Mum's Vest - Done!

I got my Mum's Maunawili Falls Vest done last night, so today I'm going to try to package it up and get it in the mail. I'm pretty happy with how it came out, and I made a few modifications to the original pattern, as per Mum's wishes. The neckline is deeper (scandalous, Mum, simply scandalous!) and I lengthened the overall length, although not as much as I thought I had. Ah well. I think it'll still be long enough, but if it's not, I'll just take out the ribbing and knit some more length on the straps.

Hope you like it, Mum!

Specs:
Yarn: Malabrigo Verde Adriana (3 skeins)
Pattern: My own, called Maunawili Falls Vest
Needles: Worked on US size 10 Denise circulars

Yarn Over Goes Green

Hmmm, as I was loading the pictures for this post, it suddenly occurred to me that I've been feeling very green lately. Lots of green. Well, I do like green (lol, who doesn't like "greenbacks" - okay, terrible pun . . . anyway . . .).

This is what I've gotten done on Peter's birthday blanket. It's taking me longer to knit than I thought it would, but then, there are a lot of cables involved with the "honeycomb" section in the middle. Once I get that done, there are only six more panels to knit, woo hoo! I'm just truckin' along there! I think I might finish it by his sixteenth birthday! I figure that I have about 2 - 3 more feet to complete before this panel is long enough. Thankfully, it's rather mindless knitting, so I can accomplish a lot while watching mindless TV. Perfect combination.

Then, I got Mum's Maunawili Falls Vest knitted, and here it is blocked. I just love, love, love, this color. Yummy, soft, and sooooo peaceful. I had a difficult time staying awake while knitting it, it was so tranquil. Once it's dry, I'll sew the edges together and start knitting the ribbing on the armholes and neckline. Then it'll be the last non-Christmas item completed!

I finally got my Bee Fields Shawl kit from Wooly Wonka Fibers. Although I had a difficult time being patient and waiting for it (due to the overwhelming demand, the vendor didn't have enough yarn dyed up), it was well worth the wait. This yarn is deliciously soft, and the color reminds me of fresh green apples and summer fields. *Sigh*. I wonder how long my don't-knit-anything-other-than-Christmas-gifts resolution is going to last? Between this stuff and the new Blue Moon sock yarn, I think I'm doomed.

Here's to holding on to fatal resolutions!

Finishing

I am very bad at finishing up projects. I love to start things, but getting every last tuck and twist into something takes real strength of character for me!

However, I have had a breakthrough of finished projects! I FINALLY got around to blocking the Column of Leaves scarf, and it's now resting peacefully beside it's mate, the Column of Leaves hat, in my "gifts" drawer (which I will not tell you the location of . . .)

Also, I actually BLOCKED and FINISHED my second Maunawili Falls Vest! This is a pattern that I wrote and have submitted to this fall's edition of Knitty. I haven't heard from them yet whether they're accepting it or not, but apparently that's a good sign, as they let you know right away if your submitted pattern is not in the queue of things to be considered. I wish I could put the pattern up now on my design blog, but Knitty's rules state that I can't publish it anywhere until it's been published by Knitty. Ah well! If any of you really want to knit this, though, I can email the pattern for you to "test knit", and you can have it early.

I made some modifications to the original pattern, lengthening the entire thing by an inch, and making the neckline deeper. I think I love it like this, and it's such a nice feeling to finish something, and be completely happy with the results! Whew!

Now to start another one for my Mom in her chosen color of "Lily Pads" (thanks, Danielle, for the better name. You're right, "Lily Pads" is much better than "Pond Scum"!) Yesterday I used my swift and ball-winder to get the skeins ready (oh, I am using Malabrigo Verde Adriana for the next one). Hee hee, I just love knitting toys!

So what about the Bee Fields Shawl? Well, sadly, I am in line for that, along with a lot of things. I went to the website, and found out that due to the amazing number of orders for this gorgeous shawl, she's dyeing another lot of skeins, which, of course, takes time. Then, at the library, I discovered that I have 278 people in front of me to check out the audio book of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. In Revelry, I think I've got 1098 people in front of me. Alas, waiting is so difficult for me! As Inigo Montoya from The Princess Bride so famously said, "I hate waiting". (If you haven't yet seen that movie, drop whatever you're doing, even if you're knitting, and RUN to the video store and rent it. If you haven't seen this movie, you are in a sad, deplorable state.)

Knitting Updates

I haven't really felt inspired to do my usual frantic knitting lately, but I've been steadily plugging away on a few things. The Maunawili Falls Vest is coming along nicely, and I've finished the back and am starting the neckline of the front. I like how quickly this knits up. I use size 10 needles, and since there's no sleeves, it's a fast project that can still fit in the "sweater" category.

My mom wanted a vest as well, but she picked out a lovely green shade of Malabrigo called Verde. It just arrived in the mail yesterday, so as soon as I finish my own vest, I'll cast on another one for my mum. I love the color, but if one is consistent with the "water" theme of the vest, I'd have to say that the idea of "pond scum" is rather accurate. However, I still like the color, so I'll have no problems finishing the "pond scum" version of Maunawili Falls!

The sock is coming along slowly, but steadily. I haven't really been working on it much, but I'm so glad I frogged the first try and re-knit it on size #2 needles. The colors were pooling with the #1 needles, and I think this pattern looks best with stripes, instead of blobs of color.

Finally, I made one more yarn purchase of my favorite "cheap" yarn, Caron Simply Soft. I've raved about it before, but let me remind you that it's inexpensive, indestructible, soft, and long-lasting. I've told Peter I'd knit him a blankie for his birthday, and although it's not his birthday until November, I figured I might as well get started. I'm not exactly sure how it will look yet, but I thought I'd do sampler squares and then crochet them all together.

I got the idea from Anne's blog, and I like the look of knitted squares much better than crochet (sorry, all you crocheters out there!) Plus, it will be an excellent way for me to practice some favorite stitch patterns from my Vogue Stichionary books!

Pictures with Elise

My dear friend Elise kindly consented to model my Maunawili Falls Vest for me, and here are the results! I think she's so photogenic, don't you? (Especially since she's just had a baby!)

She's such a trooper. Would you believe it that she was running a fever, and still met me at the park for pictures? I didn't know she wasn't feeling well till I got there, but she uncomplainingly posed and smiled as though she was having a wonderful day, instead of the truth, which was that she's feeling awful and dreadfully behind on sleep.

So, what pictures do you like the best? I was thinking of sending at least two to Knitty. (Oh, special thanks to my hubby, who recommended taking pictures at this artistic spot. I hadn't thought of it!)

Oh, here's a close-up of the details. (I LOVE my camera!!!!)Picture #1:

Picture #2:

Picture #3:

Picture #4:

Maunawili Falls Vest - DONE!

I can't believe how fast I got this vest done! I'm usually a fairly quick knitter, but this was so much fun to make, I think it worked up in double-time!

I'm going to submit this pattern to Knitty, too, because I think it might be nice to wear during the cooler fall weather. I'm pretty happy with how well it came out. It's a bit larger than I was thinking it would be, so I'll have to adjust the measurements a little bit on the final pattern.

Here's some of the specs for this vest. It's made from Malabrigo Merino in the Oceanos colorway, a worsted weight yarn, and is knitted up on US size 10 needles. The pattern is a fitted vest with a slightly shortened length, has a modest, mitered neckline and a lace/faux cable pattern on the front and back called Falling Water. I wasn't able to get a really clear shot, but I'll take better pictures later when I get my camera back from the other Rachel (my SiL; I left it at her house).

I'm so happy with the neckline, too. I've never done a mitered corner and I couldn't find clear directions on the internet, so I went ahead and winged it. It worked! The center Falling Water pattern splits perfectly to travel the neckline edge! Woo-hoo! This picture captures the color the best of this gorgeous yarn.

Thanks so much, secret pal! You're awesome to give me such a wonderful gift, and I've had so much fun knitting this lovely yarn. (Okay, I'll try to refrain from further gushing. It's difficult, though, because I LOVE this yarn. Okay. must. stop. now. . .)

"Maunawili Falls Vest"

The Malabrigo yarn I got from my secret pal has been tempting me, so I gave in to temptation and cast on a new project.

At first, I debated knitting a scarf, but I'm going to be getting a scarf from my wonderful ISE4 partner, so it seemed a little extravagant to have two scarves (can you believe that I, a knitter, do not own any scarves????) For some reason, the idea of a fitted vest appealed to me. I don't usually go for vests, but I thought this yarn would look really classy as a vest, if worn over a nice crisp white blouse. I wasn't able to find any patterns on the web that I liked (although I'm not very good, yet, at finding patterns), so I'm trying my own.

Here's my draft, which is terrible, as I'm not a very good artist. I like vertical lines in a sweater pattern. I'm a bit self-conscious about the tummy section, and I hate horizontal stripes. Every vest pattern I found had horizontal stripes! Ick!

I noticed quite a few knitters on the ISE4 doing the "Falling Water" scarf, and I thought how apropos the pattern would be with this yarn (it's called Malabrigo Oceanos). Plus, it's not a true cable pattern, so it doesn't use as much yarn as cables would.

Here's what I've knitted so far.

I've decided to call it "Maunawili Falls Vest", after a beautiful waterfall I hiked to on Oahu. I have such fond memories of that beautiful place. Hopefully the vest will be as nice!