:00

Post graduation, the cat, the dog, the Raul, the Shannon and the Hilary climbed into our car and set out west. We had a grand adventure. The first two days consisted of a combined total of 24 hours in the car. It was brutal. And then we arrived in Arizona.

Here are pictures of the fam on the rim of the Grand Canyon.

We went for a hike on the South Kaibib trail.

Hello. I have like nine million switchbacks.

The hike down was easy, and the scenery was phenomenal. We also crossed paths with many a mule train. When we stopped for lunch it began to hail. I quickly became completely soaked. The hike out was not leisurely (I think we made it out in less time than it took to go down), and I was cold.

Raul's view as he greeted us at the trailhead. Note snow on ground. In May.

All in all it was an excellent time, but the best was yet to come. A karaoke contest at the Museum Club - you really have to visit any establishment described by your guide book as a "taxidermy museum transmogrified into a country bar filled with hordes of dancing cowboys." Really. Does it get any better? I don't think so.

Meeting of the Matriarchs

2008-05-31T10:14:00.000-07:00

Apologies for the blogging hiatus. Computer and camera connector cord thing were on a truck being transported from Iowa to LA until Wednesday. I have much to tell you.

First, let's go back in time to a few days before graduation. My lovely mother and grandmother came out a few days before the rest of the familia for some matriarchal bonding. We had a good time, and then we all packed up my entire kitchen. Moms and grandmas are the best!

Here we are. As you can tell, we like blankets (it runs in the family.) These midwestern springs are chilly weather for California girls.

AM coffee and pastry run at the most excellent of spots with another matriarch. Birds of a feather.

As you read this, I will be cruising in Alaska. How am I also posting, you ask? It is magic. Stay tuned!

Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.

2008-05-29T23:03:00.003-07:00

We made it! And so did our furniture. We are all in a state of partial assembly and organization. More details to follow.

Doctor, Doctor

2008-05-18T07:55:00.002-07:00

We are so done!

Oops.

2008-05-12T07:03:00.002-07:00

Remember Koolhaas? So lovely and soft and warm. I lost him a few weeks ago, and I was sad. Yesterday, I found him...in the dryer. I had felted him, and now he is very small. Take a look(with large coffee mug for scale):

Hello. I am small.

Oh well. I suppose this smaller hat will take up less space than the adult-sized version would have in our move out west. And now I have a baby-sized bucket hat.

Odds and Ends

2008-05-11T07:04:00.002-07:00

I am trying to wrap up loose ends around here. We are leaving in one week! I am in denial about my imminent departure. I am so going to miss this town. I dyed up the last of my Grandma's wool - take a gander:

Here's another treat for you:

Hello. I am a block-head frog.

I needle-felted this little guy. I tried to make a frog, but I had never really thought about how frogs' heads are constructed, and a blockhead frog resulted. I have since put considerable thought into the shape and dimensions of frog heads, and should I ever attempt a needle-felted frog finger puppet in the future, I hope the final outcome will be better. Just so you know, with needle felting, you basically gently stab roving (in this case it was green) repeatedly with a sharp, barbed needle. It felts and you can shape it into whatever you like. For the head, I carved a squishy foam block with some scissors into a shape that I thought resembled a frog's head, and then you stab the roving onto the foam. Clear as mud?

Lotus Cami

2008-05-09T10:55:00.005-07:00

Check me out!

Back button detail:

Intimate button detail:

Details:
Pattern - Lotus Cami by Amy Butler
Fabric - Anna Griffin for Windham Fabrics in Dorothy
Notions: Muslin for button panel interfacing, and 7 1" pearl buttons purchased in Muscatine, IA (pearl button capital of the world).
Comments: I experienced the full range of human emotion while making this shirt. I laughed, I cried, I contemplated setting it on fire. Quite the roller coaster ride - and now that I am done, though I am happy with the finished product, I will most likely never make this shirt again. The construction is difficult, and I made several mistakes (i.e. cutting through both the exterior and facing of the sleeve when I had almost finished putting the shirt together) that really made this much more tedious than it needed to be. The buttonholes were way cool to make, and so easy with a buttonhole foot and so professional looking! Per usual, Amy Butler makes some fantastic patterns. I did make some modifications - I added 2" to the length of the body, and I also added a box pleat to each of the sleeves. And I substituted muslin fabric for the medium-weight sew-in interfacing the pattern suggested to stabilize the button panels - it worked out really well!

Nappy Diaper Bag and Changing Mat

2008-05-02T06:54:00.005-07:00

A dear friend from grad school is having a baby! I happened to have a diaper bag/changing mat pattern that I was itching to try out, and I also happen to be a 4th year med student (wait, I am done with rotations, does that mean I can call myself a physician?!) with oodles of time to craft on my hands. Yay for those moments when needs and desires actually are met by resources!

Here she is - the Nappy Diaper Bag:

Look at all these pockets!

Cell phone pocket, isn't she cute?

And the very lovely Diaper Changing Mat
With cover:

Without cover:

Fully exposed:

Details:
Pattern: Amy Butler (yes, I am an addict) Nappy Diaper Bag and Baby Changing Mat
Fabric: Embroidered linen blend from my stash (in years past, it has been my habit to aspire to make curtains. I would give buy an insufficient amount for said curtains, give up and throw the aforementioned fabric into stash.) And a very cute green and white polkadot print from here. And white terry cloth for changing mat.
Notions: Cotton batting for changing mat; button-hole foot for changing mat bag drawstring; lightweight iron-on interfacing; duckcloth (provides stability for main exterior panels of diaper bag).
Comments:
Diaper bag first. This is my first solo bag, and I really put some blood, sweat and tears into it - literally (I poked myself with pins about 10 million times. Note to self, break habit of sticking yourself with sharps prior to upcoming ER and medicine rotations as an intern.) I am really happy with the finished product, but boy, with all the fabric and pockets and linings and interfacing, is this bag sturdy. I think my friend could throw her baby in here without worry. For the same reason, it's also a little heavy. Next time, I should remember to use a lighter weight fabric. I also might lose the phone pocket - Mer, you'll have to tell me how handy this little guy actually is. I also might try to make the straps a little longer for an over the shoulder bag, and maybe it needs some sort of snap closure because right now, the bag is totally open without any sort of closure. Again Mer, please give me all sorts of feedback. I really like all the inside pockets though I might lose one of the bottle pockets the next time around. All in all, I love it! Very excited to gift to my friend and to make more!
Baby changing mat: This pattern is awesome. No changes. I just want to remind myself next time when doing the stitching across the batting to stitch the ends on either side first - otherwise the excess fabric gets all bunched up at one of the sides. This probably makes no sense, but hopefully, I will remember what I am talking about.

Storm Water Shawl

2008-04-29T18:18:00.011-07:00

Completed! And it only took me two short years! I started this shawl before my wedding with the intention of wearing it with my wedding dress. Obviously, this did not happen. Too bad because it was really cold on my wedding day and my dress had no sleeves. Pobrecita. I picked the shawl up again last summer to wear at my brother's wedding. Also didn't happen, and I put it down again only to pick it back up last month with the intention of wearing it on an Alaskan cruise this June. And lo and behold, this time I actually FINISHED IT. Joy of joys. It's beautiful, too. Take a look.

Hello. I am a beautiful shawl, basking in my golden glory.

Batwing shot.

Details:
Pattern: Stormwater Shawl
Yarn: Handmaiden Seasilk (70% silk, 30% Seacell (seaweed) in color straw
Needles: Size 6 bamboo circulars
Comments: The pattern - well, lace shawls are definitely an exercise in perseverance. This wasn't a quick knit, but I love the pattern. As a friend said, it is both delicate and substantial. Very pleased. I continued knitting until I almost ran out of yarn, and I am very happy with the finished measurements (25" x 80"), but if I had it do to over, I would have made the shawl a little wider. The yarn - LOVE it! Silk and seaweed, who could ask for more? Seriously, it's 3-ply so there was minimal splitting, and the yarn was wonderful to work with. After blocking, there was a definite seaweed/green tea aroma to the yarn, quite pleasing. The needles - so, I can definitely appreciate the benefits of sharp, metal lace needles after working this shawl up on my bamboo circs. I will be using some metal needles for my next lace project (that I will likely start soon and have finished in 2010, but don't hold your breath.) Blocking was really a bit of a pain, but the pattern opened up beautifully. I followed Eunny Jang's tutorial on blocking - a great resource for novice blockers. Next time, forget the pins, I am going to use wires when blocking a rectangular shawl! Now, I am going to have to zealously guard against any sort of moisture touching this yarn - do not want to repeat blocking process.

Now, let's talk about Raul. His (not so) secret dream for the better part of a year has been to get the dog a pack, so Flynn could carry his food and water and other necessities when we take him on hikes. Well, today Raul spotted such a pack at a local pet store, and his brother graciously agreed to purchase said pack as a graduation present for him. Thank you, Ed, for making Raul's dreams come true.

Thanks Uncle Ed. I can't wait to go on a hike and carry my own food and water and all the other stuff my dad decides to throw into these excessively roomy pouches.

Wild Animal Kingdom

2008-04-28T13:05:00.004-07:00

So, the next two weeks will be weeks of increased productivity. I have a very limited amount of time to get everything done that I want to get done before I move across the country and start residency (when I will begin working 60-80 hours per week, yay!)

Increased productivity started yesterday morning, when I awoke early and dyed some yarn.

The red/orange stuff was undyed superwash sock yarn that I had purchased to make some knee high stockings. I decided that I will not need wool knee-high stockings in LA, so the yarn became a very lovely red-pink-orange variegated yarn that will likely become some socks for me. I am greedy. The blue-green number is more of the undyed Fisherman's Wool from my grandma's stash, and like the previous skeins, this yarn will also likely become a soaker (or two.)

Then Raul made french toast (delicious!) And then the cat brought a bird inside the house. This was not so fun. The bird was still alive, and Greta let it loose inside the house and proceeded to chase it all around. It flew down in the basement, and there it stayed until Raul was finally able to gently coax it back up the basement stairs and out the door. Just as the bird flew out, this dog tried to run in:

He was a good dog and obviously belonged to someone. Raul put a collar and leash on him and fed him and gave him water. What a keeper. The dog turned out to belong to a guy a couple of houses down. It was quite a day.

In other exciting news, I finally finished my storm water shawl! This was my first foray into lace and shawls and blocking. Blocking is a serious endeavor, that involved approximately one million pins and a t-square. We knitters mean business. The shawl is still drying, so I will post pictures tomorrow, but here are some photos of the very tedious blocking process.

I told you a t-square was involved!

Tomorrow...

2008-04-24T19:38:00.002-07:00

is my last day of my last rotation of medical school. And tomorrow, I will take my last exam on my last day of my last rotation of medical school. Hark, I think I hear angels singing.

Dirty Dog

2008-04-23T07:01:00.003-07:00

Flynn and I had to be out of the house for several hours yesterday while our house was being shown. We went to the dog park, and he found mud.

And we had just bathed him on Sunday. Aye carumba. And then another person called and asked to see the house, so I had to kill several hours with a muddy dog. It's hard to do. Not too many places you can take a dog - let alone a dirty one.

Warning!

2008-04-22T05:42:00.007-07:00

If you want to avoid the baby fever, do not make one of these!

Details
Pattern: Curly Purly Soaker
Size: Newborn
Yarn: Lion Brand Fisherman's Wool, hand-dyed by me
Needles: Size 3s, 5s and 7s
Comments: So cute. Raul and I have some serious baby fever. Must wait one more year.

Here is the photo of the yarn in cake form:

So, I dyed this in my crockpot with some KoolAid and some food coloring. I had a really hard time gettng the dye even - I did lots of stirring and adding of more dye throughout the process. So, it's generally not a good idea to really agitate (i.e. stir) wool while it is hot and wet and being dyed in a crockpot. It tends to like to felt under such conditions. Luckily, the yarn did not felt, but it did get a little sticky. Fine by me - it seems like it will definitely hold together well. I am really happy with how the colors variegated as the yarn knitted up.

Raul did some investigative research on the interweb and found that babies need their soakers changed multiple times during the day. This is a lot of soakers! And only one year and nine months to go! Good thing we're getting started now.

5 days left!

2008-04-20T19:12:00.001-07:00

Yahoo!

Perhaps the Most Perfect Ankle Socks Ever

2008-04-20T04:53:00.003-07:00

I heart ankle socks. I heart my friend, Hilary. Hilary hearts ankle socks.

She had a birthday recently, so what did I gift her? Yes, ankle socks.

I have knitted myself couple pairs of ankle socks. And though I enjoy them, they have their flaws. With this pair, I attempted to include what I liked and correct what I did not. Here is the end result:

Close-up of heel:

Details:
Yarn: Cherry Tree Hill superwash sock yarn in color Life's a Beach
Needles: Size 1 double=pointed needles
Sock construction: First off, I have used this yarn for socks previously. I opted to knit it up on size 1's this time to create a more snugly fitting sock. I love the result - a denser fabric, a snugger (is this a word?) sock, and the yarn actually started to almost stripe. So, I cast on 64 stitches and did a 1x1 rib for four rows. I used the heel as detailed here. I then stockinetted the body of the sock, did a generic decrease for the toe and finished it off with a kitchener graft.
Comments: Very happy with end result. As mentioned previously, I like how this yarn knits up on smaller needles. I really like this heel, and I think it wears very well (Hilary, you'll have to let me know how it goes with this pair.) I just might have to make some for myself!

Button Haul

2008-04-18T19:17:00.004-07:00

The thrift store down the street had a big sale today - everything 50% off. I really like this thrift store. Raul thinks it is filled with garbage, but I think it is filled with treasures. I scored handfuls of delightful buttons for bargain prices. Check them out:

I have no idea what I am going to do with all these buttons, but I am excited to have them.

I am actually enjoying my rotation. And in a very un-Shannon-like turn of events, I opted not to call out sick to my rotation today, and I went in and scrubbed into the last surgery of my long and distinguished medical student career. It was a bladder cancer case - they took out the bladder, prostate and did some lymph node dissection, and then they hooked the ureters (tubes that drain urine from the kidneys to the bladder) into a piece of intestine that they'd sectioned off, and then hooked the other end of that segment of bowel up to drain to a bag that hangs on the outside of the stomach.

Yay for the weekend and sleeping in past 4:30am!!

Buh-Bye Old Friend

2008-04-15T18:33:00.004-07:00

The truck is sold. He was pretty and shiny and new when I bought him 8 years ago, and he transported me faithfully to and from the brewery and then to and from grad school. I felt a bit betrayed when he flipped over while I was driving him on the interstate during an Iowa ice storm. You might say that the accident was my fault given my naïveté re: the treacherous conditions and all, but after that, things just weren't the same between us. I am glad to see him go to a better home. Yay for finding better homes for your vehicles that you no longer share a bond with.

In other news, I have 8 (count them 8!!!) days left of my last medical school rotation. Hallelujah. And they will be a painful eight days, let me assure you. I am on urology. I have seen lots of penises and many a mean thing done to aforementioned penises. And I have to get to the hospital every morning at the CRACK of dawn - like before 6am. For really no good reason. Terrible attitude, yes I know, must remember - 8 days left! And I think I might be ill one of those days.

I have projects to share, but I have been spending all potential blogging time sleeping lately. Is it normal for a 30 year old female to take 1-3 hour naps everyday? I hope so because that's what I'm doing. Being rested is good. Urology is bad. Only 8 more days.

Baby Genius Burp Cloth and Baby Bib O'Love

2008-04-12T07:18:00.003-07:00

I found a new outlet for my abundance of cotton worsted weight yarn - burp cloths and bibs!

Exhibit A

Details:
Pattern: Baby Genius Burp Cloth from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Worsted weight cotton from my stash (thanks Grandma!)
Needles: Size 7 circs
Comments: Way cute and way quick. This is excellent meeting knitting - the pattern is very simple, so you can knit without thinking. I wonder if I am developing ADD (likely not given my age and my ability to sit and study for hours on end), but I actually find it much easier to concentrate on lectures/meeting talk if my hands are busy doing mindless knitting. I finished the cream/brown number last week while on Radiology. You know, I really liked Radiology. Had I had the rotation earlier in my med school career, I just might have become a radiologist instead of a psychiatrist. Hmm. There is quite a bit of flexibility in medicine, so I suppose if the psych route does not make me happy, I could always switch to rads. Though right now, the idea of doing just one residency and being done with it is very appealing. Psych and radiology really seem to be at opposite ends of the spectrum in terms of patient contact at least. With psych, personal interactions with patients are paramount whereas with rads, you spend most of your time in a dark room reading films of patients that you will never meet. The radiologists really know their medicine, though, and they rarely have to deal with the tragedy that comes with patient care.

Exhibit B

Pattern: Baby Bib O'Love from Mason Dixon Knitting
Yarn: Again, worsted weight cotton
Needles: Size 7s
Comments: I modified the stitch pattern (the pattern calls for straight stockinette) - I actually used with stitch pattern given for the Baby Genius burp cloth because it was more visually interesting. It needs a button - there is a thrift shop down the street that has a very impressive collection of buttons. I may wander down there today to see if there is an orange button asking to be partnered with this bib.

Yes, I am in handmade baby stuff mode these days. The day is actually coming when Raul and I can seriously start talking about child-having. And I should be prepared right? Nine months is not nearly enough time to get stocked up on all possible handmade necessities. I figure that if I start a couple years in advance then I should be at least moderately prepared when the time comes.

Hand-dyed yarn (Part two)

2008-04-10T09:44:00.005-07:00

Here are some more details re: my attempt at hand-dying yarn. For your enjoyment and to help me remember what I did the next time around.

So, as previously mentioned, I used this tutorial. I soaked all four skeins in 3/4 cup vinegar/skein overnight (with enough water added to completely submerge yarn.) The next morning, I drained off the vinegar water and followed the instructions for the 'cold pour' and 'hot pour' methods to the letter. I used a mix of Koolaid and liquid food coloring for the dye.

Here's a shot of one of the 'hot pours' in a crockpot:

Note - I used my old round crockpot as well as my friend's oval crockpot (pictured.) The dye was much more even using the oval crock.

Shots of the cold pour:

Ready to bake.

Shots of drying yarn:

Hello. I am beautiful yarn, basking in the sun.

A shot of a very enthusiastic helper in this adventure:

And what am I going to make with all this hand-dyed yarn, you ask? Well, I think I am going to make some of these. The pattern is available free at her website, and supposedly non-superwash wool is the best type of fiber for soakers - something about superior moisture-wicking abilities. I may give them to friends that are using cloth diapers instead of disposable, or I may keep them for the child that Raul and I aspire to have (we are waiting for financial independence and normal working hours - we are assured that these will both one day be a reality.) Yay for demanding professional careers.

Cakes

2008-04-07T20:12:00.006-07:00

Last Sunday we had an open house, and I had to occupy myself outside of my residence for 2 hours. I had some grand ambitions for that time away from home - I had decided that I would dye some yarn. One of my grandmas had passed on to me a dozen skeins of undyed Fisherman's Yarn, and I had been reading up on non-toxic dying methods. I went to the grocery store, stocked up on Koolaid and food coloring, and on Sunday, I went to town.

Using this tutorial, I dyed 2 skeins using the hot pour crockpot method and I dyed the other 2 using the cold pour/oven-baked method. It was much more labor intensive than I had imagined, but I was quite impressed with the finished products. Here is a photo of the skeins wound into cakes:

More details to follow.

In other news, Raul and I have found a place to live in LA (thanks again for all the help, Dad.) What an ordeal. Now we can move onto the next item on the list (i.e. selling car, arranging move, packing, etc.) Fun times. I am getting super stressed, people. Today, I had a killer tension headache that was alleviated only by NSAIDS, allergy meds and a nap. I think stress is in the air - even the cat and dog seem a little on edge. For reasons unbeknownst to me, the cat was trapped in the garage the night before last. She was rescued the next morning when I heard her crying. Apparently, that night in the garage caused her to have some sort of acute stress reaction or separation anxiety or something because last night, she insisted in sleeping on my neck - like right on my trachea. Normally, she is the most unaffectionate cat - which is fine by me, given my allergies and difficulty breathing with heavy cat exposure. It is very uncomfortable to have a cat on the neck whilst trying to sleep. When I kicked her out of the room, she flung herself at the door and did some frenzied door-clawing while making some ear-piercing yowls. So, 'cat on neck' was the lesser of two evils. I'm hoping for a better night tonight. If not, Greta might be getting some benzos.

Stardust Baby Shoes

2008-04-02T18:23:00.006-07:00

So, things have been a little crazy here at casa E-C. In the next 3 months, we will graduate from med school, make a cross country move and start new jobs. Sounds exciting, huh? Yeah. We are neck-deep in home selling, apartment hunting, cross-country move arranging, car selling, car shopping (anyone have a good used one they want to sell us? I will sew/knit you something as a present.) And all while trying to feign enthusiasm on my remaining rotations. Stress suppression and denial are my current coping mechanisms. Working well so far, but I can't figure out why my neck and shoulders are so tense.

And I am contemplating buying a bike. Admittedly in the past, I have had difficulty navigating my being through space while on two wheels, so I don't know why I think buying a bike might be a good idea now. But it seems like it is an excellent alternative to driving and a faster way to travel than walking (my preferred mode of transportation.) Although the bike I want is fancy and not really appropriate for our budget. Hmmm.

Sewing and knitting are still going strong. I finished a sock and will hopefully have it's mate done and blog-ready soon. I also made another skirt and will post about it later tonight or tomorrow. For now, here are some baby shoes for dear friends (that just had a beautiful baby!)

Details:
Pattern - Stardust Cloth Baby Shoes
Size: One size (0-6 months)
Fabric - Scraps of embroidered linen and cotton and double-bonded fleece for the sole
Notions - fusible interfacing and 1/4" elastic
Comments: So Cute!!! And easy to make. I printed up the pdf of the pattern (see link above) cut out the pattern pieces and went to town. The interfacing and fabric I had in my stash, and the elastic and double-bonded fleece I picked up at Joann's for about $4. Have I mentioned how you can find total steals at Joann's? 40% off coupon people. And they have them in the stores for you to pick up before you check out!

Shoes are in the mail along with other goodies off to my friend. I will let you know how they fit!

Speaking of Fit, here is a photo of Raul's dream come true (car + alpaca.)

Bittersweet

2008-03-23T09:56:00.007-07:00

Thursday was a bit of a whirlwind. We are very excited to have matched in LA, but after the excitement wore off, I realized that I had to leave my life here and start a residency, aaack! I am quite sad to be leaving Iowa City, and when I realized that my countdown for graduation also represented the amount of time I had left here, I found myself wishing I could slow down time. So, med school was no fun, but I really found some unexpected joys here. I never dreamed of meeting anyone like Raul, and with him, I've established my first real 'home' apart from my parents. Though this house is small and has its imperfections, I wish I could pack it up, take it with me and plunk it down somewhere in LA. We have so many good memories here. I am also going to miss my friends (Hilary - we are so going to have annual reunions, and once we have both surfaced from debt, we are so going to surf camp!)

Enough sentimentality. I will leave you with photos of my craft table. This space was made possible by the Great Basement Clean-Up and Reorganization of 2008 that took place earlier this week during our frenzied preparations to get our house ready to show.

Fabric cutting central:

I have long desired a large cutting mat, and recently I came to the realization that everything at Joann's Fabric store is always 40-50% off. So, my desires suddenly became affordable, and I now am the proud owner of a rotary cutter, a self-healing cutting mat and a cool ruler/cutting tool thing. And the table is an adjustable-height drafting table that Raul purchased when we first moved in together and I was not so keen on the idea of sharing my desk. The desk is currently at its tallest height, and I no longer have to stoop to cut fabric. What a back-saver! Both cutting tools and desk were indispensable yesterday whilst I was cutting fabric for a super secret, surprise gift. So fun. And it was not my intention to have all my cutting tools be coordinating shades of pink. When you are searching for bargains, you can't be choosy.

Here is a close-up of the fabric on the table. I am going to make a capped-sleeve camisole!

Matched!

2008-03-21T08:20:00.001-07:00

Goodbye snow-blower! Hello Los Angeles!

Dishcloth-O-Rama

2008-03-19T11:45:00.006-07:00

Dishcloths! In recent months, I have looked around my home and realized that I have accumulated a ton o' stuff, including several large plastic tubs full of yarn. I am attempting to stash bust with my knitting. As I may have mentioned previously, one of my grandmas passed on her stash of cotton dishcloth yarn to me. I made a serious dent in this yarn over the past couple weeks by making these dishcloths:

So, it's not really like these few balls of yarn were really weighing me down, but it feels good to have less stuff. Admittedly, they are not the most attractive bunch, but they are going to occupy the kitchens of good friends that don't mind some ugly dishcloths. Plus there is always hope that they will fade into more attractive color combos with each washing. Continuing with my stash busting theme, I am also going to dig into the long neglected unfinished object bag and get to work on the Indigo Ripples denim skirt and the Storm Water shawl and Glee.

Also, it is with a huge sigh of relief that I announce Raul and I put in a grueling 15 hours of work yesterday and finally got our house ready to show. It was rather alarming to realize that all of our home improvement projects had to be finished by the next morning. It was pretty brutal..lots of painting and cleaning and more painting and more cleaning. The cat and dog were in my cheese the whole time, too. Here is evidence of the cat's involvement on the armrest of our futon:

Translates to "Greta was here" in catspeak.

The house looks really good though. I am glad that we'll get to enjoy it in it's current state of pristine cleanliness before we leave in a few months.

Match Day tomorrow!

Congratulations!

2008-03-17T10:29:00.003-07:00

We successfully matched into residency programs! We find out on Thursday where those residency programs are located. It's done this way so that people that don't match have a chance to scramble into a residency. Sounds stressful, huh?

We've been spending the past weekend (and actually previous months) getting our house ready to sell. We met with a real estate agent yesterday, and though we still have a couple things left to do, we listed the house and will start showing it on Wednesday. What a pain it is to get a house ready! I've been cleaning bathtubs and basements and painting. I have decided that I am incapable of painting without making a complete mess. Paint gets everywhere - including unexpected places like all over my back and in my hair. And all over the dog. Exciting times in the E-C house, I tell you.

Stay tuned for exciting news this Thursday!

Wee Goodies

2008-03-13T07:10:00.005-07:00

This is a post about the finished objects of others.

First up is an adorable needle holder book made for me by my friend, Hilary. These books are super cute and very useful, and my needles were very happy to move out of the envelope that was their former residence and into the felt pages of this lovely book. Thank you Hilary!

Hello, I am a beautiful and functional needle book. Take a moment to admire the art on the cover. It was created by Hilary with scraps of wool and thread.

Next, is a lovely hat by Raul. It is based on the hat he made previously - he liked it so much that he wanted to make one for his darling mom. So Myriam, this is for you! We are planning a trip to a cooler climate this summer, and Raul did not want you to be cold.

As before - yarn is Blue Sky Alpaca bulky, knitted up on size 15 needles.

Flynndog wearing Grandma's hat.

So, some serious excitement is quickly approaching. On Monday we find out IF we matched, and on Thursday, we find out WHERE we matched. Keep you posted!

Barcelona Skirt

2008-03-09T10:14:00.009-07:00

Barcelona skirts are done!

And just in time for the grand opening of the local yarn/fabric shop where we bought the pattern and the fabric! The identical skirts were intentional, but the matching shoes, tights and tops were not. One observant woman told us we took the twin thing too far.

Photo was cropped to protect Hilary's anonymity (though of the handful of people that actually read this blog, I suspect most of you already know her or will meet her at graduation. Still, one can never be too careful.)

Close-up of my skirt:

Details:
Pattern: Barcelona Layered Skirt by Amy Butler in size XL
Exterior Fabric: Amy Butler Belle in sea green/coriander
Lining: Off-white muslin
Comments: This is a really wonderful pattern, and the instructions are excellent. I followed them nearly to the letter and ended up with a very wearable, professional looking skirt. I did modify the edges of the layers - the pattern called for them to be left unfinished with the intention that they would fray with washing. I thought the frayed edges would be too casual, and I wanted to wear the skirt to work, so I zig-zagged across the unfinished edges with a coordinating thread. Hilary opted to do a french seam for her layered edges - they both turned out very well but created entirely different looks. I also had to bring the waist in - the XL fit through the hips, but gaped in the waist. Hilary helped my put in 1.25" darts on either side of the zipper, and the fit improved dramatically. Also, the pattern calls for an invisible zipper. Installing an invisible zipper requires an invisible zipper foot; I found this tutorial very helpful in installing the zipper foot.

Now, more gratuitous skirt shots:

Close-up of zipper and lining:

Sorry for the booty shot, but don't these darts look awesome? So smooth and unpuckered.

I am very happy with the finished product. While at the fabric store grand opening yesterday, I bought more fabric to make an un-layered, a-line version of this skirt. I highly recommend both Amy Butler patterns and fabrics. They are a little more expensive than what you could find at a place like Joann's, but they are so worth it!

Serendipity

2008-03-08T13:07:00.007-08:00

January's Rockin Sock Club socks are finished!

Please excuse the pasty, white legs. We are in the middle of an unending winter.

Star toe - up close and personal.

Details:
Pattern: Serendipity by Adrienne Fong in size medium
Yarn: Dragon Dance by Socks that Rock (January Rockin Sock Club installment)
Comments: I really love these socks. The yarn is gorgeous, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE the colorway. Initially, I had some problems with the pattern...On the first sock, when I switched from the ribbing to the lace pattern for the cuff, the yarn started to pool. I tried going up (and then down) needle sizes to no avail. Then I left the project unattended on the couch for a few minutes, and the cat chewed through the strand of yarn connecting the sock on the needles and the ball. I started over and voila! no pooling. Thanks Greta! I also did not really love the pattern at the start - stripes over lace are weird to me, and I thought the pattern would go better with a solid color yarn. However, I love the finished product, and I think the pattern and the color really complement each other. I did an extra half pattern repeat for a longer cuff, and on the next pair, I would make the cuff even a little longer. The heel is a short row heel (thank goodness for all the previous practice!) and it's my new favorite heel. The toe is a star toe (as you can see above), very comfy and pretty. I wore these socks to the hospital on Monday, and I was happy every time I looked down at my feet. In the past, I really have not kept too many of my handmade items for myself. These days, everything I make seems to be for me. And it's awesome!

Exciting preview - Barcelona skirts are finished! Love it! Pictures tomorrow!

7 weeks to go!

Eyeballs and (not in) gutters

2008-03-02T16:35:00.002-08:00

Done with 2 weeks of ophtho, and it was a rather painful experience though I did see lots of cool stuff like an enucleation surgery and some really excellent ocular prostheses (fake eyes) where you almost couldn't tell the real eye from the artificial one. And the fake eyes aren't round balls like you'd think they would be - when the eye is removed, the surgeons attach the eye muscles to a space occupying conformer, and the fake eye is actually a flat piece of very elaborately painted porcelain that sits behind the eyelid. I also saw some children born without eyes, and some of the reconstructive surgeries that can be done to enable the kids to wear prostheses are amazing. I was on a plastics team, and in addition to the reconstructive surgeries, I also saw some lid lifts and other exciting stuff. People really freak out about their eyes - I have seen patients practically faint as the physician was trying to touch their eye. Since pre-school, I have been wearing some sort of corrective lenses, and I think now, you could pretty much touch my eye with a rock, and I might comment on the discomfort, but I could sit calmly in a chair while you did it. I suppose others aren't so lucky and feel the need to kick their legs up in the air and weep during procedures (long story).

Onto more exciting news, Raul and I cleaned the rain gutters today. We have had massive amounts of snow this year, and today the temperature was above 50 degrees, and it all melted. Cleaning the gutters is Raul's favorite job, just ask him. He has some 'shoulder problems' (wink, wink) that prevent him from actually cleaning the gutters, so that's my job. I wear gloves, climb up a ladder and stick my hand in the gutters, and today I pulled out clumps of ice and rotting leaves and mud. It's Raul's job to hold the ladder to make sure I don't fall. I think he got the short end of this deal - it's no fun to be standing and holding a ladder while mud, ice and rotting leaves are raining down. He's started wearing a raincoat on gutter-cleaning days. He is smart.

I will have some finished objects to show you soon! Hilary and I have plans for another 2 person sew along in the works. We are going to make Amy Butler's Barcelona Skirts in the fabric shown in the picture. I also am going to make a Nappy Bag and I am finishing up the toe on sock #2 of my Rockin Sock Club socks.

Onto the most exciting news: 8 weeks to go until I am done with med school rotations!

Yours truly,
Dr. (for reals in 10 weeks) Knit

Flipperectomy

2008-02-25T13:41:00.005-08:00

Mr. Hanukkah Penguin, I am happy to report that your amputation site is clean and appears to be healing well. You may now resume your hazardous occupation as a dog toy.

Side View

So, I don't know about you guys, but I used to find amputated limbs and the stumps that remained to be slightly disconcerting. No longer! During my ortho rotation - I scrubbed into a partial hand amputation. That was definitely a memorable experience. And I also saw several patients in clinic who had undergone below the knee amputations for non-healing diabetic foot ulcers. And let me tell you, few things are more heartening than a well-healed, happy looking stump on a patient plagued by neuropathy and poor circulation (both contribute to some serious foot ulcers and infection.)

The weather here is still terrible. More snow in the forecast for today. A couple weeks ago, I was leaving the hospital in the car, and I hit a patch of ice when I applied the brakes as I was coming down a small hill, I realized that I was not going to stop. I was only going about 20mph, and I ran into the back of a van that was in front of me. The driver got out, and I thought she was going to yell at me for not being more cautious in such crappy weather. She was so nice. She said she just wanted to make sure that I was ok, and she was not interested in jotting down my insurance information, just in case she developed a neck injury later and wanted to sue me. Raul said the other day, that if you took every Southern Californian, and put them in a car out here right now, they would all be in the ditch (or worse) within minutes. And they would be totally mean about it, too. These Midwesterners....the weather surely does not make life easy, but it really seems like people look out for each other here. It's nice.

I Made a Bag!

2008-02-24T14:35:00.002-08:00

And here she is (!):

Hello. I am a beautiful bag.

Last weekend, my friend, Hilary, and I went to a new local yarn/fabric shop. I bought a skein of luscious Malabrigo yarn, and she bought the Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag pattern. The next day, I accompanied her to another local fabric store to buy interfacing and cording and such. (Side note - how exciting is it that I have so much free time! 4th year of med school is awesome!) And while we were in the store, I suggested we could do a two-person-sew-along, so I could make a bag too. She is a kind soul, and she agreed. I had fabric for both the body of the bag and the lining in my stash (purchased years ago for curtains), and I picked up the other bag ingredients with Hilary's help. I came down with a cold on Friday that prevented me from going into the hospital, but Hilary did not mind my germs, so my sick day turned into a 10 hour long sewing day. We had a serious workshop going - with two sewing machines! Another 6 hours on Saturday and a couple of hours this morning yielded a completed bag!

Here is a close-up of one of the big side projects:

A close-up of one of the end pockets:

Inside of bag with lining:

Happy Me with bag and dog:

Deets:
Pattern: Amy Butler Weekender Travel Bag
Fabric: Cream/black toile for exterior of bag. Black duck cloth for piping and bottom panels, and cream colored muslin or twill for interior lining.
Comments: I have many.

First, let me say, Hilary is a sport - not only did she agree to help me out with my first major sewing project, but she also put hers on hold to get mind going (and eventually finished.) So, now that my bag is done and I am out of her house, she can finish her own bag in peace.

Second - I think the key to me completing this bag was a Hilary. This process involves many firsts for me - I'd never made piping before. I had never sewed anything from a pattern before. I had never used an antique sewing machine before. Etc. There were many points where the going got tough, and had I been on my own, I would have given up. Hilary was a huge help, and it was really fun to make a project like this with a friend - you can keep each other going when it would be easier to quit than forge ahead.

Thirdly (and let me preface this one by saying, this is mainly for me, so I remember mods I want to make should I get brave and try this bag a second time), I would cut the bias strips for the piping a little wider. I had a hard time getting the edges sewed around the cord in spots - especially at the joins. I might also make the interior bottom panel a tad bit smaller for a better fit. And make sure the Timtex panels fit in the bottom as desired before sewing bottom. And pin lining to zipper before hand-sewing it in (I was lazy and neglected to do this and got wonky areas around the beginning and end of zipper.)

All in all, this was such a fun project. Amy Butler's patterns are great, and the instructions were very clear and easy to follow (even for a novice seamstress). However, this project was definitely a challenging one. I am still becoming comfortable with sewing machines, and each day required that I engage in battle with the machine. Fortunately, I almost always won (though I will only briefly mention the hours I lost fighting with the sewing machine.) Also, Hilary pieced all the exterior bag pieces together, and her comments and my observations suggest that this is really comparable to a wrestling match - not for the faint of heart!

I highly recommend both this pattern and two-person-sew-alongs!

Koolhaas Hat

2008-02-17T10:43:00.003-08:00

I bought the Holiday 2007 edition of Interweave Knits back in November or December, I think, and I had plans to make this hat (pattern contained in aforementioned IK) since then. Many a blogging knitter has made this hat in worsted weight Malabrigo, and their praise for this yarn abounded. I had to try it. Unfortunately, at the time, no local yarn shops were selling this yarn, but I was able to find some on a trip out to CA in January.

Also, this hat got moved up on the project list after a conversation with my Grandpa. I had plans to make him a hat for his birthday (last week), but he recently informed me that winter had practically ended in California. Go ahead, rub it in. Winter is certainly not over here (see photo evidence below), so I put his project on hold and made myself this hat instead.

Here is a photo of the hat on my desk:

Here is a picture of me wearing the hat whilst preparing to walk the dog in a slush filled winter wonderland (don't I look happy?):

Pattern: Koolhaas hat by Jared Flood from Holiday 2007 IK
Yarn: Malabrigo worsted weight in color black forest
Needles: Size 6 Denise interchangeable circulars for the ribbing and size 7s for the body of the hat.
Comments: This was such a fun and clever pattern! I really enjoyed knitting it, and the yarn is absolutely luscious. I highly recommend both. I did an extra pattern repeat to make the hat long enough to cover my ears (a necessity in this cold climate!)

A comment on my rotations: I just finished 2 weeks of orthopedic surgery. I saw two knee replacements and one total hip. I have added a total joint replacement to my list of things that I never want to experience (stroke is still at the top.) Though I never want to have one done to me, these surgeries were very impressive to see and involved many power tools and much hammering and sawing of bone. And grunting. And wearing space suits. And med students (me!) holding legs. People, legs are heavy. Fortunately, as a psychiatrist, I really don't think I will have to hold many (any) legs. On Monday, I start 2 week of ophthamology. 10 weeks to go until I am totally done with my rotations (but who's counting?)

Maria's Hat

2008-02-16T15:08:00.005-08:00

I was feeling ambitious a few weeks ago and decided to make matching mittens and a hat for a friend's daughter. The mittens did not happen, but the hat did!

Too cute for words:

View from the top:

Pattern: I cast on 80 stitches (I think) did about 8 rows of garter stitch and switched colors for random stripes. I stockinetted up about 6 inches, and then started decreasing for the crown. I finished off the top with a pompom.
Yarn: Cascade 220 in various colorways from my stash
Needles: Size 7 16" circulars
Fun, quick and easy! And it fits! And the pompom was made with a pompom maker - also fun, quick and easy!

iSew

2008-02-10T14:09:00.001-08:00

My cousin gave me this chair four years ago. He was going to throw it away. I said that I could take it and recover it. Since that time, it has languished in my kitchen. It was the unfortunate victim of an explosion of a blenderful of Mexican hot chocolate, and it has been the beloved scratching post of my cat, Greta. This chair became very dirty and unkempt, yet I continued to display it in my kitchen. I realized the low to which I had sunk when the darling daughter of a friend was cooking macaroni and cheese with me in my kitchen. I placed this chair in front of the stove for her, so she could watch the bubbling noodles. She asked me if this was the chair the dog sat in because it was very dirty, and dirt and hair and things were sticking to the bottom of her bare feet. She asked if she could have another chair to stand on.

Raul and I talked about buying some new chairs (our other chair is one that my great aunt and I found by the side of the road, and she recovered if for me several years ago, and it is still is good shape.) But we are poor, and I decided that I could recover this chair. We purchased fabric, and today I made this in two hours:

(My humble kitchen, please ignore painters tape in windows, that is for next weekend's todo list.)

So, it was really easy. Some new batting was placed on the seat. I pinned the fabric to the chair, trimmed it, pinned it, wiggled it off and then sewed it. I did not get the stripes to line up exactly, but it's good enough. Raul tacked down the bottom with his nail gun, and I glued on the braid trim to cover the nails. I thought this would take forever - that's why I put off this project for four years. Kind of embarrassing.

BTW - it's still cold here. The high was zero degrees today. And our entire street is covered in ice. We've had the opportunity to get to know several of our neighbors as we have all had to help each other out with a push when our cars invariably get stuck on the ice or in the snow banks. Good times.

Toe Up Ankle Socks

2008-02-06T15:53:00.000-08:00

I had the purple/blue/green variegated yarn leftover from a pair of socks I made for my grandma a couple years ago. I really like this yarn, and I seemed to have an ankle sock pair sized amount, and I really like ankle socks - my resources met my desires! I used this project as a template. A solid color green yarn from my stash was used for the heel and toe and ribbed cuff, and the body of the sock was knit in the previously mentioned variegated yarn. I cast on using this method, and I did a short row heel like so. My first attempt at a short row heel was a DISASTER! I was reading the instructions without really thinking about the actual construction and kind of made up my own thing when I came to a bit I did not understand, and well, it did not turn out well. Here is what became of my first heel:

I cut it out and reknit the heel after realizing what a craptastic job I had done.

In other news, yesterday was my birthday. And I spent it in bed with a horrible cold. No worries, I am now convalescing. This one was a doozy. Maybe it was that mutated rhinovirus that's all over the news. Bad rhinovirus.

Entrelac Socks

2008-02-02T19:23:00.000-08:00

Finished!

Raul's self-portrait:

Specs:
Pattern - Annetrelac Socks from Interweave Knits 2007 Holiday issue
Yarn - Trekking XXL in brown/orange/cream varigated colorway (#163) purchased at Little Knits
Needles - Size 2 Addi Turbo circs (the pattern called for size 1s, but I used the larger needle to get a larger, manfoot-sized sock.)
Comments - The pattern calls for Schaeffer Anne yarn, but I had the Trekking in my stash and it had similar yardage (400+ yards). The entrelac cuff uses a significant amount of yarn, and I was worried about running out of yarn while knitting these socks. As a result, the foot of one of them turned out a little too short. It may stretch with wear, or I could always frog the toe and add some length with the little bit of yarn that I have leftover. I also goofed on the last round of the cuff, and it turned out a little bit wonky - apparently, I left out a row of blocks, though had I read the pattern correctly, I definitely would have run out of yarn. All in all, a fun pattern and an excellent introduction to entrelac! And the yarn was wonderful to work with - very soft, yet sturdy!

Happiness

2008-01-26T16:26:00.000-08:00

Is yarn delivered to my door!

I have heard many a knitter sing the praises of Socks that Rock hand-dyed sock yarn, but it is a hard to find yarn, and I was never able to get my hot little hands on a single skein. Nevermore! As an anniversary/Christmas/early birthday present, Raul gave me a membership to the Rockin' Sock Club. What do I get as a member, you ask? Well, over the course of the next year, I will receive 6 shipments of a skein of hand dyed yarn plus sock pattern (both are available only to sock club members exclusively) and misc. goodies. Here is a pic of my first installment:

The yarn is gorgeous and the pattern is awesome. I will keep you posted!

Entrelac

2008-01-21T18:30:00.000-08:00

One half of a pair of socks:

Please note that Raul is posing using the instructions I heard given for foot models in 'America's Top Model'. Doesn't the pose really showcase the sock?

The cuff is entrelac. I have been wanting to try this style of knitting out for a while, and this sock seemed like a good opportunity. It looks complicated, but it's actually pretty easy. I have some plane time coming up (I have one last interview on the west coast this Wednesday), so hopefully its mate will be done by the end of the week.

To maintain consistency, I will now complain about the weather. It is cold! The other day, my pants brushed the door as I was leaving the house, and they froze to the doorknob. That is just not right. Things warmed up a little today - it was a balmy 20 degrees. Thank goodness for the heat wave.

Childs' Placket Neck Pullover and Baby Bonnet

2008-01-09T18:00:00.001-08:00

My first two FO's of the new year! Inspired by a friend's pregnancy - my oldest friend, in fact. We have photo documentation of the two of us dressed as elves and singing at the local mall with our kindergarten class. And I have known her husband since the 7th grade. Old friends, I tell you.

Childs' Placket Neck Pullover:

Close-up of placket neck:

Specs:
Pattern: Placket Neck Pullover (link is to pdf of pattern) from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts.
Size: 6-12 monoths
Yarn: Magic Garden Buttons yarn in color melon
Needles: Size 6 (the pattern called for size 7s, but I got gauge with 6s.)
Comments: So, when knitting baby knits, I have started asking myself the question - will I knit this again when I get to have a baby? With this sweater, I initially thought no way. The pattern was a little fussy, and it took me a couple reads to understand some of the instructions. And the pattern called for beads to be sewn onto the placket neck to function as buttons, but there were no buttonholes - you were supposed to smash the small bead/buttons through the spaces in between the stitches. I opted to omit the beads/buttons, and figured the baby could be cool, ala the 1980s and wear the sweater polo style. I wonder if a pullover style sweater is all that practical for a baby in the first place - do pullovers turn dressing your baby into a wrestling match? I will have to ask my friend once she has her baby and it grows into this sweater. So, in summary, this sweater was definitely not as easy as the Elizabeth Zimmerman sweater I knit last year, but well, I am beginning to realize that she is a genius that few can match. Despite my many criticisms, I am really happy with how this sweater turned out, and the yarn is fun and was nice to work with.

Baby Bonnet
Profile (modeled by desk lamp):

Pattern: Baby Bonnet from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Knitted Gifts (see link above)
Yarn: Magic Garden Buttons in color melon and Louet Gems light worsted in green (from my stash - remnants of the EZ baby sweater.)
Needles: Size 10.5 for cast on, size 7 circular for body of bonnet, and size 7 double pointed needs for the i-cord trim.
Comments: I chose this pattern because it was in the same book as the sweater, and I had it handy on vacation. Also, I was interested in trying my hand at attaching i-cord trim (much easier but much more tedious than I had expected.) I substituted seed stitch for the garter stitch that the pattern called for along the base of the bonnet to better match the Placket Neck Pullover. All in all, it was a fun pattern (but also a little fussy), and a very quick knit - I was able to finish it in a couple of hours.

Latest news on the knitting front - I am making a hat for my grandpa. He is a smart man with a big head (26" circumference.) I was a little overzealous in my attempt to make a hat large enough, don't you think?

I am hoping to be able to turn this into a baby sweater, and I am going to procure some yarn this weekend so that Grandpa may get something like Raul's alpaca creation.

Happy Wednesday!

The Weather Is Not My Friend

2008-01-05T12:30:00.000-08:00

Raul and I just got back from a belated anniversary celebration at the place where we were married in Big Sur. It was WONDERFUL! And it provided me with a much needed attitude adjustment. So, as much fun as it has been to throw myself a never-ending pity party these past several months re: school and the match and traveling and not really remembering why I did this in the first place, I am so over it. And I am super excited to match - I feel like life is finally starting!

But no worries - I have not given up complaining! Are you ready for my latest rant? It's against the weather - over the past several months, we've experienced several ice storms and snow storms and thick fog that grounds airplanes. And yesterday, California reminded us that it's not all sunshine and happiness by allowing us the opportunity to experience the monsoon that was working its way down the CA coast. It made for a very exciting trip back to San Jose. For evidence, see photo below (photo taken from inside car.)

I had forgotten what strong winds such storms can generate. We came upon several closed roads due to fallen trees and downed powerlines. And multiple car accidents - it was actually reminiscent of all the cars that run off the road here in Iowa during a snow storm. Scary.

Unfortunately, our vacation required us to miss out on caucusing. Too bad because I have heard it is a very interesting (though time consuming) experience, and supposedly some of the campaign groups offer really excellent treats. We are happy with the outcome though. Hope rocks.

And a quick note to my brothers and SIL - thank you for the most awesomest present ever (but no disrespect meant to other presents.) They gave me a gift certificate to Knit Picks - so that I may buy yarn and needles and knitting accessories at my leisure. And yes, I have spent more hours than I would like to admit looking through both the paper catalogue and online store revising my shopping list. Very exciting. Thank you!!

And speaking of knitting, I have two FOs to show you - and only 5 days into the new year!

Everyone's Favorite Hat

2007-12-30T11:11:00.000-08:00

Raul and I visited a yarn store yesterday, and he coveted this hat:

After some holding of yarn and hemming and hawing. A skein of bulky weight alpaca yarn was purchased, and after a brief tutorial,

Raul cast-on and was off to the races like a natural knitter! Check out his progress:

And this morning, we have a finished hat!

View from the top:

Specifications
Pattern: Everyone's Favorite Hat by Fibertrends
Yarn: Blue Sky Bulky weight, 50% Alpaca and 50% wool in a gray colorway.
Needles: Size 15 circulars
Comments: Raul is a knitting champ! The yarn is amazing - super soft and luscious. The pattern is simple and makes a very warm hat, and Raul's version looks just like the model in the store. What a guy.

Endpaper Mitts

2007-12-30T10:54:00.000-08:00

Well, I took Step 2 of the US Medical Licensing Exam last Friday. 368 questions spread out over 8 hours. It was a good time that left me feeling thoroughly demoralized. But at least it's over. Hopefully. I will find out my score (and whether or not I passed) in 3 weeks. One of the test center proctors said, 'Well, hopefully we won't see you back," as I was signing out to leave at the end of the day. Thanks for the vote of confidence.

Here is a finished object that was my mom's Christmas present this year: a pair of Endpaper Mitts:

Specs:
Pattern: Endpaper Mitts by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Knit Picks Palette in colors sky and ash
Needles: Size 2 Addi turbo circulars
Comments: Excellent pattern (they fit!), excellent yarn. I really enjoy colorwork. My mom seemed very happy with them.

Slipped Stitch Dishcloths

2007-12-19T12:27:00.000-08:00

Several years ago, my grandmother gave me a bag full of Lily Sugar & Cream yarn. At the time, I wasn't a huge fan of knitted dishcloths - I preferred disposable sponges because, well, I had the luxury of a mechanical dishwasher, and I did not handwash many dishes. And non-disposable dishcloths struck me an excellent breeding grounds for bacteria that I would not want touching my dishes or my hands. Since then several things have happened. First, I have moved and no longer have a dishwasher. Second, med school has desensitized me, and I no longer fear bacteria. Instead, I fear stroke. And third, I am tired of all the waste that disposable sponges/dishcloths create. Enter handknit dishcloths! I found the slipped stitch pattern in Mason Dixon Knitting, and I located the aforementioned bag of cotton yarn from my stash, and voilà! Handknit dishcloths!

Here are two of a variegated and light yellow yarns:

This one, I call 'Eggs Over Easy in Pepto-Bismol'. I suppose neglecting my studies on color theory has been a bad idea.

Specs:
Yarn: Lily Sugar & Cream in various colorways. 2 balls will yield about 2 dishcloths.
Needles: Size 7
Pattern: Very easy to follow and quick to knit. I have made 5 of these so far, and they take a couple hours each,

Self-Actualization: Achieved. Not!

2007-12-12T13:29:00.000-08:00

Remember Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs? Where organisms must first satisfy basic physiological needs before they are able to achieve higher goals (ie self-actualization.) My experiences in the last month have prompted me to recall this theory, primarily because I feel that strive as I might, I am repeatedly kicked back to the base of Maslow's pyramid. While traveling, Raul and I seemed to find ourselves repeatedly stranded and at the mercy of American Airlines. Such situations required that our efforts be focused primarily on obtaining food, shelter and warmth. Who has time for self-actualization when you cannot get home and you do not know where you're going to sleep that night? Saying this, I realize that I am quite fortunate that I do not routinely have to worry about not having adequate shelter or food or warmth.

Another thing that I am happy to take for granted is electricity. An ice storm hit the Midwest this week, and our block was without power yesterday and today for about 20 hours. Raul was a super sport and volunteered to brave the ice-covered sidewalks to hunt and gather up our anniversary dinner (that he was able to procure from a local Thai restaurant.) We ate dinner in our headlamps surrounded by candles, and then thought about playing games (photo below) but decided that it was dark, and we were tired and went to bed. It was 6:45pm. People must have been well-rested in the pre-artificial light days.

Life is much better with hot water and heat! Here's to hoping for a steady supply of both in our lives (along with shelter and food) so that we may get on to bigger and better things, like climbing Maslow's pyramid.

Photo of ice covered street:

Close-up of ice covered tree:

Nothing says happy anniversary like a game of cribbage by light of headlamp!

New Spring in my Step

2007-12-10T17:48:00.000-08:00

Admittedly, there was a time when I did not think that I would ever be able to leave Pittsburgh, but no worries - we eventually made it to Portland and had a wonderful time. I had an entire day there to myself while Raul was off interviewing, and I made the most of it. I visited a very cool fabric shop where I found this fabric:

to make a 'Follow the Lines Baby Quilt'. The floral print will be the front (the part that I will handquilt), and the more solid print will serve as both the backing and binding around the edges. Now I have a reason to use the beautiful quilting hoop that was recently gifted to me by my grandma.

Then I meandered down to a store that I was destined to find, Clogs and More. There I was able to find a pair of shoes that Raul will give me for Christmas. Lucky him (and me)! And while in the shop, the store clerk took my old Danskos off my feet and resoled them. Talk about service!

And then we finally made it back home, and we are reunited with the cat and dog. The dog is having some GI issues (per usual, poor guy). Because we are diligent med students (and slightly hypervigilant) we noted his urine output was poor and got some IV fluids from the vet and gave him a subcutaneous fluid bolus. He is much better now.

Finally, here is a picture of Raul doing exciting things with his facial hair:

PS - tomorrow is our one year wedding anniversary!

Cobblestone Pullover

2007-12-10T17:25:00.000-08:00

Completed!

View from the front:

Back:

Close up of stockinette up the side of the body of the sweater and the yoke:

Specs:
Pattern: Cobblestone Pullover by Jaren Flood in IK knits (Fall 2007)
Yarn: Knit Picks Swish Superwash in color Lemongrass.
Needles: Size 7 circulars
Comments: My first sweater! The pattern was very easy to follow and quick to knit. And it is totally wearable! I made no modifications, and my sweater looks like the one in the magazine. Very excited. The yarn is very soft, 100% wool and machine washable and dryable. I have yet to wash and dry it, so we'll see how it goes. Raul is happy with it!

Update: American Airlines is not my hero

2007-12-03T15:19:00.000-08:00

They caused me serious anxiety as they sent my bags with all my clothes (including my interview clothes) on a sightseeing trip of the Midwest. American did pony up $100 to allow us to buy undergarments, toiletries and other necessities yesterday after our bags had been MIA for over 24 hours. Their offer of $100 prompted a frantic shopping spree at Target late last night. No worries though - our bags arrived sometime in the night, and I was able to dress in my finest attire this morning. Though today during my interview day, many a resident and applicant looked me over and asked if I had bought my suit at Target. Thanks jerks.

Did you know the Pittsburgh airport has a mall inside of it? There is an overpriced Gap and two Ben & Jerry's ice cream shops.

Our flight is delayed. I hope we get home tonight. And off to Portland early tomorrow AM! Maybe I will go have a milkshake.

Goodnight and wish me luck!

American Airlines is my Hero

2007-12-02T09:33:00.000-08:00

Well, not really because Raul is my hero, but American Airlines is a close second today. Want to hear our story - it's a good one! We have packed about 15 interviews into the month of December - it was fun to make the schedule, kind of like a game of Tetris. But it hasn't been so fun to be the person that has to stick to it. In the past week, I was in San Diego, LA and Sacramento. Good news is that I loved the programs in LA and Sacramento as did Raul, so there is a good chance that we are California bound. On Saturday, we were supposed to catch a flight from San Diego to home, and then on Sunday we were flying from home to Pittsburgh for interviews on Monday. An ice storm with freezing rain prevented us from going home, so we flew from San Diego to Pittsburgh. So, technically we missed our flight from home to Pittsburgh this morning - resulting in mass confusion among airline administrators that required 90 minutes on the phone and the help of a super genius from American Airlines to sort out. Thank you American Airlines.

Oh, and our bags have yet to make it to Pittsburgh.

And to add further insult to injury, we are scheduled to arrive home late Monday night, and we're leaving for Portland, OR on Tuesday morning. Note to self - perceiving interview scheduling like a game of Tetris is a bad idea.

Raul's sweater is finished and fits! I will post pictures once I am home and have access to a camera.

Happier Times

2007-11-14T19:44:00.000-08:00

Thank you for the kind words and support re: the previous post. As I have been told in conversations with others about my experience, death is an inevitable part of life. And it is the duty of loved ones to provide the fanfare that I felt was lacking in my observation of a stranger's death. However, I am still struck by how fleeting and fragile life is. It would seem that if everyone had such an understanding then maybe life would be appreciated a little more and maybe the world would be better off. Who knows? But I am alive, and I am glad, and I am onto happier times.

Today I found a small slice of heaven in a nearby town famous for its large Amish population. Raul and I are enjoying the rare treat of vacation, and we took a trip today to this town for lunch (excellent!) and to see the sights. Raul is really a good sport - this town is also known as a quilters' paradise, and he volunteered in advance to accompany me to my fill of yardage shops. I found a yarn corner in one of these shops, and in this corner, there were some drop spindles and wool roving for handspinning wool. OK, so I read the blogs of several people that produce handspun yarn and maybe I have watched some online tutorials about how to spin yarn with a drop spindle, secretly hoping that one day, I would own my own spindle and spin my own yarn. Well, today was that day, people! When I expressed an interest in the drop spindle to the store clerk, a chain of events was initiated that resulted in my getting a private lesson in handspinning! Yes, I am making yarn! Very exciting, and here is a picture of me spinning at home and one of the roving and the spindle:

There is another project that I cannot seem to get out of my head lately. It is a quilt. Specifically, this quilt:

It is from Joelle Hoverson's Last Minute Patchwork and Quilted Gifts. Isn't it beautiful? I have yet to start quilting, but I think I may have to start so I can make this quilt! The author has a fabric store in NYC that sells the fabric to make the color wheel.

Any suggestions for any other time-consuming hobbies that I can obsess about?

2007-11-08T15:55:00.000-08:00

So, I wrote the post below before rounds (where we go around and talk about the overnight course and current plan for every patient in the unit.) During rounds a patient coded - her heart rate was very slow and she eventually became asystolic (no heart beat.) Chest compressions were started when she did not respond to external pacing or medications. She continued to have no pulse, and she was pronounced dead. This was my first code and my first time seeing someone die. It was nothing like I thought it would be - there was all this excitement during the code. "I'm giving 1mg atropine!" "I'm pacing her at 160!" "1 mg epi now!" Then the chest compressions start. It goes on like this for minutes or hours, and if the patient does not improve, then everything stops, and it is quiet. And the patient looks exactly the same dead as they did a few moments ago when they were alive. The anti-climax is heartbreaking. It would seem that the end of life should be heralded by some sort of something. But there is nothing, and we must continue on with our rounds because the patient in the next room is doing poorly.

That was my morning. I spent the bulk of the day watching the autopsy of my patient that had died the previous night. It is very unsettling to see an autopsy performed on someone that you had seen alive less than 12 hours earlier. As with everything, death stops life for some, but for the rest of us, it continues on. Strange. I wonder if you ever get used to it.