DROPPING STITCHES OVER NURSE JACKIE AND HawthoRNe

Normally I blog mainly about knitting and neutral events in my life. Knitting is a wonderful way to cope with the daily stressors of our private and professional lives, don't you think? As an RN it sure has given me a means to relax!

Well, now I'm irritated. Enough to blog about it.

I'm not happy with how nursing is depicted in Nurse Jackie and HawthoRNe.


You can read commentary about this by going to this link:

Nurse Jackie/ HawthoRNe

As a nurse, I had been looking forward to the premiers of these two new nurse centered dramas with the hope that the lead characters would admirably represent the nursing profession. Something that has been sadly lacking in the portrayal of nurses by the media. Lots of inaccurate stereotypes. No real examples of the intelligent work that nurse DO in collaboration with physicians and all the other disciplines ( pharmacists, dietitians etc.) that make up a health care team.

What I got instead is that nurses have now graduated from being depicted by the media as wallpaper/handmaidens (ER, Grey's Anatomy) to stoner/wimps (Nurse Jackie, HawthoRNe)

Is this the new normal for nurses?
Is this how I want the public to view the nursing profession?
Professionally, shouldn't we insist that we be represented in the ideal or does that not make for good t.v. drama? What's with this trend toward making healthcare workers deeply flawed, bizarre or morally corrupt?

Sure, who wouldn't want to be a nurse after watching these shows?

Too meek to address your professional conflicts? HawthoRNe to the rescue, flying in on her white lab coat.
Nursing shortage problem solved.
Believe me, my job is hard enough without Mrs. Smith in room 317 thinking I'm snorting her Percocet in the nurses lounge!

The various responses by nurses were mostly unfavorable.
Here is mine:


I'd rather be yelled at by 100 physicians than have one dead patient due to a preventable medical error! That portrayal was a major insult to my profession.
Maybe we DO need one or two shows that present nursing professionals as perfect beings, because that representation on t.v. is long overdue. I'd prefer it to the current farce.

The public needs to see nursing at it's best. Medicine had Marcus Welby MD. It's time for Marcia Welby RN!

You can find me perched on my pedestal. Part of my customer service responsibilities. And my Nightingale Pledge.


Perhaps you've seen the programs and have an opinion. Nurse or health care consumer, go to the link and leave a comment No matter what your opinion, it's important that you be heard.

Now, I have an urge to knit this


Happy knitting!

SO WHERE'S THE KNITTING?

Gentle Knitter,
I have not abandoned my knitting blog, nor my knitting.

Life has just been busy.

Mike converted our computer to Linux and hasn't installed my photo/camera features yet. No photos, just commentary. Sorry.


...I have been knitting-baby bibs and sweaters-must have at least 6 current pregnancies to knit for! I did a fair amount of bib knitting at the Pelham 123 movie last week with son, Shaun. ( Mom, how do you knit in the dark?)

Started a Maggie Jackson wrap from The Gathered Look, book 15, called Alaca that was kitted with the help of Maggie, herself, at Stitches East 2008! Working on it with friend, Roberta. Another perfect companion whilst I knit this is my most recent local library find-Six Feet Under, Season 1. Never watched when it was first run on HBO and don't know why. Very absorbing.

Knit Ballband and scrappy dishcloths and hand towels in between the serious stuff.
Despite owning the latest Mason-Dixon knitting book have not knit one single thing from it yet! Something wrong here.

Organized my Yarn Room to the point where it is so pretty to look at but don't dare open the closet door! Going through binders of downloaded patterns to discard or file. Still need to sift through the storage bags of yarn to decide what to keep, what to donate and what to yard sale. Maybe. It's hard to let go. Have many projects set aside for later dates. Much later. State of yarn inventory has made me seriously curtail any yarn purchases. So goes it too for knitting books. Simply not any more room to contain any new additions to my abundant stash.Nor time to invest in managing all of this stuff. Seriously. Just alone the dishcloth cotton is contained in a large, old trunk, circa Michael's grandfather or great uncle.
I'm certain there are many who feel as I do. Go ahead, dare to admit your yarn gluttony!

Koigu Mitered Squired Jacket is on a Hiatus until-oh-August. And that Mohair color blocked Rambling Rows Cardi that I mooned over for years and years, bought from Stitches East years ago-well it seems I knit about 75 % of it before deciding I absolutely despise the way the large mitered color blocks look! The time of color blocked design has passed, at least for me! At some point I will get into a rippy mood and begin anew with some other sweater concept with this yarn. The colors are beautiful, the yarn itself is a dream. Just not as it was originally intended.

Planted and weeded the veggie garden. Broccoli bolted - Must be all this rain. ISO six new plants of something to replace them. I have tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, squash, cucumbers, eggplant, green beans, swiss chard, mustard greens, collards, and a few strawberry plants. A ground hog the size of a baby bear cub lives under our backyard shed. So far, no garden invasion. I spread collie fur and marigolds around the garden. Like I know what I'm doing!

Church knitting continues in preparation for our November Christmas Bazaar, as well as knitting for the baby charities, and lap robes.

Also have been kicking around the idea to knit for sale on Etsey and with local merchants-we'll see. Have picked several shop names-as would like to set up 3 separate shops featuring baby, adult and household hand knits. A business plan would commit me to knitting for profit and might kill the fun factor of knitting! Would I enjoy making money from doing something I love?It sure would help reduce the yarn stash.

Please feel free to comment on that one, folks!

Things to do:
Mail Squares to Pam of the Ghana Project-have got quite a few from my ladies at Our Lady of Mercy Church. Haven't forgotten you, Pam. Imagine you're on your, what, Trillionth afghan by now! What a dedicated lady!

That's it for now. Feedback on this post greatly appreciated as I've been out of the loop for a while.

Happy knitting!

THANKS FOR VOTING FOR THE PEEPS KNITTING CIRCLE!

The Morning Call's Hanging With Your Peeps polls officially closed on Monday at noon and I'm happy to say ****the Peeps Knitting Circle**** finished with:

276 votes,

0.8 percent of the votes,

a respectable 3rd from the bottom, even though minimal props were used.

I'll say it again-the knitting speaks for itself!

I couldn't have done it without all of you Kind and Gentle Knitters and Nonknitters who heeded my call to get out the vote for my knitting Peeps! Thank-you, family and friends,and all you knitters and bloggers out there from Ravelry, Monthly Dishcloth Yahoo Group, Knitlist, Knitu, and The Cloth Of The Week Yahoo Group for taking the time to support the Peeps!

Although I didn't win, it was great fun getting all your encouraging and humorous comments!

Who knows, maybe the Peep Knitting Circle's presence in the print media will encourage someone to take up the Addis!

Happy knitting!

JUST TRYING TO REPRESENT KNITTING.....

Just on a whim I had decided last week to enter a contest sponsored by The Morning Call Newspaper and
Just Born, makers of those cute little Peeps candies so popular during Easter. The theme this year was "Hanging With My Peeps " so folks used various props with their peeps.

My entry was peeps knitting and modeling hand knit hats and scarves. Well, surprise! I'm among the top 10 finalists, .......but, sadly, am placed at the very bottom as far as votes are concerned!

I'm seeing this as a serious disregard for the craft of knitting.
My Peeps are pure knitting-no flashy or stylized background!
I've kept my props to the minimum BECAUSE THE KNITTING SPEAKS FOR ITSELF!

Now, I'm not hoping to win (as the competition has some very clever entries) or even place second, BUT I DO HATE THE THOUGHT OF BEING IN THE VERY LAST PLACE!!!! Sort of reminds me of the school days fear of being the last one picked for dodge ball....

So I 'm asking all of YOU KIND AND GENTLE KNITTERS out there for your support!

PLEASE VOTE FOR ME!!! Go to THE MORNING CALL

DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, APRIL 6, AT 12 NOON.

AND CAST YOUR VOTE FOR THE PEEPS KNITTING CIRCLE !

Help knitting go public ESPECIALLY IN THE LEHIGH VALLEY, PA! Say YES to knitting by voting for my Peeps!

Enough of my shameless plea.

Onto what else I've been up to....
I've been reigning in my tendencies to buy knitting books since I've undertaken organizing my knitting room. Sadly, I no longer have the space to store any more books and let's not even discuss the outrageous amount of yarn I've acquired over the last 10 years. A small yarn shop has sprouted in my spare bedroom. Anyway, I frequently borrow knitting books from our local library. A great way to see new knitting, get inspiration, save money, and space as well!

I would consider purchasing BOTH of these books if I had the room for them!

A most adorable hat, don't you thinks so?

I succumbed to a great WEBS sale and plan to knit either of these terrific patterns into a throw for my downstairs t.v. room. Very hard to resist a good yarn deal, isn't it?

HAPPY KNITTING AND IF YOU DECIDED TO VOTE FOR ME, MANY THANKS!

HOMEBOUND ON A SNOWY MONDAY....

This was the snowy view yesterday from my front door. Schools were cancelled, poor Mike had to venture out to work, and I fiddled around with laundry, the crock pot and some random knitting.

I 've received a few knitting goodies in the mail recently, so nothing more was expected....

Kringle, my 15 year old stroke survivor, seemed content to sit at his usual perch and watch the snow flakes fly by.....

I was too lazy to light the fireplace, and keeping with our family tradition of maintaining the thermostat at 65 degrees during the day in order to conserve oil, I was thankful for having recently discovered and finished a long forgotten project from the Scarf Style book, Tevya Durham's Turtleneck Shrug.

http://www.knitpicks.com/books/book_display.aspx?id=30529

I grew disenchanted with knitting this for several reasons, which were all my doing:

1. Having modified this pattern from worsted weight to chunky Plymouth Baby Grande Alpaca, I had to swatch and fiddle a lot with stitch counts to properly size the sleeve lengths and the circumference of the turtleneck.

2. Had to frog the sleeves several time as the sheer weight of the sleeves made them badly hang and sag from underneath the arms.

3.Shoulder area became too oversized and droopy.

4. The neck was too tight.

5. the neck was too big.

6. I had a badly needed 50 lb. weight loss.

7. Being a post menopausal knitter, I had failed to take into account just how hot this baby was going to be and that i wouldn't really be able to tolerate wearing this for any length of time.


But, loving the yarn and the designer's creation, I forced myself to blow the dust off this sucker and gave it another shot.

After succeeding this time to correctly knit proper sleeve lengths, I decided to modify the turtleneck to give some more options.

Instead of circular knitting a tube as directed, I knit straight in the rib pattern the collar for 8 inches and bound off in the rib pattern. Attaching 5 tiny pearl-like buttons on the wrong side enabled the collar to be buttoned closed, folded over, and were barely visible to the eye. No need for button holes either as the buttons easily slipped through the knit or purl stitch sections. I'm thinking of replacing them with toggle buttons so they are more noticeable and fit a bit tighter in the stitch openings. We'll see....

When things felt a little steamy, I just undo the buttons and I cool off! Then it wears like a shrug with a square collar in the back.

Buttoned up again and not folded over keeps my nose and face warm, but steams up my glasses a bit!

And, of course, you can slip your arms out of the sleeves completely and wrap them around your neck, collar folded over, collar up or collar open, so you're wearing a heavy scarf.

So, whilst I was roasty-toasty warm I decided i needed to tackle a serous problem that's been plaguing my happy home for some time..

The curse of the soap-scummy bathroom soap dish! Having seen an oval version of a crocheted sponge sock in a knitting magazine-cannot remember which one- I crocheted one to cover a square sponge to fit my bathroom wall soap dish.

I just chained a length equal to the long side of the sponge. A snap! A great way to use up leftover dishcloth cotton too! I didn't time it, but I was done in minutes.

So, there you have it! Now my family is free of scummy soap dish angst!

Stay warm and happy knitting!

THE BLANKET BONANZA CONTEST WINNER IS....

Many thanks to Maggie, Roberta, Timiae, and Pam for the lovely 7x9 inch squares donated to my son, Shaun's, class project-My Brother's Keeper.

The students, at last count, had made or collected more than 88 knit and crocheted squares and gathered at school yesterday to sew them together into 3 blankets. Others worked on quilts and fleece tied fringe blankets. We ate hot dogs, baked Ziti, beef barbeque, killer brownies, cookies, well, you get the picture.

Here are the squares sent last week

My pal, Maggie, donated the pretty green crocheted squares, while the crocheted reideer came from Timiae. I absolutely adored all the squares donated by my old and new friends! The kids really liked all the different squares that were donated to their project and they plan to continue knitting and crocheting the rest of the school year. The moms and dads of the students also helped by joining the the long sewn up square strips into blankets, by crocheting around the outer edges to give the blankets a more finished look. My job was to take those not so nicely squared, more, ahem, geometric, abstract shaped masterpieces and perform an extreme makeover in order to measure 7x9 inches. I'll be working on those for a while. Perhaps I'll post a photo or two so you, Gentle knitter, can see the challenge.

As to the CONTEST WINNER......... Congratulations Roberta!!!! Your name was drawn and you will be receiving your book later this week!

Again, many thanks and hugs to all who so generously gave of their time and talent to this good cause!

LOOKING FOR THE COMFORT OF WARMTH....

This has been the typical view lately from my front door.

Makes one want to remain indoors, roastey-toasty warm, and knitting from the always expanding yarn stash. Einstein would have understood the dynamics of yarn expansion-yarn is not finite.....every knitter knows this universal rule! Think of the energy I am generating through the act of knitting.

The winter chill is slowly leaving us this week but I still look for the comfort of warmth.....
Chicken pot pie offers comfort with, I admit, some unwanted calories, but *substitute skim milk for whole* in the recipe, and NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW. Honest.

Recipe for Chicken Pot Pie

2 Cups leftover cooked chicken

2 ready made pie crusts

1 can mixed vegetables-the ones with the little potato cubes

1 small can of corn

2 cups milk*

4 TBSP flour

salt, pepper, minced onion, parsley

1 egg- for the egg wash on the top crust before baking.

Place one pie crust in Pam sprayed pie plate, and add chicken, vegetables and corn. In a pot combine milk, flour and seasonings, heat and stir until thickened. Pour over pie filling and cover with 2ND pie crust. Seal and crimp edges around the pie. Brush beaten egg over top crust. Bake in oven on 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Wonderfully warm things came my way this week too!

My dear Wednesday knitting friend, Roberta, generously knitted 5 squares for my son's Blanket Bonanza School Project.

And then... warm comfort arrived in my mail box....
Pam, aka "Grammie Pammie" of the Ghana Project sent these 3 adorable squares to be added to the blanket square donations. How did she ever find the time to knit these? I mean, the lady has surpassed the 100Th afghan mark on her own! Drop in on her by going to my link in my sidebar.

And, not to forget! I heard from Timiae, whose profile says is a student from Georgia, that she'll send something to the cause also! My Virginian pal , Maggie, from my Ample Knitters Secret Pal days also signed on for a square or maybe two! Thank-you, you sweet knitters, for the generosity of your time and needles!

The DEADLINE for mailing your squares to me is Friday, February 13th, postmarked.

I will hold the drawing on Sunday, February 22, at 12 noon and post the name of the winner here.

BEST OF LUCK TO ALL OF YOU WHO ENTERED THE DRAWING!!!

I managed to complete four more squares over the last few weeks.

Warming heads...

I've been wondering for the longest time how this Doily

would look as a hat of some kind so I decided to play with the pattern, designer unknown. I hope, who ever they are, that they are pleased with my results!

I used less than a skein of Red Heart Super Saver, Aran Fleck. I'll be donating it to our Knitting Ministry's Winter Hat Drive.


Here's another hat knit with what was left of the skein. I finished the top by doing a Kitchener with the last 2 dozen stitches or so to get the top flat.

Comfort of the familiar....

Just my way of working through that Peaches n Cream cotton stash of mine.The possibilities are infinite. Please don't ask me to do the math!

Warm knitting to you all!