PhD part 1: the lab party
Warning: picture heavy post! And not much knitting either. Although I'll point out the handknits various people are wearing, does that count? --Edited to add: all pics taken by Dr. M, our official lab photographer. Thanks Dr. M!--
I defended my thesis on thursday. (No revisions!!). There were parties. First, the lab party:
My mom and her sister came. My mom wore the Classic Slant cardigan from Interweave Knits Fall '04 (knitted with heathered Cascade 220) and I gifted the Mystery Shawl 2 to my aunt. My friend's dog Trixie bonded with them right away. 
My brother wore a bias knit scarf, made from hand painted merino wool (oops, lost the label):
Our lab has a tradition for graduation parties: the new graduate is a contestant in a game, and "wins" their gift from the lab. You gotta work hard for your gift, let me tell you. We played a game called Rockefeller Squares. --Edited to add: I forgot to mention that our lab is at Rockefeller University. Get it?-- Just like Hollywood Squares, except our "celebrities" were lab members. (Who are celebs in our world!). All questions were goofy and more or less science related. Well, the rules suddenly changed for me: the game was rigged to make me lose. Yes, my lab mates wanted to see me squirm! I pointed fingers (while wearing Glampyre's Orangina):
They had to give me a bonus question at the very end, which I answered correctly, *phew*. (FYI: I did not get that the game was rigged until after it was over, when someone told me. I felt pretty stupid up there, getting everything wrong). And here's my gift:
This is when I found out that my lab mates read my blog. --Hi guys!-- They posted an anonymous comment a while back, asking what a perfect gift for someone just like me (but not actually me) would be. I still can't believe they got me the coolest knitting bag ever!
When I gave my advisor his gift, he gave it a good squeeze and immediately *knew* that it was hand knitted. He loved the DNA scarf.
Next up: Phd part 2, the other party.
