Knitting Pam Allen's Indian Floral Vest

Yes, I am finally knitting Pam Allen's Indian Floral Vest! I started yesterday afternoon. I actually started with the left front. (I know you should start with the back, but I just felt like knitting the fronts!)

The left front is finished and I have marked the location of the buttons in order to place the buttonholes properly on the right front. (I am looking forward to making the buttons, they are crochet buttons!)



The detail on the vest is beautiful. I love how Pam Allen worked the bottom edge. It is so feminine, and the waist shaping will be so flattering. And the way my red handspun Shetland is knitting up is making me so happy!



Before I go, I wanted to tell you Mr. SockPixie loved his Moth Mittens, and wore them for the first time today!

Swatching

I worked on Mr. SockPixie's Moth Mittens last night, and then I knit a swatch with my newly spun red Shetland roving...Yum...I thought knitting the yarn would be bliss, and it definitely is.



My yarn is a little finer than the yarn called for in the pattern, and so I will be making some adjustments, but that's just part of the fun, isn't it?

I am off to finish the mittens. I might just be able to put in a few minutes of knitting before I teach French Conversation in the Brookline adult ed tonight. Tonight we are discussing campaign financing in France! There is nothing like the calming effect of knitting before discussing a hot topic like campaign financing!

Plying Brings Me One Step Closer to Knitting

I just finished plying the first skein of the red Shetland roving for the Floral Vest. I chose a simple worsted 2 ply .



I think the color is even more striking in its final form, the heathery tones just glow.

Knitting the vest is going to be pure bliss!

Tempted to Spin

I was resolved yesterday to finish Mr. SockPixie's socks before starting to spin the delicious red roving for the Indian Floral Vest... The best I can say is I tried...

In my defense I will say that I turned the heel on the second sock. That counts as a good effort right? But there was all this Shetland fiber sitting there next to me, tempting me...

So there, I started spinning, but only a little bit...



I have a perfectly rational explanation, I needed to spin to get going on my swatches, so that I could start spinning the yarn for the vest as soon as the socks were done, and... like the great Mark Twain, I deal with temptation by yielding to it! There!

More Shetland Spinning

A few posts ago, I said that I would continue spinning some Shetland before I moved on to another breed of sheep. My plan had originally been to spin more of the deep natural chocolate color, some of the butterscotch color, and to knit a fair-isle project.

You know what happens to good plans? They get changed!One day, I was just browsing the Interweave Knits website, and in their pattern store found this pattern. The SockPixie girls were sitting in my room next to me, and as they saw the vest, the room filled with oohs and aahs!



This pattern called the Indian Floral Vest was designed by Pam Allen and published in the Winter 1999 Interweave Knits magazine.

I have not been dyeing yarn lately (I will explain later). But at that very moment, the urge to dye was too strong. I rushed downstairs, grabbed the pots, some yellow and some red...I stood next to the pot, staring at the roving, but not stirring for fear of felting... the color gradually saturating the already deep butterscotch.

I only pulled it out when I was sure the color even after drying would be like a jewel.



The color exceeds my expectations. The butterscotch undertones give a unique glow to the red... I could go on and on, but I'll keep it short: "ooh...aah!"

I can hardly wait to start spinning. Of course I will have to test spin a little, to get the best yarn possible for the project.

This means I must hurry and finish knitting Mr. SockPixie's Shetland Socks before I get all wrapped up in this new adventure.