A giant heart suspended in the sky greeted me this morning. If you look at the enlarged picture, perhaps it might appear unlike one but girl! was I looking at a heart as I was driving today!!
Clicked this picture from my clunky (but multimedia-slick) motorola E815 cell phone - always by my side! 
The vest is complete! I am aghast coz knitting sweaters that are actually wearable was - in my mind - as close to impossible as anthing could get. First, the time involved. I'd expected the project to languish for months and months and months before it saw itself to the finish line. And second, the proportions coming together into a garment that looks finished and professional. 'Finish' is the keyword, whichever way you look at it.
It took me close to 4 weeks with only an hour each weekday and some stretches of time over weekends. What helped me along the way? Topping the list is the gauge. This allowed me to plan the yarn yardage so I could use the contrast colour to fill in for the deficit. As important was my comfort in resizing the instructions to the need of the recipient. Some prior practice on this subject matter (the tank top for my niece) came very handy.
I am most comfortable using a customized set of instructions to suit my requirement. I break down the pattern into sections. Once I get to the ratios of proportions used, I then transform the block pattern into redesigned instructions for my own use. I am *so* proud of this, I tell ya.
I learnt a few important lessons. Once knit, some yarns result in drapey knit fabrics and others, kinda stiff and unyielding. Knitting the vest revealed this to me. This is an added factor to consider while selecting yarns for any project - if there already weren't enough to drive me bats!! :)
Getting back to the vest, I'm just beside myself in joy at how neat the neckline looks. Here's a picture before the ends were woven in (just to prove that it was really me who'd knit it):
It's a vest. And it's in progress. I've completed the bulk of the knitting and now I'm working on the shoulder/neck region. Check out this picture where I'm sitting on my fave chair in PJs diligently knitting away - yup, continental style. Have I written about how much of a champion I am for this style of knitting - the continental? Perhaps I'll get to that when there's not much knitting action going on ;).The colour combination would've worked better with a deeper shade of cream, or maybe beige/suede. Unfortunately, I was not able to find the particular shade in that yarn weight and had to settle for this rather humdrum off-white (which in itself is gorgeous but doesn't quite create the drama when juxtaposed with the denim yarn).Slightly concerned if I've been overzealous in creating the right size for this vest. I'm excited to see how it'll drape on the recipient once finished.Why a vest and not a sweater? That's simple - I'm not yet emotionally ready for knitting sleeves. :)
The quickest project ever! And a most useful one at that. I'm talking of an elegant super-customized hot pack for the neck/shoulder area, 100% organic, reusable and microwave-heated! I'm telling ya, it cannot get better than this.
I got this idea looking at 'organic' or 'home-made' heating pads. The 'home-made' aspect of it got me thinking. Very quickly, I found these instructions on how to make one myself: http://ut.essortment.com/painreliefmicr_rgvi.htm
Here's the one I made this morning. Filled it with a mix of grains but mostly rice. Cut the fabric on the bias to make it easier around the neck. Works very nicely. 30 seconds in the microwave and it's toasty and steaming!
Yup, that's definitely me!!
Aren't these pretty? The colours grew on me once I brought home the yarn.
Lime: this one on the left is 73% cotton and 27% polyester. It has one strand of shiny yarn which makes it shimmery without going over the top.
The Lime swatch was made with two different needle sizes. At the bottom half (upto where the rib ends), I used US #5. The knit was too loose and I didn't quite like the look. So I changed needles to US #3. This one clicked (no pun intended ;). I also tried a funky pattern while binding off.
At the end of all that experimenting, I have landed with what looks like a tiny tiny pattern sample for a simple square-neck pullover.
Denim: Here's the Denim swatch to your right. The yarn is very fine but works good with US#5. It is a slippery yarn but I've seen that keeping the yarn slightly damp makes it easier to knit as it provides some much-needed friction while controlling the feed. It's made of 75% viscose, 25% polyamide.
I've planned this V neck pattern:
http://knitty.com/ISSUEfall04/PATTpetrol.html
Next step ofcourse is to modify the pattern to suit my tighter gauge. Me pretty excited. :)
A giant heart suspended in the sky greeted me this morning. If you look at the enlarged picture, perhaps it might appear unlike one but girl! was I looking at a heart as I was driving today!!
