Still no knitting.

Nope. My wrist is still bothering me a bit so I'm still on orders to rest it. So that means, no knitting. But I can cross stitch so I have been. I finished the one I was working on for my friend Lisa:



I got a silver frame for it and gave it to her on Tuesday. She loved it and put it right on her desk.

So it was on to another one. Eric had been looking through the book and said the "Rat Bastard" would be perfect for his father, since he says it all the time. So I thought it would be perfect for him for Father's Day. Here's a pic of the progress after the first day:



I finished it pretty quickly too:



Now I just have to wash it, iron it and find a frame for it. I think it came out great!

I hope I get the all clear soon. I'm itching to knit something but my wrist is still bothering me. I guess I'll have to figure out which pattern to do next...

Done with one and on to another...

I finished my first cross stitch pattern. Yay! Here it is pre-wash:



And here it is in its pretty, new frame:



I popped it right on the shelf in my cubicle. I think it looks great! :D I've had so many comments about it too. Most people want to know what it says. Of course, after having so many people come by to look at it and then take a peak at the book, I had one of the gals in the office say I should make one for everyone with a little something that they are known for saying. Of course I smiled at this thought... yeah... I want to cross stitch for 33 people. I'll get right on it... But I can honestly say, I am going to do one for Lisa. The other Lisa. *laugh* That's how everyone refers to us: Lisa and the other Lisa. I'm still not clear on which one of us is supposed to be the 'other' Lisa. But I digress... Here it the one I am making for her:



I modified one of the patterns in the book. And nope, it's not perfect but I'm happy with how it is coming out. First lesson learned...? ALWAYS chart out your cross stitch pattern. I eyeballed this one and have had to redo the "I" and the "..." but I'm happy with it either way. So while I'm sitting on the floor last night, stitching away, Fang decided to come beg for some loving. Out of nowhere, she sits up from what looked like a really good nap, sauntered over and then sat down and stared at me like this:



How can you resist that face? I gave her some ear love and some forehead love (which she loves a lot!) and then got back to my cross stitching. After I was editing the pics I had taken last night, I realized... she most certainly no longer has a kitten face. It's so funny too... how one day they look like kittens and the next their face has changed and they look like cats. And then their face changes again and they look like old cats. Fang most certainly had grown fully into her cat face. Yet she still acts like a kitten most days. But then it's the same for Trouble. I mean, you all saw the pic of her laying on my pattern. Right after that, she decided that head butting one of my breasts while I was trying to knit was a good idea. I disagreed. It's quite distracting is what it is! Take your hand, ball it into a fist and then with the side of you fist, bop your breast from underneath. Yeah... it's just like that... but furrier and purring. You try and keep up with a pattern through all that!

Rotten kitten.

Cross stitching, kitties, memes and more.

Okies, I got tagged for not one, but two memes and by not one, but two people! I guess I better get these answered before I get tagged with any others and I end up too far behind. :P

The first meme:

Seven things to do before I die...

1. See the Pyramids in Egypt
2. See the Mayan Ruins in Mexico
3. Go snorkeling on the Great Barrier Reef
4. Get my Forensic Biology degree
5. Become a crime scene technician
6. Open our bar
7. Renew my vows with Eric

Seven things I cannot do...

1. Anything easy or easily. I'm gonna make it more difficult.
2. Skydive. I see no reason to jump out of a perfectly good airplane.
3. Keep my opinions to myself.
4. Not squeal when I see a kitten or puppy or really any four legged, baby, mammal.
5. Make my ass any smaller.
6. Not blame myself for things out of my control.
7. Not talk fast.

Seven things that attract me to my man...

1. His twisted sense of humor.
2. His smile.
3. The way he laughs at the dumb ass things I do some days.
4. His eyes. (One is green and one is brown.)
5. The feel of his arms around me.
6. The way he knows exactly what I'm thinking.
7. The way he teases me when I cry at movies and then hugs me until I stop pouting.

Seven books that I love...

1. Ender's Game
2. A Wizard of Earthsea
3. Blue Moon Rising
4. The Wheel of Time
5. War of the Worlds
6. The Stand
7. Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

Seven things I say...

1. Dumb ass.
2. Fuck me Agnes! (Long story...)
3. Twitchy McSissy Pants (Said to other drivers)
4. Happy ass (i.e. "Well why don't you get off your happy ass and just do it yourself?")
5. Learn to live with disappointment. (Once again, said to other drivers)
6. Hey, how's it going? (Used when I want something from someone)
7. "Fut the Whuck?" and also "Nucking Futs!" (Used in the office.)

Seven movies I've loved...

1. Ghostbusters
2. The Princess Bride
3. 13th Warrior
4. Ronin
5. The Usual Suspects
6. Unbreakable
7. Any Godzilla movie

Seven ladies I'm gonna tag...

1. Bean... cuz she tagged me for a different one! Ha ha!
2. I'll have to get back to you on the other six. :)

And the other meme:

1)What's your favorite LYS?: Shuttles, Needles and Hooks in Cary, NC. It's the yarn mecca.

2) What about it do you like most?: The place is so big and so well stocked, if you can't find it there, it doesn't exist!

3)What is your 2nd favorite?: Yarns Etc. in Carboro, NC

4)What would you improve about it to make it a tie with your first?: Oh that's a tough question. I'd say probably increase their stock with some quality, lower priced yarns. Yarns Etc. has some very lovely yarn but most of it is quite pricey.

5)What's the last thing your bought at your #1 LYS?: Some Koigu for my secret pal.

6)Who's Next?: Ragan!

So now that I'm done with that, I can get on to other stuff. :)

So you all know I bought a copy of Subversive Cross Stitch. Of course, I work in the medical school here at UNC so I have to conform to the 'image' that is displayed while working at the medical school. I looked through the patterns... I pondered who might give me trouble with what... and then finally decided on one. And here's how far I've gotten:

It's coming along very quickly too! I would have probably finished it last night except that my wrist has been bothering me for the past week. I went to the Orthopedics clinic and had it checked out because I honestly getting worried about it. They took nine x-rays and told me I have nothing to worry about. It's not a fracture, there's no tendon damage, and no muscle loss. It just looks like that I may be in the extreme early stages of carpal tunnel (sp?). So I've been told to rest my wrist and take 2400 mg of Ibuprofen a day for two weeks and then a week later, I'll go back in for another evaluation. Let me tell you, I felt a lot better about that!

But sadly this puts all my knitting, crocheting and cross stitching on hold for a while. I can knit and it doesn't really hurt to do it but my nurse said rest my wrist and I want to do what he says. :) But of course what really worries me is... Jeri is due to be induced on the 25th and I still have all sorts of stuff to finish making for her little ones. I have a feeling I'm either going to throw my nurse's advice to the wind and finish up, or Jeri's going to get her gifts late. Any one placing bets on which path I'll take? ;)

Over the weekend, I did get a little further on the tank top I am working on:

And here's a close up:

Here's Trouble helping me out by laying on the pattern:

I swear, I do not understand why or how a magazine can be more comfortable than a comforter! *laugh*

Well back to work!

New Office! Now with blurry photos!

Yes folks. Here it is. My new office. In blurry camera phone motif. Take a gander:



I was in and unpacked so quickly, I even had time to pile some papers up. :P

Here's a shot of the window I can see including the back of my colleague's head:



At first, that cabinet was six inches to the left. I can honestly say I did get a bit selfish and asked that they move the damn thing so I could see the sun. I am a delicate flower after all... *bats eyelashes*

I've got nearly all of my personal stuff up. The cards one of my secret pals sent me:



A few pics of Eric, my old car, my mother in law's log cabin, and a card a secret pal sent me:



The lovely panel that is missing...:



And my all important tea pot and honey:



Oh yes! Gotta have my tea!

Well I hope you enjoyed the tour. Now it's back to work.

UPDATE!

I forgot my turtle. I don't know how I could have done that. *shakes head*



Those are some thank you cards that some of the visiting medical students have sent me as well. But mainly I just wanted to show off my turtle. He snuggles with my scanner all day and night.

Okies, back to work again.

Bitchin' Cross Stitchin'

Most of the time I go into any store that sells yarn and other threads/fibers, I pass the embroidery thread without so much as a thought. My mind is focused on yarn! But not anymore. I just got a copy of a great cross stitch book:



Subversive Cross Stitch. I love it! It's offensive AND crafty. I had to have it. I can't decide which pattern I want to try first. Of course, this means there are all sorts of tools I need to buy. Now I have even more excuses to go to the yarn store! I think Eric will faint when he sees it. *laugh*

I got home tonight pretty late. About 9:00. I stayed late at work to pack more of my office and well, I'm not even nearly done. I was in no mood to do anything. And yet, I sat down and started flipping through a copy of Family Circle Easy Knitting that I just got the other day. Mind blank, I turned the pages and then stopped. After realizing the I hadn't turned the page for quite a few seconds I realized that I was looking at this:



I glanced toward the closet that holds my stash and thought... "Do I have any cotton yarn right now?" *ponderponder* Why yes I do! A while ago, my lovely secret pal sent me ten skeins of this:



Ah ha! I jumped up and grabbed a skein to see just how much I had. After doing some quick calculations, I realized I would not have enough to make the tank top -and- the cardigan so I decided I would just make the tank top. And here's how far I've gotten:



Here's a close up:



I have come to realize a few things:

1. This is an easy, and nice pattern.

2. It takes an amazing amount of skill to knit with cotton yarn on metal needles. A skill I haven't quite mastered yet. I must have dropped a stitch (or more) at least six times just getting to this point and it was quite aggravating for me, yet liberating for my inner sailor. Right now my cat Trouble is hiding under the futon because I began swearing rather loudly at the last stitch I dropped.

Ah knitting... Such a relaxing hobby. :)

As I sit here and wonder what else I should blog about, I am reminded of something. As I was leaving the parking deck yesterday to head home, I saw this guy:



I have no idea where he was going but I had an urge to follow because it definitely looked like he was heading toward something fun! Oh and before everyone starts sending me emails telling me I'm crazy for taking pictures while driving, I just want you all to know that I was sitting at a stop light. On a hill. Slipping the clutch. :P LOL!

Well it's time to get back to my cotton and cursing. :)