Vest of Many Colors

The adage about yarn collectors must be true.  I refer to the observation that we tend to collect within the same color palette because of some unseen or unacknowledged basic comfort level.  For many a decade, I have acknowledged that my personal preferences are teal, jade and Merlot.  A quick look at my stash or my closet will confirm that any variance from these favorites are  black, white or red.  Although, there is the occasional navy tossed in most often because it is a logo shirt.  

If you are a member of The Knitting Guild Association, wander through the oldie but goodie patterns to discover the instructions for this Diagonal V Neck Shell by Laura Bryant of Prism yarns.

As you can see, I had much stash yarn that fell into the merlot color way.  And, just to make it interesting, there is a bit of sari silk that leans toward the teal/jade shades.

If you have never experienced a large swath worked on the diagonal, try out this method.  There are all manner of videos available to learn the simple increase to desired width, then decrease back down.

I had great fun changing colors throughout the project.  Some yarns were held single, others doubled upon themselves or doubled up with another yarn to create a whole new adventure.

Here is the back.  One thing that must be understood about knitting on the diagonal is the inherent flexibility of the resulting fabric.  And, sometimes that flexibility of a good thing and sometimes it needs to be  controlled.  

Control in this case comes from a round of single crochet followed by a round of crab stitch (reverse sc) that finishes off all openings.  I am particularly grateful for the pattern note impacting the arm openings.  The direction to work the crab stitch a little tighter around the arms helps to control the flare that might other wise take place.    It is little hints  such as this that, when followed, help to add a professional finish to hand work.  And that is just one more reason to actually read every word of a pattern.  You never know what tidbit will become a part of your knitting bag 'o tricks.

Striped Fabric

Call it a magic ball or random usage or well planned usage of yarn.  However you refer to it, I enjoyed making this striped fabric.

As a member of TKGA, I often check out the website.  During one of my searches into the good information, I discovered an oldie but goodie pattern for a Diagonal V Neck Shell designed by Laura Bryant and Prism Yarns.

I am very pleased to state that no new yarns were purchased for this fabric.  Everything came from my stash!  There is a bit of wool, cotton, various incarnations of silk and some chemical wonder string.   

The pattern is very simple.  Diagonal work that makes the back and the front.  The only difference between back and front is the V-Neck.

  To be honest, the only difficult thing about making this pattern is that there can be a whole lot of ends that must be woven in!  Isn't it fortunate that over 50% of the time, I remembered to weave in as the knitting took place.

Because the yarns that I used are not all exactly the same weight, there is some variance in tension.  So, it made sense to wet block both pieces prior to sewing and adding the edging to all openings.  

So far, I'm pleased.  This will probably become an over piece for layering next fall and winter.  I am way ahead of the game.