My last post was nearly half a year ago, can’t believe it. So lets see what I’ve done in the past half year.
I’m done with my first year of med school. In the process I’ve also knitted 10 pairs of socks. Socks are really the only things that I can easily knit during the school year.
A week after classes ended I left for Kenya for four weeks. About 4 hours after we arrived in Nairobi, my classmate and I went on a 3 day/2 night safari to Masai Mara. We had a great driver who took us all over the park. I took so many photos that I ran out of batteries after the second day, so I’m still awaiting for the photos from the third day from my friend.
A week later we went up north of Nairobi to place called Shalom City where we had no running water, no flush toilets and only occasional electricity. If you ever watched those telethons for Africa, they show people fetching dirty brown water, guess what? I had to drink, bathe, wash in that water! Our water though was treated and boiled for drinking. But still that water was nasty!
So why did I got to Kenya to drink dirty brown water? Medical volunteering with two of my classmates. We saw a lot of interesting cases, got some house calls (more like tent calls since they all lived in tents), and a couple of emergency cases.
There were many people knitting and crocheting but many of them were so poor especially the kids they were crocheting using matchsticks. It really shows the creativity and resourcefulness of the people. I wish I took a picture of the balls they make out of plastic bags and string.
About a week before we left, I decided to make a hat a day for the kids after finding some really cheap acrylic yarn in a supermarket. I ended up finishing 5 hats and gave them all away to the kids.
I have a couple of weeks left before classes begin again. In the meantime, I’ve been dyeing up yarn to sell on my etsy store. So come and take a look, I want to make enough money to get a used digital SLR.
Baby lives with my mom now so I don’t get many opportunities to take photos of her nowadays. This video was taken during my Christmas vacation in West Virginia. She does this funny sequence of events before she will eat a piece of cookie and she only does this outside where she can roll around in the grass/dirt. If you want to see her eat a piece of cherry tomato also check out the youtube video I posted a few years ago.
The last few months have really flew by quickly. I pass my first semester of medical school and more importantly anatomy which is the rite of passage of all medical students. I enjoyed anaotmy a lot. I even manged to knit while studying anatomy thanks to some anatomy videos and streaming lectures. I had a two week break in between semsters in which I finished up two sweaters and a pair of socks. Which was all I did during my break, and I needed it! Why? I had only knitted four items in the whole four months during the semester. Now that I’m more accustomed to how much I need to study in order to pass and anatomy is over, I’m knitting more and acquiring more yarn.
I looked over my last year’s recap post and I have failed at three of the four resolutions. The only one I didn’t fail was knitting while standing up on the subway, I’ve done that a few times. My stash has grown even faster than I can knit considering I haven’t stopped buying but my knitting output has dramatically decreased. Colorwork? Um not so much, I tried making the bird in hand mitts, only half successful, I think I’ll just keep that one mitt and use it as an oven mitt. I haven’t really learned any new techniques but I have grown a lot more comfortable with my knitting techniques.
As for next years resolutions. I have my last official summer holiday ever coming up, I don’t have any plans yet except to do a lot of knitting! So here is my resolutions for this year, better late than never!
1. One more big lace project (not counting Sarcelle that is 2/3 done)
2. Be less selfish, I’ve come to a point to which I have realized that I don’t need so many hats and scarves. And I have several requests from my classmates for knitted items and one of them is very persistent.
3. Stop buying yarn because its on sale
Totals from last year:
9 pairs of socks, 8 were for me and one for my sock exchange partner (no photo of the finished sock)
6 sweaters/cardigans
34 total items plus or minus a few small things not listed on Ravelry
I made numerous modifications to this pattern by reading what others had done on Ravelry. I made this all in the round. Did one repeat of the pattern on the top. Moved the purl row to below the bust. Two icord straps. No beads. This is a cute top but I wouldn’t be albe to wear it alone, it needs to be layered on top. Pattern: Beaded Camisole Yarn: 5 Skeins of Debbie Bliss Cathay Needles: #6 knitpicks Time to knit: 6 days Gripes: lots of modifications and fudging to make this.
Pattern: Waving Lace Socks from Favorite Socks Yarn: 1 skein Sea Wool by FleeceArtist Needles: #1 knitpicks Time to knit: 20 days Gripes: I knitted this one at a time. I was on the subway knitting the second sock, I was a little over zealous and knitted a extra half repeat before realizing I should make the heal flap.
