Wherein my resident shows his mettle and my scarf shows its metal

This blog is going to be quiet for about two weeks.  I'll micropost, but I will be vera vera tired.  It is the season of new residents. 

We break them in with four weeks of one-on-one teaching.  Each staff person does two weeks.  The new resident is my surrogate child, and all energy gets poured into the days.  Instead of light, the black hole sucks energy.

We get the cream of the crop where I work.  They are remarkable, goal-oriented and talented individuals.  This year, I will include a picture of my new resident.

Do you remember all the internet photos of Hillary's head pasted on the body of a bux0m blonde?  This is NOT the male equivalent.  He's the real deal.  My resident has a simultaneous career as a professional bodybuilder.

He works out for an hour and a half each day BEFORE he comes to work.   And I thought I was going to be tired.  Mr. Etherknitter says he is not jealous.

SSS continues to afflict us all.  I am performing a dangerous experiment.  I am actively planning to knit sequential socks.  First one sock in one yarn, then another sock in another yarn.  Then, return to the first sock's mate, and finish that.  Do you think it will work?  I'm hoping to regenerate the enthusiasm for the first pair with a little "absence makes the heart grow fonder" timing.  (I DO know the flip side to that equation:  Out of sight, out of mind.  Let's hope not.)

I started the Just Our Yarn sock last week.  It is an odd colorway.  I think I'm still getting used to it.

I did find my knitting mojo again.  Habu stainless steel and silk in scarf form for my MIL.  She loves eccentric, asymmetric curiosities.  The scarf fabric is malleable and fluid, then holds the shape in catatonic fashion.  Bamboo needles were torture.  The silk and steel did not slide.  Metal needles are an improvement, but tighter rein is necessary.   I may carry Sundara grey silk in bands across parts of the scarf.  We'll see as I get farther.

Comments

[June]

Heh heh, wow, that's some resident you have there! I expect you to work him to the bone, of course. :)

(I know the tan and the shine bring out the muscles, but please tell me it's a spray-on color and that an MD knows better than to get that kind of UV exposure!)

[Cheryl]

That post title is so good I wish I'd thought of it myself! I want to see that scarf in person, I haven't broken out my cones yet.

[Theresa]

And I have trouble getting to the gym, um, at all. This residency stuff is tough. The scarf is lovely, though.

[Marcia Cooke]

Holy moly....to BOTH! I don't know which one frightens me more. As for the socks, good luck. That method wouldn't work for me, but I've never had SSS and I usually do both socks to the heel flap, anyway.

[Kristen]

At this point, having been here all day and knowing I'll be here all night, I wonder if I've gone into the wrong field of medicine.

(as an intern, please know that we love people like you. Love.)

[--Deb]

Wowzer.... The next couple of weeks might be exhausting, but at least the scenery will be good!

[Kathy]

Scarf look great -- I need to cast on my mother's. There are worse things than breaking in someone who is easy on the eyes. I do miss you though!

[minnie]

you should have posted this yesterday, and counted it as your eye candy friday! hubba hubba! (those are some cute socks!) lol.

[Lee Ann]

You completely crack me up, because yes, I did think you pasted his head onto the body. Hoooooleeeee crap.

Did I tell you that I was a bodybuilder from age 17 to age 21? No spray tan, though.

Now I have a hard time finding the body in my hair, much less under the...uh...wine pockets. :-}

[Caroline M]

"malleable and fluid, then holds the shape in catatonic fashion" - it applies equally well to your resident as to your knitting. I've seen several purchases of the steel and silk but I've yet to see it knitted so I shall be hanging on to your every stitch with interest.

[Chris]

So, I'll go against the grain here. I detest the body builder look. Don't get me wrong, I like a good physique, but that hyped up, over built bulge? Yuck. And the over large muscles make... ummmm... other things look so puny in comparison.

Good luck with that sock approach. I can tell you from experience it doesn't work for me. And the scarf looks pretty.

[Marcy]

Your experiment to foil SSS sounds brilliant! Just don't mix up the patterns. ;)

Good luck getting through the next couple of weeks. I prescribe lots of deck knitting and eating of grilled salmon for your off hours.

[Rosemary]

Your SSS avoidance theory does not work for me. Instead of going back to the first sock, I pick up a third (and fourth and fifth and ... ) skein and cast on again. Which leads to my current problem of 6 odd socks and as many partially finished ones.

[Judy]

WOrk and knitting appear to be equally fascinating. Hoooweee! Love the steel & silk look. How's the feel?

[kmkat]

Yikes. That resident scares me. I hope he is friendly; if not, he could do some damage. Actually, a stainless steel scarf could, too :)

[maryse]

i think you doctors (including your new resident) all have to be a little bit crazy to make it through med school and residency.

crack the whip!!

[Sylvia]

That sock method didn't work for me, more because my gauge fluctuates over time so the socks never matched as well if staggered. I use a reward system and it's getting me through the slog of SSS. Saw heaps more chipmunks in the redwoods and thought of you... Home now (a chipmunk free zone). How's your boarder?

[Cassie]

The scarf is oddly compelling, although it does look like it could be hard to knit, the end result is amazing. (Must. not. visit. Habu....)

I think the only solution for SSS is to knit both at the same time. If one is afflicted with said syndrome.

[Beth S.]

Oh my goodness! You weren't joking? That's really him? ;-) Amazing...

That's going to be an extremely interesting scarf. I love the effect of plain knitting on big needles--simple, elegant, effective. Like chain mail.

[Dorothy]

I don't think I would mind a handsome well-built black hole like that hanging around me for a while. He managed to make it through medical school so he must be able to make intelligent conversation too. An excellent man.

I am fascinated with your steel and silk scarf. I may have to see if I can figure out how to get my hands on some Habu and try it out for myself.

[colleen]

I think about residents and medical doctors every time I go to see my doctor (which thankfully is not often). I know I'm not that strong.

[Romi]

Oooh! I love the silk/ss! So much fun to knit. :)

[Ruth]

You had me at the title. Brilliant.

[bev]

Enjoy your resident. Are you mean like the Doc on Grey's? Play it up for all it is worth! The scarf is beautiful, so far as can be seen. And, good luck with the sock thing. Let us know if it works. Sometimes the first sock of a pair has been known to lurk in the bottom of my project basket for up to a year! Just finished one such pair.

[Judy]

I was like everyone else, I thought that was a joke picture until you said it wasn't! Hoo-Wee!

My method of avoiding SSS is about the same as yours; I whip through the first sock and cast on for the second, work until I want to poke my eyes out, then start on another sock. Of course, since I use magic loop and have an obscene number of long 2mm circs (don't really know how many, half of them are in half-done socks somewhere!), this is not a huge problem. Then when sock #1 of the next yarn is done, I have (hopefully) an AHA moment and say to myself, "Self, look! Here is an almost finished pair of socks, if you'd just get your booty around and finish the foot of this one sock." Usually this works. I have one pair that is resisting all attempts to finish it, but hey, I'm still young, I have plenty of time to kill.