Monday, January 21, 2008

Hey Tammy...

Guess what I've worn to work for the past 2, very very cold nights?

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Saying hello to some old friends

And now for to FO's that never properly made their debut on the blog...

Pattern: The UnGranny Smith at Knitty
Yarn: RYC Cashcotton DK in Apple
Needles: KP Options in Size 3 and 5 US
Time To Knit: A very long time. Started in November 2006 and finished in June 2007

If I were to knit this again I would have made it in a smaller size since it has a bit of ease to it. Also, I'd make the body of it longer and the arms a bit shorter. It is a WARM sweater and I can wear it on a cool day without having to put a jacket on, which is wonderful!

Pattern: Clapotis from Knitty
Yarn: Art Fibers Royal Silk
Needles: Brittany straights size 6 US
Time To Knit: Started during big ice storm in January 2006 and finished in March 2006, approximately

This is a great pattern! Once I just decided to trust the pattern and not second guess every single stitch it went better. I had originally planned on making this for myself but then I came to the realization that I was having my second child in a couple of months and the odds of me wearing 100% silk within the next 10 years without completely ruining it were pretty slim. So this became my Mom's Christmas present and she is in love with it! She wears it almost every day, whether she's out and about or just at home. The fact that Mom adores it and uses it so often is such a pleasure to me.

The silk was incredible to work with and made the finished product absolutely delightful. The fabric has amazing drape and shine to it. Mom claims that it is one of the warmest scarves that she owns and yet is wonderfully light. Perhaps in a few years I'll be working with that yarn again on a project for myself!

I've started my own Clapotis out of Reynolds Rapture so that I can have my own Clapotis to enjoy. With it knitting up on 10.5 US needles it moves quickly so I'll be able to enjoy it soon. I had 7 skeins to start with and now only have 1.5 left to go! Hopefully I'll be done with it this weekend so that I can show it off!

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

More than just knitting

Monday was quite a day. Tornadoes in January boggles my mind, but it happened and it happened on a night that I was at work.

I work at a local hospital in the Admissions Department. My whole job is to find beds for the people who need to be admitted through the ER, are directly admitted by their doctor, and who are coming out of surgery. It is a stressful job and I'm never ever bored. Multi-tasking is a must for this job and so is a hard skin because you spend your entire time calling people (nurses on the floors) who really don't want to talk with you and don't want to give up their empty beds.

When I came on shift at 5pm I went down to the basement of the hospital to Bed Control, where I sit in front of my computer and 2 very large, flat screen televisions that show me every single bed in the hospital (there are over 600 beds in total). I work with Dorothy almost every night unless one of us has a day off. We've gotten close and work really well together.

We soon get word about the tornado warnings and all patients are evacuated to the hallways. Dorothy and I started getting increasing ER patients over the system that we needed to find beds for. By 7:30 the ER was declared a Level III disaster and we were getting 4 and 5 ER admits at a time and as soon as a bed was found for one person another 2 would pop up... and this on a day when we were a bit short on beds as it was.

Everyone worked together amazingly from the ER to surgeons and the floors. I ended up staying an extra 2 1/2 hours to help the third shift with Bed Control and left work at almost 12:30am. It was a long, stressful night and on my way home (through rain where visibility was less than 10 feet) I realized that I hadn't eaten or taken a break through the whole night. I stopped at home to check the weather and then drove to a local storm shelter to help Bryan get the kids home because Owen was really upset.

When we got home at 1am and after the kids were asleep I sat in bed and knitted. I breathed deeply and felt my neck and back start to relax.

Last night was not much better. The hospital was still packed from the night before and it was another busy night in the ER. I worked my usual Tuesday 8 hour shift and at lunch I brought out my iPod and knitting. Between the Clapotis on my needles and the Mozart in my ears I was able to go back to my computer with a better attitude and outlook on the night.

When I first started knitting in April of 2005 I never would have thought that it would impact my life as much as it has. I'm working my usual Wednesday 8 hour shift and while I can't count on it being an easy night, I can count on knitting to help me get through it.

Sunday, January 06, 2008

Start as you mean to continue

This phrase succinctly sums up my thoughts about the New Year. I did my best to end 2007 with having already started some of my goals that way I can keep moving with the momentum and give myself a great start to the year! Then I heard Brenda Dayne's podcast by the same name and knew that it was going to be my motto for the year.

I was having a hard time falling asleep one night early last week and decided to write down a list of everything that I wanted and needed to do the next day. List writing is a favorite activity of mine but that night I got on a roll and even surprised myself when my list ended at #65. Obviously this list was not going to be accomplished in one day but I gave myself to the end of the month to finish it.

Updating the blog was number seven on the list. It has been over a month since I posted anything and at some point I began putting it off because I didn't have sufficient time to make a really good post and then it just snowballed from there. Today I decided that I just needed to make a post and get on with it!

A lot has happened in one month and I hear Ailish starting to wake from her nap so this won't be much longer... but look at what Mom and Dad gave me for Christmas!

This is an Amy Butler bag by Rowan purchased from Simply Fibers, a skein of Alpaca Soxx yarn in cream and the Interweave Press book Favorite Socks.

I'm so in love with this bag... it's ridiculous.

It holds so much stuff!!! LOOOOVE!