Finishing merrily along

Thank you for your finger-crossing yesterday. I think my practical exam went fairly well. I had one moment where I stood there staring at my simulated patient for about 45 seconds, having no idea what to do, but I came to my senses and finished the station. And I don't think you get marks off for going brain dead. Just kinda creeped the patient out I think.

After the exam and a stress-busting workout at the gym, I was looking forward to getting in my front door! But I had to deal with the little problem of being locked out of my apartment. Not the thing I wanted to hear when I hadn't been home for two days and was carrying two huge bags that weighed about 50 lbs each. I took refuge at my friend Steve's place in Cabbagetown. He let me stay there until Dani (that girl has saved my ass about a thousand times) dropped off my extra set of keys. I even got some sushi out of the deal, so all was not lost!

When I finally got home I just wanted to sit like a blob and knit mindlessly. I did sit like a blob, but I got some finishing done instead!

Grass, my green felted bag, got her handle finished. I had so very little yarn that I didn't even cast off the top edge. I took 15 stitches off one side, and knitted the handle. Then, I used a crochet hook and, starting where the handle started, pulled each "live" loop through the next one, working along either side until I got to the place where the 15 stitches from the handle would be grafted on. I ended the crochet hook action on the edge stitch of each 15, and grafted the handle right on. Not one extra inch of yarn required for the casting off.

I would love to be able to show you one of those clever pictures with just the few scraps of yarn leftover. I don't have any scraps left though. When I was grafting, I got so close to the end that the last few stitches I had to unthread the needle, push the needle through, thread the needle, and pull the teeny tail of yarn though. I didn't have one spare cm! But it's done, and felting in the washing machine as we speak. Can't wait to have a new bag!

Then, on a roll, I sewed the side seams on my Ribby Cardi. I absolutely HATE (no, not too strong a word) sewing up sweaters, so this was something I had been putting off for a while. So that's done, and now the sleeves are blocking so I can sew those on as well.

Today I have some shopping to do, and then I'm heading to my friend Heidi's place. She's having a belated Valentine's party entitled Get Your Heart On. I love parties with a theme. I went to her Christmas party and had a blast, so it should be fun.

Tomorrow morning, Dani and I are going to a needle felting class at Lettuce Knit. Can't wait to explore a new fibre hobby!