27 inches of blue!

FINALLY - I finished the back of my Jo Sharp Wrap Cardigan - all 27 inches of her:



Wowsa.. I don't think I've ever knit something this long. Not sure if I would ever do it again.. hah! Here is a closeup of the cabling:



And now - do I go directly to the sleeves or put it aside until I feel like it. Haven't decided yet.

But I did start the second sock:



Decided to try using the Options DPN's so I could see the yarn better. They are better but the reflection sometimes makes it hard to see the yarn too. Must be my middle aged eyes.

One week of work and then I am off work for a whole week. Can't wait.

By the way - Minnie (and her friend Mickey) are no longer in residence. After many failed efforts - I found a website where there were a whole lot of ideas. I ended up glueing a half peanut to the bait tab.. and sure enough - each was lured to it to their demise. It was hard to see Minnie especially - she was a cutie, but now I was able to clean out the mess they had made under my sink. And HOPEFULLY - that is all for the season. If not - I have more traps, peanuts and glue. Hah!

Later: So at least I did start the sleeves. Its going to be a long holiday season but I will be home more so might just make it by Xmas??

I actually finished something.

With my new found enthusiasm for life (yes I have been half braindead for the last few months) - I actually finished something. Well - maybe half of it anyway. Here is the finished sock made of the Knitterly cashmere/merino blend in autumn:



I love the yarn but as I thought - it's not very elastic. In fact I struggled to get it on my foot:



I'm hoping - with my sock blocker - it will stretch some. It really is so autumny!

And - I only have 21 rows to go to finish the back of my wrap cardigan:



This is the longest sweater I've ever knit. But it will be nice when its done.

My weekend has been productive. Not just knitting - I raked 8 bags of leaves from my backyard.. I have this huge backyard since I'm at the end of a cul-de-sac (pie shaped yard). So at least now I can find the dog poop. I will need to do more raking before the season is over, but I put in a good dent.

Plus I bought myself a treat. The pattern and yarn for this:



Love it, love it, love it. I think some of my boredom with my wrap cardigan is the monotonous single color. I have been using variegated yarns or doing fairisle a lot lately and the wrap is so blue.. only blue. At any rate - a fairisle appeals to me a lot right now. But I promise, I will finish the wrap. Maybe...

I also have a new pet. Her name is Minnie and she is the smartest mouse in the world. She has managed to evade 3 regular traps (with peanut butter put out three times), 2 no-kill traps, and a homemade trap. I am very impressed.

If you notice, I haven't mentionned anything about the election. I didn't vote for Obama but I do hope he is a good president. Our country needs help and we cannot afford a bad one. So we shall see what happens. His chief of staff sure is cute.

It is really really over!!!

Communications Workers Ratify Agreement
Friday November 7, 2:24 pm ET


DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Qwest Communications International Inc. (NYSE: Q - News) workers represented by the Communications Workers of America ratified a tentative agreement reached between the company and the union last month.

Now I can have my life back.....

One more week??

Well - due to the election mail - the organization that is counting the union's votes to ratify their tentative agreement with Qwest has negotiated a one week delay in counting the ballots. So - here I still am not knowing if I have to be on my way to Salt Lake City to work 12 hr days/7 days a week. Hopefully by next week I will know but I have been telling myself that so many times I am not confident anymore. I fear they will come up with something to delay it again..

But thankfully - I have my Knitting bug back. I am into the 4th repeat of the back:



You can see how much more I need to knit (15 rows into the 5th repeat) when I put it against the sides. This is a LONG sweater:



I think I will knit both sleeves together or I may never finish them. I'm still thinking about taking a break for some fair isle. I am craving something less monotonous.

And I also turned the heel for my socks. This fabric feels stiffer than some of my other socks. Hope it fits:



And finally - here is one third of the real joy of my life. Isn't she a riot! Keeps me laughing!

Taking a blog break

I don't write this blog so much for others (hah! I don't think I have very many readers) - but for myself and to avoid having to email photos to my sister. .hah! But it is obvious to me that I'm in a knitting slump.

Not sure if it due to the monotony of yards of cable, due to fatigue from too many late nights waiting for union related news (why they can't announce things at noon rather than midnight I don't know), due to fatigue from late nights watching election related stuff, or lack of sleep from worry over having to leave town in two weeks in the event of a strike (which will cost me $500/week for pet care). But I'm having to force myself to knit these days- and I am not enjoying the knitting I'm doing.

My wrap cardigan is moving so slowly (I am near the end of the third repeat and I still need to repeat 4 and 5 rows into repeat 5) and I still have two sleeves after thatn and the lapel. Part of me wants to stop it and maybe knit some fairisle.. but I know I won't get back to it.

Bottom line is that I am going to take a blog break for awhile - and maybe a knitting break - until I start enjoying it again. I want my life back. We will know Oct 31st what is to happen. Maybe I will be back then. Maybe not.

Yes I'm still here again!

Well - they did reach a new Tentative Agreement Friday night so I'm here. I just wish I had a crystal ball come Halloween night. That is when the votes will come back from the union. If they vote the new TA down - that will mean immediate strike. I read the Message Boards and its my opinion, thanks to some of the more cooler minds, that it will pass. Primarily due the economy and the fact that a no vote means a strike. They have so much to lose this time around. But I remain on call to leave if it happens. And this is definitely getting old.

SO - having stayed up late on Friday - I functionned on 2 hrs of sleep yesterday, not doing much. Today I did knit. Almost through 2 repeats on the back of my wrap cardigan:



It looks like a lot - but here it is next to one of the fronts - which includes more than 4 repeats so I'm not even half done:



Amazing that I don't quit projects just from the repetition. I wish I was better at cabling and didn't need to use a cable needle. I tried doing it without one and keep dropping stitches.

And here are my wonderfully soft The Knittery part cashmere Autumn socks which I adore (can't you tell):



Well - at least I'm home for another 3 weeks. nahh.. they won't strike.

Hoping I'm back next week..

It has been a hard week for me. We found out on Wed that the CWA union didn't approve their tentative contract agreement. so - here we go again. They are going back to negotiations this Thurs. If they don't reach an agreement by Friday midnight - they may go on strike and I will need to work 12 hr days/7 days a week in Salt Lake City. Waaahh... I thought this was all behind me. This also costs me $500/week in pet sitting expenses (non expensible).. So I have been trying not to think about it but its the white elephant in the room.

On Sat - I decided to finish my first Monkey sock. Counted my stitches and I was short one stitch. Found it WAAAAYYY down - about 30 rows. I really tried to pick it up but the stitches are so small - I finally gave up. Then I realized that frankly I didn't like the socks. I don't like to knit cuff down, it was too busy, and I wasn't looking forward to doing sock 2 anyway.

So - its gone! hah!

And I started my personal recipe for a toe up sock - using The Knittery Merino Cashmere yarn (4 ply) - in Autumn. LOVE the color, the yarn is a little splitty but I am liking it so much more than the Monkey.. here is the start (there is more green in the yarn than shows - but you get the idea):



And today I completed the first repeat for the back of my Jo Sharp wrapped cardigan:



I will get more done after I finish the blog.

I also did a lot of reading this week. Read all of "Gone But Not Forgotten" by Phillip Margolin - and older book but very good. Too bad it isn't available for the Kindle. I realized I don't like to turn pages.. hah!

Well - it may be awhile before I'm back again. This is the pits. If I'm home I promise I will be in a better mood next week.