5...count em'...5....in less than 12 hours!

It's been a wicked busy week back in babyland....had clinic Monday afternoon and a group Monday evening...clinic and admin time Tuesday & Wednesday...taught my Nursing class at the University (got guest speakers to come in from the methodone clinic...love guest speakers...makes my job a piece of cake...but need to prepare their first exam for next week now!) then clocked in at noon one day for a big poobah meeting and ended up not clocking out until after 10:30 the following morning.. (yep...count em up...that would be 22 1/2 straight hours!) and yes...everyone... midwives and doctors and nurses have to punch in and out where we work...but i digress...

Hospital was an EXTREMELY busy overnight last go round.....had lots and lots of labor check walk-ins (no labor for you..go home!)...two transports in from outlying villages...and FIVE...count them FIVE laboring moms who all delivered. And NOT ONE of them had an epidural...even the two first time moms! They were outstanding...brave, strong, beautiful young women! So proud of them I was...especially the teenager! She was scared to death but she really toughed it out! And afterwards, they were so proud of themselves...so filled with that sense of "womanpower" that ..."ohmygodicantbelieveijustdidthisandnowmybaby'shere" sort of grand madness and wonder that can happen with birth...in all circumstances..it's really all about having a good and satisfactory birth experience for YOU..I'm all for pain management, meds, epidurals, cesarean..whatever it takes to have a healthy mom/baby/family... ... but non-epiduralized first time moms, especially tend to get the midwife mojo going......

My night was spent walking, rubbing, breathing, dancing, moving bellies around, coaching, cajoling, soothing, charting, breathing, walking, flipping moms back and forth like pancakes, breathing, coaching, scolding baby daddies, breathing, dancing, charting......I think I finally had a cup of coffee and an instant noodle soup at 5am....needless to say..

5 babies..3 of them between 6:30a and 7:30a.......all healthy moms and babies.....i get such a rush from what i do. it makes me smile when i write this.

After leaving hospital, I had to go back to clinic for a bit for a pre-JCAHO walk through inspection and a going away brunch for our overnight tech who retired after 11 years of the 11p-7a shift! I'll miss Myra......I could always count on her to call me in the middle of the night if my residential moms or babies needed anything! .......She's moving to rural Louisiana to stay with her daughter......it's going to be a culture shock for everyone involved I think....Good Luck Myra...Watch out for the alligators!

Upon arrival home, I realized I left my knitting bag.....and my current reading material (The Hummingbird's Daughter) in the hospital breakroom. I didn't touch either of them all night and totally spaced it after being so busy. Oh well....I "think" there might be plenty more yarn and needles etc here at home.

The man is off on another sojourn...this time a documentary for Greek TV on the impact of oil development on the indigenous people of Alaska. He's all over the state...starting in Barrow and now in Nuiqusut. They will be filming in several more communities over the next couple of weeks. And he ran off again with MY CAMERA. I had planned to get him one of his own for father's day this weekend, but since he won't be home...i think I'll just get it and keep it for my very own self :)

Hoping to catch up on some zzzzzsss over the weekend.....and none of my "private" patients are due for at least 3 weeks so hopefully will get a bit of gardening and knitting done ...oh yeah...and laundry and housecleaning......before Monday rolls around again.

Here's the garden update...pics taken on 6/10 when I ret'd from SF! Can you see how much it's grown since 6/2?
The man enjoying the sun June 10.


The creeping phlox is beginning to bloom.


The Lady's Mantle wasn't even up when I left....


Bleeding Hearts...there are no words...i enjoy them so...


Take care; and have a great, knitterly weekend! And to those taking time off....aaahhh...bliss..enjoy yourselves!

San Francisco Trip: Part 2

So......where was I? Oh yes, yes, the trip! I forgot to mention that before heading off to the Fishereman's Wharf area for "Irish Coffee".....we ate a lovely lunch at a place called "Metropol". Metropol is a great little sandwich/soup/salad place that makes beautiful and tasty food! I had a salad of roasted beets, pears, and blue cheese. Deeeeeelicious :)

The next day was Day 1 of my conference, but I was able to squeak out a teensy bit early and meet up with Marie and the Divine Miss M! Marie is as sweet, kind and funny as they come.......and Miss M.....well, what can you say about the world's cutest 2 year old? I think I will rename her to "Miss Chattybritches". Her favorite word was "No" (of course!). After Marie oohed and aaahhed over the previous day's Artfibers purchases and the KPO needles.....we headed off....BACK to ARTFIBERS to enable yet another unsuspecting knitster...hehehehehehehe! Marie was so excited! She flitted from silk to silk, cones to swatches, back and forth....oh yeah...she was definately like a kid in a candy store! So cute to watch. Miss M and I hung out and played the "colors game" (by which she was able to name all the colors of all the yarn in the store). We then carefully emptied and refilled the wicker baskets with bags of scarf kits and bags of swatch patches (and didn't those swatch patches just cry to come home with me for a yummy cozy afghan!) Miss M really liked the "big dolls"..i.e. mannequins! Especially the "big flying doll" hanging from the ceiling wearing the knitted 2 piece bathing suit! Miss M is my new buddy! (And so of course is her mom) I wish we could have hung around longer, but schedules had to be maintained!



Next stop, Theater 39 at Pier 39 for a delightful production of MENOPAUSE, THE MUSICAL, a hilarious and totally "right on target" look at the good/bad/and ugly side of womankind! Barbara, Bonnie (a CNM colleague of mine) and I laughed SO hard we nearly wet our pants! At the end, we all ended up on stage in the chorus line! Too much fun.



We then ate dinner at a place rated as having "The Best Clam Chowder on the Pier"......hmmmm....per Barbara...it was "not bad"! Riding home, Bonnie and I played "guess the pathology" on the strange parade of obviously ill or injured individuals getting on the public transport system. It was a Twilight Zone moment or two there for sure! It was also interesting (for me) to see how very many publicly homeless individuals there were curling up for the night in the doorways and on the seating benches in front of the buildings. What a frightening way of life.



Barbara did some personal shopping (I heard through another source that she returned to Artfibers...yet again...yes..that would be visit #3 for her) while I was in conference Friday...then we at dinner at a wonderful restaurant called THE E&O TRADING COMPANY which was just absolutely amazingly wonderful food! We had a broad selection of their appetizers. My favorite was the Portabello Mushroom satay. Definately a recipe I will try to recreate here at home! Yum!

On Saturday, my conference ended at noon....and Barbara & I had maps in hand to tour the other TWO yarny destinations of San Francisco proper. First stop....ATELIER in the lower Pacific Heights neighborhood. It was a lovely shop, made even more appealling by the friendly service and local color. While we were there a very lovely, very elderly italian couple came in to exchange yarn the woman had purchased a few days earlier. She spoke very little English and her ?husband explained that she needed a heavier weight yarn...but not cotton....to make a dress for their first great-great granddaughter! They were so dressed up and so cute.....you could just imagine them in their Pacific Heights home overlooking the bay...playing Tony Bennett songs and reminiscing about their Beach Blanket Bingo days.....(OK...I read too much and watched too much old TV...but allow me my license please...) Anyway, both Barbara and I ended up purchasing lovely shawl pins there...mine in abalone...hers...pewter intertwined gingko leaves! Quite lovely....but not the "different selection" of yarns that would necessitate fiber investment! Then off to coffee and further map recon!

We learned quickly that the busline right in front of the coffeeshop would zip us straight down the road to the Castro District to IMAGIKNITS....last yarnstore on our list! Now....i dunno about Barbara...but I wasn't expecting to be impressed....I mean...after all...it wasn't Artfibers...right? But the walk through the colorful neighborhood with colorful homes and shops with colorful names.....and fabulously colorful (and very attractive) locals...was great fun....and we quickly and easily found ImagiKnits.



It was far...far...far...more exciting and wonderful than I'd expected. Truly! The friendly, helpful, knowledgable owner said that she'd worked very hard to have something for everyone...and it showed! OH MY GOD! It was YARN OVERLOAD!!!!!! The staff was easily identified by their black ImagiKnits aprons....and they were all SOOOO helful and so much fun!



I came home with just a bit of Malabrigo 50/50 merino wool/silk in a (6 bags only) one of a kind colorway that totally appealled to my "elitist" streak. I don't remember what Barbara got.....I was totally wrapped up in my own private yarny heaven! If I lived in SF....I think I'd be hanging out a lot in ImagiKnits :)



But then it was time to head back to the hotel as Barbara had a plane to catch. We rode an "antique" cable car back to Union Square and said our "au revoirs"!



I headed back to the hotel room. I was POOPED! I did have a date to meetup with the fabulously talented and elegant RACHEL to hear THE WHORESHOES and THE DEVIL MAKES THREE at THE GREAT AMERICAN MUSIC HALL.....and I honestly waffled for about an hour as to whether or not I should bail and give this old girl's bod a rest.....but then I said to myself..."Self...you don't go out to play like this very often...and you can sleep when you get home....Now put yer big girl panties on and get OUT and play!"...So I did! I took a cab as advised by the hotel staff as the GAMH is in a part of town known as The Tenderloin....and conveniently located right next door to a live sex show performed by "the most beautiful girls in San Francisco"...I dunno...I didn't go in to check it out. Upon arrival at the GAMH, I tried to call Rachel but just got her cellphone voicemail. Due to the music level pouring out on the street, I figured she couldn't hear her phone, so I wrapped my SUNRAY a little bit more firmly for courage (akin to "girding my loins") and purchased my ticket, got my wrist stamped....and headed to the bar for a little more liquid form of courage. The adorable barkeep poured me a stout in large heavy glass and I proceeded to survey the territory for a familiar face! Hey, there she was up in the balcony! And she looked EXACTLY like her photos in her blog. I headed up to the balcony tables and introduced myself! GULP! Now...I have to say...that Rachel is as glamorous and beautiful and friendly and witty and articulate and and and and....as she is in her blog...absolutely what you see is what you get with her...no sense of duplicity or other weirdness....she quickly offered me up a chair, and began to introduce me around to her sister and other friends. As I was shaking hands with one person, she then says..."and you already know my friend Kira"....and I turned to find...KIRA from Artfibers....who I'd obviously spent quite a bit of time with recently! She said "I knew from how Rachel described you...knitblogger, midwife, Alaska...that it would be you coming tonight"! HOW FUN! I must say that these folks made me feel right at home! And the MUSIC! Holy Cow! I was totally wonderfully delightedly TWANGED by the time I left (well past midnight). The concert was OUTSTANDING! I danced and clapped my hands so much they were numb. Almost good ole hoedown music....but with a more tongue in cheek approach! WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO....a good time was had by all! At one point though....when looking down over the balcony and trying to figure out why there was so much smoke puffing up through the air.....and seeing some big ole fatties flaring up and being passed around......I had a momentary time warp....(ooohmygodi'mamomandagrownupprofessionalwomanforgodssakewhatamidoinghere)....but I was having such a good time that I quickly got over myself! And I got to meet the Whoreshoes in person and shake hands with them and talk a bit with the talented and tangy Lala (banjo picker extraordinaire!) It was a perfect cap to an already EXCELLENT trip. I'm so glad I went! Rachel, Lala, Kira, Rachel2, Jodi....you are awesome! mmmmmwwwwwaaaahhh! And hey, if you didn't check out Rachel's blog...GO THERE....and see the beautiful stole she knit and wore to the concert! She's just so GLAMOROUS!! And Fun! Thanks so much for the great time ladies!



(Me & the World Famous Rachel!)

The next (or should I say later that same) morning....was an EARLY check in at the airport....and another uneventful plane ride (for those that know me...nope...didn't get sick at all...coming OR going...which is a small miracle in and of itself...maybe i've outgrown it? ) back home to a SURPRISE....CLEAN HOUSE....and happy cheerful family welcoming me home! Like I said...It was Great to GO....and now it's Great to be Home........and I'm already planning my next trip in October! Look out Virginia :)

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity Jig

I'm baaaack...but not yet totally unpacked. This was absolutely, hands down, one of the VERY VERY BEST TRIPS I've taken in years! Why, you may ask.....well...I give the credit to the knitbuds. They were awesome, amazing, absolutely incredibly warm, funny, generous etc...etc..you get the picture......
Everything I'd hoped to accomplish on this trip was accomplished! I spent time in just about every single "district" of SF! Took every single form of public transportation available. Shopped at great thrifty girl stores (and found a treasure! Whoo!)....Ate Dim Sum for the first time (which was on the MUST DO list!)........shopped for and acquired gorgeously pettable yarny goodness.....met up with the worlds greatest knitbloggers (Barbara, Marie, and Rachel! whoot!)....and attended not one but TWO, count them TWO....cultural events (cultural by my limited Alaska perspective...haha) AND the conference sponsored by UCSF for continuing medical education was overall excellent. Good speakers, timely topics.....18 more hours of CME..Will definately do that conference again....hmmm...maybe next year :) But I digress....

I arrived in SF at 6am Tuesday June 5th after an unremarkable 5hr direct flight from Anchorage. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to check into my room at the Grand Hyatt Union Square so early, so quickly stowed my gear and enjoyed a refreshing nap until about 11. Then it was up and about for some lunch and touristy action. Had a lovely penne pasta salad and an adult beverage at the "something and Elephant" pub...(adult beverages and all ...forgot the whole name) I mapped out my course for the day...Destination: MISSION DISTRICT for reportedly wonderful thrifty goodness.

The Mission District was as expected...totally city gritty....multicultural....noise...music...many different languages but predominantly spanish and different asian dialects. I spent time in three or four thrift stores and a fabric warehouse that also had RedHeart yarns for $1 or less/skein. I was frankly not as impressed by the thrifty goodness as I'd hoped to be....at least..until I spotted THE JACKET! Now...I am a total sucka' for vintage (early 60s) classic stylish threads. And it fit wonderfully, no holes,no loose threads, no stains, perfect lining...just classic pizzaz! The brand is "Maggie-Chase Originals" which I googled...but no luck. My sense is that while it's not "designer"..it's a very well made piece for an upscale department store brand of the times. Feels like a heavy rayon blend...under the roses...oh..yes..the roses. Ribbon roses...covering every square inch of the 3/4" sleeve, waist length jacket! This jacket is a deep rich solid black, the lighting in the pics is to show the textural details!






Oh yes...this will be a dressy wardrobe staple :) Oh yeah...and it was only $4.99!

By the time the purchase was made, I was getting hungry again, and it was getting dark, so I purchased fresh cherries ( 79 cents/pound) and mangoes from curbside fruit stands (far far less expensive than here at home) and headed back to the hotel for a workout and good night's sleep.

The next day Barbara arrived! I waited in the lobby until I spotted her (recognizing her from her elann.com chatsite and her blog photos)! I must say she is just as cute as her picture. Sparkly blue eyes and the kind of bright smile that just lights up a room. She has so much energy that "bustling around" is a good descriptor for her. Warm, kind, generous spirit that she is, we hit it off immediately. After she unpacked, we headed on over to Artfibers! I'd been there on a trip about 3 years ago, but this was Barbara's first Artfibers experience. I don't think she was disappointed! I was on a mission for silk. Period! I dunno how the cashmere jumped into my basket...but it came home with me too! Along with a fabulous sweater pattern by the lovely and charming Kira of Kira K Designs (who waited on us her very own self in Artfibers)!



Do ya think we might have scored a bit of yarn? oooohhhhh yeeeaaaahhh!



I came home with 3 LS tops worth of their Thai Siam and Chai Siam Tussah Silk! A gorgeous garnet/rose color, a sagey-olivey color and then a brown/grey/taupe variagated that I'd not have purchased without CBMs infuence! Whoot! Along with a half pound of light as a feather 90% cashmere/10% silk........and a small tasting of their variagated mercerized cotton tape...(THIS STUFF KNITS UP LIKE A WET DREAM...IT'S AMAZING! Definately will be getting MORE of that via mailorder soon!)

Here are a few little teaser photos of some of the Artfibers yarn haul!

The Cashmere....


The Silk...(Butt says..."i'ts not catnip...but I'll still give my seal of approval")


After about 2 1/2 hours at Artfibers....we hopped on a trolley and over to a seaside pub that "Invented the Irish Coffee"...again, the name escapes me at this time......where we chatted and knitted (or rather.....attempted to knit....and frog.....Irish Coffees and all....you understand!) It was interesting to watch how they manually turn the trolleys on "lazy susan's" set into the pavement, once they've come to the end of the line!



But now, I must get ready for work! So, I'll share more about the rest of the trip later this week!

See You Next Week!

I know there won't be time tomorrow so I'll leave with a brief garden tour (you'll be amazed at what will be blooming two weeks from now!) and introduce you to a new little family friend.

This is Freckles! She's a 12 week old Red Heeler pup that belongs to DD's friend. She's been hanging out with us a lot and is the sweetest, wiggliest, lickiest pup ever! She runs and plays with the big dogs until she just wears herself out.





Here are my perennial beds as of June 2nd.



The first tulip finally bloomed! Hope the squirrels didn't eat the rest of the bulbs.



One of my favorite groundcovers.



Bleeding hearts are getting ready to bloom!



Here's one of three window boxes I made for grandma Clara's windows for Mother's Day. She enjoys them from her bedroom and the kitchen windows.



I transplanted these woodland violets from a very shady spot and now they are thriving in a different bed. But they've all come up white...nary a violet or purple to be found. The Mountain Bluet should be just starting to bud when I return next week. And yep, Those are old horseshoes from DDs boys edging the beds. A few more years and they'll go all the way around.



I don't know what this flower is called. I bought the plant for the window box because of it's foliage...but these lipstick red flowers are an added bonus.



CBM, Marie, Rachel....I'll see you in San Francisco!

Summer's Here...Where's My Camera?

It's Barrel Racing Season Again!



The Grrrrl came in first with a "green" horse night before last. Then she traveled a little further (she can wrangle rides and trailer hauling/horse hauling better than anyone I know...but then...that's horse people for you I've noticed) to scout out the competition in another region. And she joined National High School Rodeo (which offers college scholarships and stuff! whoo!) which competes a couple hours away in Soldotna. She's already working her butt off. I'm thinking it's going to be a busy summer. And sadly, she left "my" camera on the dashboard of the friend who gave her a ride the other night, so no new photos until the weekend.

In knitting news......I've been knee deep in the frog pond. Old UFOs have been ripped and rewound. T gave me the nudge I needed to repurpose some lovely yarns that didn't make it to FOs. Thanks T! I also found when inspecting these UFOs that my personal standards for both yarn and mistakes have really skyrocketed over the past two years. My knitting now is a lot "cleaner, neater, etc". It made me a lil' proud of myself. And now I have about 5 (yes...five) new sweater's worth of fabulous yarns ....including some gorgeous turquoise CottonEase.....yes...you may have a moment of envy...cough, cough. I'll display when the camera comes home.

Speaking of home....I'll be here for 3 more days after today...which is part of my enormous amount of current business....and then...WHOOOOOO....I'm heading to San Francisco for a continueing med education conference..I LOVE MY CME...not only do I learn a lot.....there are hours of guilt free knitting time....and I'm in a nice hotel in a fun city. I'm taking a few extra days for a personal mini-vaca....just cuz I do this...and it keeps me sane...somewhat. But, even MORE FUN....I'll be meeting up with CBM and Marie and perhaps another elannite or two! AND visiting one of my favorite yarn stores EVER....ARTFIBERS. AND EXTRA FUN TOPPING....the night before I leave, I'll be meeting up with Rachel & Lala from Yarn-a-GoGo at the Great American Music Hall to see "And Devil Makes Three" and "The Whoreshoes"!!!!!!!! I have SO MUCH to do before I leave. And a wedding to attend with the family tomorrow! Well, any luck, there'll be pics by Sunday! Gotta run.

Kiri's Home!

Many many moons ago....sometime mid fall....October I think....this knitter decided to attempt her very first lacy shawl pattern. Prior success had occurred with lace scarves...fishtail lace, horseshoe lace....Various sources reported that Kiri was an excellent choice for a beginner shawl.

The knitter dug through the stash and found a variagated pink, rose, blue yarn that she and pal "R" had home-dyed waaaaayyy back in February of '06. It was a worsted wool. Nice and sturdy. Fairly soft. The knitter downloaded the pattern and cast on. She knitted and knitted and knitted and came to the last two repeats before the edging. Sadly....through no apparent fault of her own (other than normal distractions....general knitterly clutziness...etc..) the last few repeats proved more than the knitter could handle. She frogged and reknit...and frogged and reknit...and put the Kiri in timeout for several weeks until she learned to behave herself.

The knitter felt remorseful about the long timeout and devised a strategy to end the misery formerly known as the Kiri. It must be said here and now...the color did not help. The irregular runs of sick pink marled with blues became known as "Gravid Uterus Pink" due to its' resemblence to an organ with which the midwife was very familiar. Pearl was not shy in her display of contempt for the Kiri.



The strategy to completion was simple......have enough people nag the knitter often enough to assure regular time spent with Kiri....and that SHOULD have been enough.There were suggestions. There were helpful hints. But still...the last repeat and edging were impossible for the knitter to wrap her mind around. Thankfully knitbud Grace kindly offered to fix and finish the Kiri and her dangling ball of fugly. With a quick kiss goodbye to the Lady E, Kiri wound her way across North America to the Jersey shore!



Grace had kind words about Kiri. Evidently she behaved herself very very well...no missed stitches...no lost YOs.......Soon, Grace was finished. A perfect final repeat...and a perfect edging. But Kiri's journey was not over. That sweet Grace sent Kiri clear back across North America to Vancouver to visit Jayne, master yarn artist extraordinaire. Jayne worked her magic on the finished Kiri. And magic indeed it was. The pinks and roses of "Gravid Uterus" became warm teals, the blues acquired hues of turquoise. Hints of the reds still show through here and there, giving movement and drama to the overall effect.



The knitter was stunned speechless by the transformation. Not just the transformation, but the positive energy from collaboration and caring displayed by knitbuds nationwide. Originally, the knitter thought about using the finished Kiri for another nurse-midwifery scholarship fundraiser.......but now that she's home......she's just too personal and imbued with too many warm and comforting intentions to go to a stranger. Kiri and the knitter are settling into a new routine. She is the shawl of choice for a morning cuppa' in the garden. Here's hoisting a mug to a long and happy future for Kiri and the knitter!

The Luna....in Elann's Adara...color Fern...
I am through the 3rd pattern repeat.This pattern is EASY! Intuitive! It has RHYTHM!
Now, I don't know if that's because it was hard on the heels of the SunRay, which was
fast behind Kiri (who should be home soon I hear...with that shawl..well, you just never know what's going to happen next!)
Anyway, maybe the lace mojo hit....maybe it's just hours and hours of practice..(I think with SunRay I tinked at least one row for every three)...but I am only tinking maybe 1 or two stitches every pattern repeat. Seriously! Obviously it's the pattern...SK...your wonderful design and clear instruction make me want to just try more and more lacy patterns!

And just a few words about the Adara....I was worried that this yarn would be stiff and rough due to the cotton/linen construction. I shouldn't have worried. It's not butter....but it is really really soft, think cottonball soft only with more "crispness" for lack of better term. It doesn't split (even on my pointy KPOs-size 9 as per pattern if you're interested) and the color is really lovely. Folks at work and my daily drivethru latte' lady comment on the color everytime they catch me knitting. This yarn behaves itself very well. I think it will be a lovely summer weight shawl. I only have 6 skeins though, and have used 2 and started the 3rd already. I'm going to order 2 or 3 more skeins. I plan to do 6-7 repeats total. Will keep you posted!

And just 'cuz I thought it was interesting....take a look at this!



Have a great knitterly week!

Ipod Shuffle 5-11-07

1) "Stars on the Water"-Jimmy Buffett
2) "When You Come Back Down"-Nickel Creek
3) "Unchained Melody"-Righteous Brothers
4) "High"-James Blunt
5) "Where the Streets Have no Name"-U2
6) "Brand New Day"-Sting
7) "Because of You"-Nickelback
8) "Dancing in the Moonlight"-Van Morrison
9) "Drift Away"-Uncle Cracker
10) "Who'll Stop the Rain"-Creedence Clearwater Revival

It's a beautiful sunny day in Anchorage...I'm getting flowers at the nursery today! (PS...I finished the first repeat through row 34 of my Luna in the Fern Adara...wow...it's a great knit. more later!) Knit On!

GirlyCamo and More

I know, I know, I told you that I was going to cast on for my Luna with that gorgeous summery elann.com Adara. But I didn't..yet. I will soon. But I needed a no brainer knit on the needles too. You know the kind...top down, lots of just plain knitting in the round...a little shaping here and there. Take along knitting for things like last night's high school band concert. The interminable band concert. The concert that lasts for 3 hours and THEN has awards for many of the band members. DD rec'd two awards...."Most Likely to Get Kicked Out of Class" and "Most Likely to NOT Show Up For a Concert"...That's my girl....(grin...aaahhh...she's following in her mother's footsteps!) So of course, there was knitting. Seemed like a LOT of knitting...but on morning inspection...not so...guess that's what happens when you are on size 5s!
But I'm getting ahead of myself again.

A month ago or thereabouts, when DH was out of town again...I got a little pity party going on....I got a little self-indulgent....I got a little bit of yarn. Just a little...but OMG...is it not just gorgeous? It's Girly Camo by SJK yarns! Buttery soft, washable merino DK....hand painted by our own dear JAYNE! in a colorway that just sang to me from the computer screen. A few weeks later...here it was in my very own home! Stunning!



I'd thought long and hard about what to make with this treasure. I knew I wanted top down...I knew I wanted something fitted...but simple enough to really show off the yarn. So.....I'm knitting up the Picovoli only I'm going to add 3/4 length sleeves, knitted in the round with a folded hem picot edging at the end of the sleeves. (This is Alaska after all and a gal's just gotta have some sleeve action most days).

Here's the progress so far.....doesn't seem like much for 5+ hours of knitting, but that's ok.......the fabric is luscious at 6 1/2 st/inch. My row gauge is off for the pattern (as usual), but I'm doing the length measurement and math thing and I think the pattern will be forgiving enough and I can adjust enough...and hey...if it doesn't work...well....we'll go to plan B (whatever that is!) Truly, the pics do not give this yarn colorway justice! It has such a melange of Reds (pinks/scarlet/russet) and greens (olive/forest/kelly.)..If I'm at the nursery I tell you, I'd blend right in with the geranium section! I LOVE this yarn!






I've had a really funny thing happening at work recently. I'm one of the general CNMs for the Alaska Native Medical Center, but I'm also a specialist in substance abuse/addictions and have a separate clinic off the hospital campus for substance abusing women. I frequently receive referral calls from the obstetric and perinatal care providers from the ANMC campus as well as from within the private sector so it's not unusual for me to receive pages and phone calls several times a day. Recently however, I've rec'd 3 pages and a half dozen phone calls from physicians and nursing staff.....needing assistance with ....get this......KNITTING!.....example:

Me: "Hello, this is Lisa W returning your page/call"
Dr XYZ" "Oh, hello Lisa, thanks for calling me back. I got your name from so and so over at the hospital. She said you might be able to help me with a knitting question...do you mind"
Me: "Huh...oh..oh sure...ummm....(thinking...and I'm in the middle of clinic right now)...perhaps after hours or at lunch time....

I'm getting a reputation as the local "knitwife" instead of "midwife" haha... My (non-knitter,non-blogger) pal Laureen calls me the "local kniteratti" (like glitterati...get it..hahah)

anyway...i thought it was funny...Something else (especialy for you Jayne) that is funny is that I missed Pearl's spring haircut appt. There is ONLY ONE groomer in Anchorage that does cats. And she only does a few cats including mine (because she's done her for 10 years) and it takes at least 5-6 weeks to get an appt with her...and honestly she's really a grouch to her customers....but hey...I don't want to take the clippers to Miss Pearl.....so anyway....now it will be almost the 4th of July before Pearl gets her summer cut. She is NOT amused. And proceeded to show me her disgust with my lack of planning and atttention to detail by horking up a big nasty wet furball....on ....my .....WREN....which is why I haven't posted pics yet. It was already dry when I saw it...so...gross.



That's it for today. I'm off tomorrow (HOORAY) and will try to get the KAL weekly wrapup done then! Have a great knitterly day!

SunRay Saga

Once there were a few skeins of Highland Wool in Violet Heather. That wool wanted to be lace. But she was thick, a worsted in fact....could this wool ever dance and float with the breezes? The wool's knitter, a crafty bitch with years of knitting expertise, decided to try knitting lace once more.

Even though the knitter had other chores that she ignored....(like painting the decking)...she cast on....with huge size 10 Brittany Birch needles...for the points you know. Soon, there were two repeats...and the beautiful SunRay pattern was beginning to shape up.



The knitter filled her straight needles and prepared for the transfer to her KnitPicks Options circular size 10s....but sometime during the transfer process, a Brittany was...well...sat upon...and a painful break ensued....



Not to be swayed from her mission, the knitter enlisted supervision....



Very close supervision in fact....



But there were interuptions...



Determined...the knitter knit on....keeping to the straight and narrow in every effort to avoid another Kiri debacle....and eventually, she finished....



The wool was stretched......and pinned....and threaded through in a form of blocking torture well known to Russian lace knitters....the picots were perfection....

EDITED: CLICK ON PHOTOS FOR LARGER VIEW ON BLOCKING!..
All I did was pin out my top to the width i wanted/liked...stretch my bottom point out to the length i wanted, then threaded a chibi with scrap yarn and starting with the edge point picot, threaded through each 5th picot. I then pinned out the threaded picot to make a point on the edging. Really simple and took 20-30 minutes tops! Truly Easy Peasy and no need for blocking wires and things like that, although i'm sure that would be fast and easy peasy too!



And at last....she was ready to rest.....



and 24 hours later....Voila! Thank you SK...for a wonderful pattern!



Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up!



Aaaahhh SunRay....I love you!

A Few More Thoughts on Dionne Warwick

I am such a child of the sixties. One of my best early memories of getting to watch a "non-kid" movie comes from about the age of 9 or so when my babysitter let me watch "Valley of the Dolls". I was mesmerized. This was a story about stuff you overheard grown-ups whispering about. Shameful, hush-hush, don't say anything....Riveted to the TV screen. And the music......the soundtrack...the theme song especially.....playing all over the radios...evidently a #2 hit single for Dionne Warwick in the late 60s. I was and continue to be a fan for life!

Dionne Warwick, however, was not the theme song singer (say that three times fast!) here for the long version.

So,anyway, those were a few more thoughts on that subject.


Local smut....hey Bets...and Joan...you're gonna love THIS. I'm past speechless...seriously..i cannot even put my thoughts into a coherent order due to the emotions this evokes. We have an awesome new governor. She's all about ethics, trust, reform. I have some sense of hope for our state government. Some.

Knitting...on Row 26 of Repeat # 5..whoo...i'm loving it...even though i seem to tink an awful lot....that's what I get for watching...




........ and trying to knit lace! More later! Happy Knitting!

Friday Ipod Shuffle

The midwife business is busy this time of year. 3 new babes this week already.....all with first time moms...(translated means looooooonnnng hours for this baby catcher). I have a boatload of pics to show you, not only of my sweet Wren, but my SunRay which is now somewhere in the fifth repeat. I saw Jayne's post about Kiri! I tell you I didn't even recognize my own shawl in that little sneaky peek she threw out there! Had to do a double take after reading her post....oooohhh...so pretty! The color is perfect! Grace, Jayne....you two are amazing and wonderful and talented.......and I think this lil' clip says it best!




Here's the shuffle...Gotta Run....will post more this weekend!

1) "I've Got a Life"-David Guetta & Joachin Garraud Eurythmics remix
2) "What the World Needs Now"-Dionne Warwick
3) "Close to You"-Carpenters
4) "Purple Rain"-Prince
5) "Take it to the Limit"-Eagles
6) "Nothing Compares to You"-Prince
7) "I Can See Clearly Now"-Otis Redding
8) "Stuck in a Moment"-U2
9) "Wasteland"-10 Years
10) "Jumping Jack Flash"-Rolling Stones

Have a great knitterly day!