Extractions
I went to the Oral Surgery department to observe how they extract teeth. That's all those surgeons seem to do all day - extra tooth after tooth.
I can't imagine doing that all day long. Then again, people are probably saying the same thing about dentistry in general. Just looking into other people's mouths day in day out.
Bored.
Labels: Dental School
Fishtail Lace
I decided to progress futher with lace work and selected this pattern - a very pretty fishtail lace.
So the name is not romantic - that does not mean the end product is not beautiful nontheless.
This scarf was made with 8 ply yarn with 4mm needles.
Pattern is as follows:
Cast on 31 stitches.
Row1 : K1, *yf, k3, sl1, k2tog, psso, k3, yf, k1, rep from *
Row 2: Purl all stitches
Row 3: K1, *k1, yf, k2, sl1, k2tog, psso, k2, yf, k2, rep from *
Row 4: Purl all stitches
Row 5: K1, *k2, yf, k1, sl1, k2tog, psso, k1, yf, k3, rep from *
Row 6: Purl all stitches
Row 7: K1, *k3, yf, sl1, k2tog, psso, yf, k4, rep from *
Row 8: Purl all stitches.
Repeat pattern until scarf is desired length. If the scarf is too narrow, just cast on extra multiples of 10 and do more repeats.
This pattern is reasonably easy to remember.
A fringe can be added if desired. The ends of the fishtails will be pointy, which was why I attached the fringes to the points only.
I made it for a friend of mine who had unfortunately not been receiving all the things I've sent her. They all disappeared in the mail.
I guess 3rd time's the charm.
Labels: Knitting
Mellowed Out
What has Dental Girl been doing?
Lost in her world of knitting.
However, I did get around to cooking a couple of dishes.
Chocolate Orange Cake - To use up all the oranges in the fridge before they rotted.
Bolognese - From scratch.
I think I'm aging prematurely.
Labels: Food
Entrelac
I'm currently teaching myself how to do the entrelac technique, which is knitting that creates the illusion of basketweave in the end result, similar to this:
Addicted.
Labels: Knitting
I'm Better Than You
Most people have the desire to be better than others - and to make sure that the world knows it, too.
That's why girlfriends demand for presents from their boyfriends - so that they can tell their friends how much their boyfriend loves them - enough to give them a 5 carat diamond ring.
That's why parents expect children to make cards during special occasions like birthdays - so that they can show off to their colleagues at work that their child loves them.
That's why people buy designer goods, flashy cars and ritzy real estate in elite suburbs. That's why people crave to get titles in front or at the back of their names.
That's why when an airline played with the idea of creating all Business Class flights, the idea wasn't very well received - 50% of the reason why people want to fly Business Class is to be able to sail past the cattle class people and feel superior - the other 50% being the better treatment and larger seats. So what's the point of flying Business Class if you don't get preferential treatment?
It's an endless competition that has a tinge of
schadenfreude - the pleasure that someone is not as successful as yourself. After all, it's not good enough to be good - one has to be
better. If you're doing well, people are hoping you fall flat on your face. If not today, tomorrow.
Some people take it further than others, but I believe everybody has been guilty of this one time or another.
It's exhausting.
Labels: Ramblings
The Price
So, someone commented on my nickname on MSN, which is currently still at - Dental Girl loves cashmere - .
Him: Cashmere, huh? I'm guessing it's the Burberry kind or some other branded cashmere.
Me: As a matter of fact, no. It's cashmere knitting yarn. I've learnt to knit.
Him: You? Knit? What are you knitting? Making your own Burberry scarves now?
Me: No...I'm learning how to knit sweaters now.
Him: Oh, really? Where's mine? It's getting cold now.
Everybody who reads my blog now know that's the one thing I don't like people to ask.
Me: Do you know how long it takes to knit a sweater? I think you're better off buying one than to wait for me. Either that or we can have a deal. Why not you buy me a Hermes Birkin then I'll knit you a cashmere sweater.
Him: Does everything have to have a price tag to you? Like...do you have to do something only if you get something back in return?
That stumped me. I delved into my thoughts.
Here's the thing - I have been generous in my lifetime before and I have given away some of my knitted things. It's just that sweaters are a
whole new league of effort and time compared to other items like scarves and cashmere yarn is not cheap. And he has not done anything for me. And we're not that close. And I'm not his girlfriend. And it is a shameless request. So the short answer is, YES, I
do put a price tag on everything. Is everybody happy now?
My question is, what has he done that has not has a price tag? Is he going to give me a Hermes Birkin, or anything for that matter - for nothing?
I don't think so.
So yes, maybe Dental Girl is a bitch for not giving away hand knitted cashmere sweaters to people she is not even close to. At least she admits it.
Labels: Rants
Eating
I've been eating heaps of grapes lately. Maybe because I'm trying to be 'healthy' - of course I am not mentioning the chips I eat right after the grapes. That would defeat the purpose.
Sometimes I feel my life isn't really that exciting that I have to blog about it. I mean, I wake up, remember it's a weekday, realize I have to go to uni, roll out of bed and go there. Then I come back. To sleep. Repeat.
Bored.
Labels: Life
Cashmere
I've started knitting a sweater and am almost halfway through.
Even then, I couldn't resist knitting a test swatch out of a ball of cashmere that I bought. It feels
heavenly. The only way I can describe it is to say that it feels like butter - it's that soft.
I want more cashmere!!
Labels: Knitting
Dreams
Lately I've been getting very strange dreams.
I've dreamt of being kidnapped because I was the daughter of a powerful European family but I managed to escape - after many terrifying moments. I dreamt of going out with a guy who turned out to be so cheap he ordered plain water in a restaurant and poured in the condiments to flavour the water.
I dreamt about getting pregnant and contemplating abortion - without even knowing who the father was because I was a promiscuous girl.
Maybe it's the excessive knitting.
Labels: Life
Scarf 3
This is a simple scarf made by knitting every row. Only problem is that the yarn is difficult to work with.
I'm tired.
Labels: Knitting
My Dog 2
My second dog died yesterday.
My parents told me that she just stopped eating after my first dog died, probably due to depression and loneliness.
Tears just came when my mom broke the news to me. The knowledge that both my dogs are gone forever and I would never see them coming up to me, tails wagging with their beseeching eyes begging for food has finally sunk in.
Missy - looking for cats to chase and ciku fruit to pluck off the tree.
Polar - looking up at me wondering what the hell am I doing with a shiny piece of metal in my hand and baiting her with a piece of chicken.
I will never see them again.
Labels: Life
The Other Side
I have a demonstrator that stresses me out everytime I go to clinic, mainly because he's a perfectionist and he loves firing questions at us. I would have thought that such an uptight person would be you know...uptight.
Apparently not.
I accidentally stumbled into his Friendster page and imagine my surprise when I saw testimonials of his friends saying that he was
so nice, so gentle, so caring...blablabla. He even had an act cute pose as one of his pictures and blatantly expresses his love for his girlfriend.
I guess what I'm driving at is that you never really know what's hiding underneath.
Labels: Ramblings
My First Throw
I realized that it was time to progress away from scarves. I decided to do something that still didn't need shaping or gauging and decided to go for a throw.
I'm really proud that I managed to finish it - in less than a week at that! Of course, that was all I did. Friends were wondering if I fell off the face of the earth. All I did was sit in front of the tv and knit obsessively.
Now I can start another kitting project. Whee!
Labels: Knitting
Shamelessness
As we grow older have we managed to get more and more thick skinned?
Some of the people I know just don't
get it.
Many people know that I was obsessively baking last year and giving away the fruits of my labour liberally to basically anyone who came around or friends at uni.
This year I am not as - generous I guess would be the best word for it - and people blatantly expect Dental Girl to be still giving out baked goods like it's her
job.
It's not my job. I may occasionally invite friends over to have cake or food, but don't expect me to hand them out.
Then of course there's the knitting.
I do knit for several people who I feel are worthy of my time and effort. But some people blatantly expect me to just knit for them. My gentle hints do nothing to dampen their spirited request/command/expectations.
Acquaintance: Ohh, you can knit one for me too then! Winter is coming I'm cold!
Me: *hint number 1* Well, I could
sell one to you.
Acquaintance: Sell? What sort of friend are you?
Me: *hint number 2* Well, you have a girlfriend. Get her to make one for you.
Acquaintance: Ohh.. she's not into this sort of thing. But you are.
Me:
Why don't you just get that I'm not going to give you one?!?! Well, don't expect anything anytime soon.
Acquiantance: Well, if I don't expect that I won't get it, won't I?
Me:
ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!So Dental Girl is a horrible friend because she doesn't give out hand knit scarves at people's beck and call. People don't realize that yarn is not cheap and the effort put into knitting is worth even more. They think just because they know me they deserve a scarf.
Well, you
don't. Unless I offer, don't expect anything from me.
I'm tired of being used.
Labels: Rants
Mohair Diamond Eyelet Scarf
This is the first scarf that I attempted to knit lace. It's a simple pattern to follow and good for beginners who want to try knitting something other than purl and knit patterns.
I used 8-ply mohair and 4mm knitting needles.
Pattern is below:
Cast on 36 stitches. Knit garter for 6 rows.
Row 1:Knit.
Row 2:K3, P30, K3
Row 3:Knit
Row 4:K3, P30, K3
Row 5:K7, *yo, ssk, k8, rep*, yo, ssk, k7.
Row 6:K3, P30, K3
Row 7:K5, *k2 tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k5, rep*, k2tog, yo, k, yo, ssk, k5
Row 8:K3, P30, K3
Row 9: Same as Row 5
Row 10: K3, P30, K3
Row 11: Knit.
Row 12: K3, P30, K3
Row 13: K12, yo, ssk, k8, yo, ssk, k12
Row 14: K3, P30, K3
Row 15: K10, *k2 tog, yo, k, yo, ssk*, k5, rep* to *, k11
Row 16: K3, P30, K3
Row 17: Same as Row 13
Row 18: K3, P30, K3
Repeat pattern until scarf is desired length. Knit 6 rows garter. Cast off.
This produces a scarf with the diamond eyelet pattern with a border of garter stitch to prevent curling.
Block scarf.
For the fringe, I threaded translucent beads at various levels. Unfortunately, it hasn't shown up well in the picture.
Labels: Knitting
Blueberry Pancakes
My housemate came back with a heart shaped pancake/egg ring and we couldn't resist trying it out that very day.
The pancake recipe I use is really basic - 1 cup self raising flour, 1 cup milk and 1 egg mixed together to form the batter. I topped the pancakes off with blueberries, whipped butter and a sprinkle of icing sugar.
I love blueberries.
Labels: Food
Posession
All I can do is knit nowadays.
I knit when I watch tv, when I'm doing nothing, and if I'm not knitting I'm thinking about knitting.
Currently knitting a throw. Am about 33% through, which is good. Can't wait for the end product.
Next mission in line is to learn how to knit a sweater. I'm sick and tired of scarves.
Back to knitting.
Labels: Knitting
My Dog
My parents have told me that one of my dogs has died.
It wasn't completely unexpected. She had been suffering for quite a while, having difficulty in walking and just getting thinner and thinner as the days went by.
Apparently she just stopped eating and just whined the whole day from the pain.
They sent her to be put down.
Although I grieve, I know it was the only thing to do.
Labels: Life
