Showing posts with label madelinetosh yarn. Show all posts
Showing posts with label madelinetosh yarn. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Pike's Peak Vest

'Tis done.


Specifics:

Free pattern from Berroco

Madelinetosh Tosh Merino in the Mare colorway




 Inverting the back triangle pleases me greatly.  I just can't vision that center section protruding outward.










All of the work grafting the collar was worth it.  Nice smooth rolls that are squishy when the head tilts back in laughter and glee.

 Now, if it would only be a little cooler. 




Thanks to daughter #1 (she being the elder) for once again serving as model.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Block, Sew, Wear?

The needles have been quite busy as the summer calendar turned to post Labor Day thinking about autumnal temperatures.  There was a cool breeze one evening and that was all that I needed to finish up "stuff."

 Here are the pieces of the vest that first hit the needles a month ago.   Notice that the back piece has no arm hole shaping.  The entire arm hole is created by an extension of the front piece. 

It was hard for me to conceptualize during the actual knitting.  Then, in what can only be described as a flash of brilliance, I looked at the schematic.  There is a reason that designers provide that little measured drawing.  Just sayin'

The front pieces also include collar extensions that bring the cable work around to the back.  This is all fine and dandy and I do understand how to sew it all together.  But I'm just not sure that I want to sew it all together.  According to the pattern, I am to bind off the cables and then sew a seam.  A seam - right in the middle of the back collar.   A seam - that tends to make a firm line right where the reverse stockinette section is designed to curl and roll toward to big fat chunky cable.

Seems that a seam will cause all manner of havoc on that nice rolling part and make what should be soft into something not soft and and not so curly.  HMM.

Even in this photo of the unblocked front, it is easy to see how that reverse stockinette curls toward the cable. 

Me thinks a bit of grafting across the RSS and then across the cable will be much more pleasing.  So, the plan for this morning is to graft first, sew second, wash third and finally wear on the next cool evening.

Thursday, August 9, 2012

Never Too Early

That's right.  It is never too early to dream of cooler temps and the need for a wool vest.  Enter the purveyors of drool and a new shipment of Madelinetosh.  Regular readers will know that I've just finished a linen and Tencel scarf and now I've moved right to merino wool.  It's OK.  I'm a knitter.  I am the master of my yarn.  I am the captain of my sticks.

Check out this fabulous free vest pattern.  Moss Stitch, chunky cables, drape. . . love it.  Well, I love most of it.  The back of the vest has a stockinette triangle.  The concept of breaking up the moss with a shape of a different stitch is easy to knit and lovely to look at.  So what is the problem?  What bothers me is the way that the stockinette stands out and curls up.  I don't need that on my back area.  Sorry Berroco team. 

It turns out that moss stitch is totally reversible.  And it also turns out that stockinette reverses to be Reverse Stockinette.  Amazing.  Absolutely amazing.

So, by declaring the wrong side to be the right side, suddenly the center triangle recedes and curls under.  The "pleat" effect is inverted and no longer looks like a bump on my bump.

Some days, this whole knit thing is just too easy.