Creative Festival

One report begets one handknit sock

My research report is finally done - we did a study of physicians looking at whether being a musician influenced medical specialty choice. I'm very very glad to have it over with, as interesting as it was. There is next to no literature out there on this topic, however the one existing paper that was even remotely related mentioned knitting, go figure!

Mom was kind enough to come visit for Thanksgiving, after which we set off to Toronto in search of some fiber related fun. We visited the Textile Museum of Canada, which had a special exhibit of antique quilts from the 19th century. Surprisingly (to me), only a small proportion of them were cotton, and quite a few had extensive embroidery.

Close to 6000 hand-pieced hexagons!

My favorite, a very random cotton quilt from Canada (late 19th c.)

Creative Festival, a massive trade-show/conference of sorts for knitting, quilting, beading, sewing, etc. was also going on over the weekend. While the knitting displays were only average, it was definitely quite impressive on the quilting front. We met Sammy, a Latvian who extolled to us the virtues of real Latvian knitting, while also passionately pointing out errors in authenticity that are frequently made in what has become mainstream Latvian knitting (no variegated yarn allowed!).

Sammy

While knitting inspiration was lacking, the quilt displays did re-motivate me to get back to work on the quilt I had started a few months ago, that has been collecting dust as of late. These emergency birthday-gift earrings were also a by-product of the weekend. It was so nice to spend time with mom and briefly get away from school... now it's back to the grind until Christmas!

Not fibery, but still fun to make

Squashed

Hi. This is where I've been hiding for the last little while...

There has been a palpable change in our class; it's more somber, more solitary, and just somehow different. I don't know if it's that we're now working toward separate goals rather than common ones; if our collective summer experiences apart have put us on diverging paths; or if we're just tired and focused, simultaneously terrified and excited about the fact that we're hurtling toward clerkship at warp speed.

The initial challenge of getting back to the daily grind has passed, and now I'm left with a challenge of a different sort: juggling clinics where I'm expected to know stuff learned a while back that has long since been forgotten, keeping up with readings, writing a research report, trying to keep active/cook/play music and see the occasional friend. Needless to say, there isn't much knitting that gets done at the end of the day, and when it does it's nothing fancy. Pulling out a chart and concentrating on counting ends up seeming more like a chore than a relaxing activity, so the red sweater and any sewing has been pushed aside for the time being.

The best thing right now though is the season - despite being heat/sun loving and always cold, there is nothing that beats the crispness and visual warmth of fall. I've had the urge to bake with zucchini, apples and pumpkin, and to cook squash after squash. The other weekend while babysitting triplets, we decided to do some needle felting. Their eight-year old attention span held just long enough for me to make three wee pumpkins, which can keep the real gourds company for the next few months.

In front of tonight's dinner, a local acorn squash... yum!