A Last Hurrah!
Hope everyone has been having a good holiday season! These past two weeks have been crazy busy, way busier than my normal semester is. Between a busload of guests, two birthdays, a wedding anniversary and a major holiday, I am grateful for all the red wine and sugar to have come my way. I have hardly had any time to sit and knit, but you know how it is – a row here, a row there, and suddenly, you have a finished creation, just in time to wrap up a year’s knitting. Here’s the “Back-to-School Vest”:
I am not into the whole speed knitting thing, but this one was super-quick even for me. Took the total of five-six days’ knitting time. Apart from some clever but simple shaping, it is mindless, productive knitting. To say nothing of the fact that it took less than $25 to make.
Project Specs:
Pattern: “Back-to-School Vest” from Stefanie Japel’s “Fitted Knits”, size 39 inches
Needles: Size 7 bamboo
Gauge: 19 st to 4 inches in waffle stitch
Yarn: Cascade 220
Seriously, Cascade 220 is wonderful. This shade is a silvery-grey heather flecked with maroon, and matched exactly the kind of colour I was looking for to wear with the dark shirts I have. It took just under 3 skeins.
Notes: For all the loveliness of the yarn and pattern, I am, quite honestly, not as taken with the FO as I should be. It fits okay, but tends to ride up a bit. The next size up (41″) would have made it too baggy, though. I’m hoping that a decent blocking, or just plain wear should settle it down a bit. But for all its shapeliness and darts, this empire waist thing places a bit too much emphasis where it perhaps ought not to, and I don’t know if I care for the roundish neckline. Also, I made it mainly to wear to teach and be comfortable in the slightly cold classrooms. But when I wore it yesterday, I found myself doing what devoted Star Trekkers would recognize as the famous “Picard Pull” or the “Picard Manoeuvre”: straightening one’s uniform every few seconds like the hot and gorgeous Capt. Jean-luc Picard does on the Starship Enterprise. It’s okay when resisting the Borg, but I imagine in class it will annoy me to hell. Am not sure yet if I’ll rip or wear it a bit more and see. But it is very comfy and warm. Incidentally, if you make the vest, do be sure to check the errata for the pattern.
Ah well. I will leave you some mist, redwoods, and sunlight. Enjoy the rest of the holidays, dear readers, and see y’all in the new year!
The Picard Maneuver! Ha! I am familiar with the “maneuver” and the problem with the sweater. I added length and still had some difficulty. Alas the sweater sits in it’s own drawer permanently.
Pretty, pretty sweater. Lovely shade of purple, too. Hurrah!!
It’s a very pretty vest. I can’t believe how fast you knit that up. I’m so sorry that it’s so uncomfortable though. Hopefully, blocking will indeed cure all ills.
Happy New Year!
tell me about it.. this semester was crazy..
and the vest looks awesome. will look more awesome after blocking i hope
and a very very happy new year to you too
M
I hate to fidget with my clothes too, so I can understand the frustration – but I do hope that it “settles” in for you – I think it is very flattering!
And that photo of the mist in the redwoods is just beautiful – thanks so much for sharing!
This is exactly the same colorway I’m using for my Juno sweater- it is so lovely! The vest looks gorgeous!
love the yarn and the fit and the vest, pity about the need to tug it into place, is it that the rib isn’t shaped so it moved to the smallest dimension? Would frogging back to the waist and adding some hip flare work? I can’t believe I suggested that, it is such a beautiful thing its just I hate to think of it not being worn because of a small fitting detail. I love the bust shaping, very cute.
Hi!
I just love this vest… and have fhought off knitting it!!! But I think I never will find the right yarn for it… I’m tired of suching at the web to find some yarn, and then just find out that they don’t ship it to my country!!! Hate it… So, I look at all pic on the web and keep on dreaming…
Hugs from Sweden – a country with run out of yarn???
I think it looks really cute on you and I love the color you chose (Cascade is indeed the greatest!). Too bad you don’t feel entirely comfortable in it. Seems like every sweater I made this year had the same problem
Here’s to a better 2008 
Wow, it looks great! I hope you don’t have to rip.
(And I completely love Picard!)
The vest looks wonderful! When I made one with a similar empire style, I found that I had to make the “waistline” fall an inch or two lower than I would have thought necessary so that it wouldn’t ride up while I wore it. Once I did that, I liked the vest a lot more.
Happy new year to you! I think it came out beautifully, but surely a blocking will help anything you don’t like?
I love the vest, but I know that “tugging” feeling…maybe blocking will help?
[...] allow the fabric to mould itself to the body. The other pattern I have made from this book is the Back-to-School Vest, and both have taught me to trust the “give” and ease of knitted fabric a bit more than [...]