Not much to report... just got off a five day stretch at work, and I'm on call for the sixth day.

Going to see about apartment hunting tomorrow.

I'm working on a few projects, so hopefully some finished pics by the end of the week.

So... now that the weather is getting warm... I'll leave you with a pic of where I'd rather be

A few more FO's

Apparently, my apartment doesn't get enough sunlight to allow for pics of my knitting without a flash. I think a few of my neighbors think I'm crazy after these.

First a moebius scarf using Cat Bordhi's cast on method. I made it 40 inches long, just enough to wrap around my neck and my head to cover my ears.
I love the applied I-cord edging on this thing, though it takes FOREVER to bind off using it.

Pattern: My own with a little help from A Treasury of Magical Knitting
Yarn: Decadent Fiber's Pulled Taffy (sale skein from '06 TKGA convention in valley forge)
Used: I'd say about 3/4 of it... I'm using the extra for a pair of fingerless gloves right now, and they are going on forever and ever
Needles: size 6

Then we have a kippah. I'm not sure I like the short rows in this pattern, I may have to tweak it a little for next time.
Pattern: Out of Greetings from Knit Cafe
Yarn: CTH supersock
Needles: size 3

This didn't take too long, but there was a mistake in the pattern that I had to look up the errata for.

From the other side...

Things I learned yesterday.

1. 18g IV's hurt.. not only going in but while they are in..
2. Those nasal prongs for O2 really are annoying
3. EKG patches really do itch, and on me have still left marks you can see over 24 hrs later.
4. The ride is a LOT bumpier on the stretcher than on the bench.

Thankfully, I didn't have to learn what Adenosine feels like.

They say walks are healthy for you.. but mine ended in a trip to the hospital for a rapid heart beat. I didn't even have any knitting with me to keep me busy at the hospital. On the plus side, from start to finish took only 3 1/2 hours and I was fine by the time I got to the hospital.

Always something to learn.

My first yarn Pr0n Friday in a while..

I haven't done this in a while, basically because life has interfered... but here we go... pics from MSW (along with some yarn in the raw). Next week when I have sunlight and time, I'll take pics of my haul from MSW.

Some lovely mohair that made me itch just looking at it, but was soooo soft. (maybe I should give mohair another chance)

Anyone who spins will recognize ths one... Grafton Fiber's Batt... I left it there, basically because I have so much to spin up, but thought the colours were great.

And the wool in the raw... I LOVE the locks hanging over the face!

A FO!!!!

I realize I haven't posted a lot of FOs lately, and well, that's because a lot of them have been for gifts, or have disappeared while my internet/computer issues were going on.

So, may I present:
Yarn: Oasis 100% soy silk - 1 skein
Colour: Purplexed
Length: I'm guessing about 55 inches long... my blocking board doesn't go that far
Width: 16 cm (about 6.3 inches)
Pattern: My own design using a stitch pattern from the book my SP sent me.

Again, this proves that lace needs blocking. It didn't look at all wavy to me while I was working on it. I am now officially in love with my blocking wires. SOOOOOO much easier to use than pinning it out. I was really surprised with how far a skein of this yarn goes. Highly recommend it for people who are "No sheep" or vegan. I personally, still prefer silk/wool blends but this stuff drapes wonderfully.

Harry Potter

Like everyone else I'm anxiously awaiting the release of both the movie and the book this summer. I think I've read these books more than any others in my collection. The knitty board is doing a Harry Potter swap, and reading through I found some interesting stuff.

I'm
a Gryffindor!

Okay, I just got a 94% on the first year final exam.. a 96% on the seond year exam, a 90% on the third year. I did horrible on the fourth year, but they expect you to remember a lot of numbers.. bleh. Okay, I'm done with tests for now... Now to figure out if I want to do the swap.

Pic update

Okay, I'm going to try and post all my missing pics... sorry if this takes forever to load.

First we have DC pics.


The Hope Diamond. The line wasn't too bad to see it this time.

Day two was the zoo... Meet the newest panda baby at the Washington Zoo. In this pic, he was falling down a tree.

Here's daddy, eatting his daily bamboo snack. I kept waiting for him to knock down that piece that was shading his face, but I gave up after twenty minutes.

This pic is for you turtlegirl... No explanation needed.

One of the few pics I took at MSW.. I'm saving the rest for yarn pr0n fridays.
After the festival was over, we spent a day in Baltimore. Another shot for turtlegirl from the aquarium.
Bright shiny frog... poisonous, but cute.
A shot of an old lighthouse that was moved to the inner harbor from the water taxi. That is the best $8 you can ever spend.

And my missing SP package pics. Tea, chocolate, a neat notecard and a flower pen. The stitch book is already being used, I've almost finished a scarf using it. My SP also found the ecolips!!! So happy to have a new one.
And finally the yarn my SP sent me.. Yummy soft alpaca.

RIP Oscar..

Well, my computer died. Still not quite sure what was wrong, but I finally gave up and bought a new one.

So... will upload pics when I figure this out :)

@Woo!!

The computer is working again!!!!!

SP package got to me yesterday, will post pics after I leave the apple store.

Computer update...

Well, I took my computer to the nice people at the Apple Store today and was told that it doesn't seem to be a hardware issue, and to reload my software and see if that helps. So now, I have to find my 10.2 disks :(

I might just go buy a new one anyway.

Please don't be surprised if I'm not around.

computer acting up...

My computer has been acting up the past few days. It seems to be working now but if I don't get to post, don't be surprised.

MSW day one..

Well, no pics today either.. why? Because I didn't take the camera out of my backpack all day. This place was CROWDED!!! I must congratulate the county police department for doing an excellent job keeping all those cars moving and avoiding a too horrible traffic snare. This was overwhelming. I thought Rhinebeck was bad, but found this to be worse. The lines for the STR booth went out the door and down the block (not literally.. there were no blocks, but it was LONG). Then, once you found your yarn, you had to get back in a line that was just as long to pay for it!!! If you haven't guessed, I didn't get any this time. Since I have yet to knit up what I aquired at Rhinebeck, no way was I standing in that line.

I tried the hitchhiker again, and still find I have a difficult time treadling, but it was much easier than last time. Guess practice does make perfect, and it really is the best value for the money in the little travel wheels. I also tried the new Louet travel wheel, found it to be VERY easy to use, liked that it was a double treadle, but found the two pages of instructions to get it in the carry case to be a bit intimidating. I also can't see spending the $560 for it. Maybe if I manage to spin up all the roving in my stash this summer, I can have a reward in October.

I did get a surprise for my SP, 5 skeins of an alpaca, wool, cashmere, silk and yak blend for me, and one skein from the orphan pile of Brook's Farms new superwash wool. No roving, no major spending.. guess I did good.

Washington DC

Just spent the last two days in DC. Sorry no yarn pr0n today but how about some cute animals and pretty baubles?

Got into DC on Thursday afternoon and went to the National History Museum. My only complaint is that the museums all close at 5:30pm. Now it's a free museum, so I can't really say I didn't get a good value but I'd like them to be open later (since we do pay through taxes). I got to see the Hope Diamond (very big) and a bunch of other stones. We managed to sneak in the sculpture garden where I learned I have a totally different opinion from the rest of the world as to what art is. Though I liked the "art" in the lobby.

My friend and I headed over to Arlington to join my cousins for dinner. If you've never been to DC, the metro system is WONDERFUL! Considering I grew up without public transportation of any sort, I've found it very easy to use. Though... I will say... don't try to go anywhere during rush hour unless you have to. I've never seen so many people squished into a train car.

Friday, we went to the zoo! I LOVE watching animals and this zoo is wonderful for taking pictures and watching animals. Mostly open cages, with no glass or fences to take pics through. We got lucky and enjoyed very energetic shows from the pandas. SOOOOOO cute!

Drove out of DC Friday evening to go to MSW festival. Got to the motel I booked and ran away screaming. Now.. it's Friday evening and we need to find somewhere to stay. Not as easy as it seemed. There seems to be a big cheerleading meet here this weekend, along with a track meet of somekind and the festival. We lucked out and one of the hotels had a cancelation. Took us four tries, but we found a place to stay. Oh... BTW... I'm totally sunburnt. UGH.

Off to the fairgrounds tomorrow.. I should be able to post pics, since we lucked into a hotel with WiFi.

Well... sorry about the no pics.. but both blogger and flickr are being a pain in the butt right now.. Will edit as possible.

Ooops

Guess I hit publish twice... ignore this one :)

Pre Craziness Post

This week will be pure chaos for me. My friend is flying in from Alaska tonight. She's never been on the east coast and it's quite a challenge to show her as much as possible in a week. We'll be going down to DC for a few days, then heading to the Sheep and Wool Festival :). After that.. maybe NYC, maybe Philly.. maybe a few days elsewhere. A different city every day or so is quite a challenge.

On the grad school side of things... I got into UPenn's Pediatric Acute/Chronic Nurse Practitioner program. School starts in September, and I should be done by August. I'm psyched, but nervous. Now it's time to decide if I'm commuting or if I should break my current lease and move down there.

On the knitting side of things. My mystery project is finished. If anyone needs a review of SWS for a large project, let me know. My one major complaint was the knots. I understand that yarn breaks and it's easier and quicker to knot it, but shouldn't the two ends be the same colour???? UGH! I can't tell you how many times I had to change skeins just because the two ends tied together were completely different colours.

Lots and lots of pics after this weekend.. as long as I have a hotel with net access :)