Monday, January 29, 2007

Not so Deep V Argyle Vest

Mental blocks are a curious thing. Why can I breeze through a pattern in a matter of weeks only to be waylaid for a month by something so simple as picking up stitches for the armbands and sewing down the neckband ends? The very thought sent shivers down my spine. A couple of weeks ago I had enough, sat down to my Eighties! playlist in i-tunes and finished that baby. Nothing like a good dose of Morrissey to get the hands moving.
ArgyleVest5
ArgyleVest3
ArgyleVest4
Pattern: Deep V Argyle Vest by Eunny Jang
Yarn: Blue Sky Alpacas melange, 4 skeins of pesto and 3 skeins of relish (though I prefer to call those colors olive and green)
Needles: US 4
Mods: Plenty. I knit a big gauge swatch in the round, it made all the difference. My row gauge was off, instead of getting Eunny's 7.5 rows, I got 6 rows. Having to knit less rows is great, though I had to do a fair amount of adjustments to get a perfect fit. I divided the chart into three areas (beginning to waist, waist to bust, bust to end) and converted the actual number of pattern rows in each area to my gauge. I also wanted a little less plunge on my vest and moved the start of the neckband further up, and used tubular cast-on for better looks and more stretch. I'm very happy with my changes, my vest fits perfectly. It wasn't all beer and roses though. The steeking was easy, yet I didn't really trust the whole idea and ended up running a few seams with my sewing my machine along each crocheted edge, just to be safe. Blue Sky Alpaca is supposed to felt well (at least the scarf I saw at my lys made of BSA sportweight felted really well), but melange seemed a little slippery. It's beautiful yarn though, so soft, and really made me look forward to knitting.
Opinion: This is a great pattern, especially if you're new to fair-isle. Make sure you pick the right yarn and take the time to swatch and adjust the pattern to your stitch and row gauge. I put my vest on scrap yarn and tried it on multiple times to make sure it was ok. BSA is usually not within my budget, and I didn't want to mess it up. I love the warmth of the vest, worn with a thin silk blouse underneath it's perfect for SF climate.
The next couple of weeks will be devoted to my secret knit, but after that, I'll be working on the lovely Flicca coat by Anna. I've also been itching to sew again, thinking about quilt patterns.

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

beautiful vest! great job -- and the lighting is also very nice

C+SK said...

Ohhhhhhhhhhh gorgeous vest! It fits you impeccably!

spajonas said...

it looks fantastic!! so many of these vests came out too bulky or big because of the yarn chosen. you picked a perfect one and your mods look great.

Anonymous said...

hi steph, the vest looks gorgeous. again, i really enjoy reading all of your thoughts on a project.

iSeL said...

What a beauty! It fits you like a glove. Excellent job. Thank you for sharing your modifications.

AV said...

Ohh, so beautiful and such attention to details! Just absolutely love it!!!

Anonymous said...

It really fits perfectly! You did an absolutely fabulous job with this one... it's gorgeous!

Anne said...

That's gorgeous - I too have seen people who have had problems with it, but yours fits perfectly. I want one now...

Jen said...

Pretty, beautiful fit, and I like your color names better, too...if for no other reason than "pesto and relish" sounds like a nightmare pseudo-gourmet hotdog stand. Ugh!

Risa said...

Gorgeous! Great job with all the calculations; it really fits well!! This is definitely on my 'someday' list.

Anonymous said...

Lovely vest! The colors are wonderful together

Kristy said...

The vest turned out very nicely! Great job! You've got me thinking about that pattern again...

Terhi said...

Beautiful vest! And you have sun there! I'm jealous of both. :-)

Jade said...

Gorgeous! I can't wait to make mine.

Anonymous said...

Beer and roses? Wine and skittles?

Sigh. That I be brave enough to knit a fitted garment. You go girl.

Kelly said...

Great job on the vest! I'm glad you forced yourself to pick it back up - the longer you wait, the harder it gets!

Great color choice and neckline change, too!

I miss that SF climate... sniff sniff.

Anonymous said...

prettypretty!

the wait was definitely worth it

LaurieM said...

It looks absolutely wonderful on you. Couldn't be better.

Anonymous said...

The vest is gorgeous! Well worth all the effort for sure.

Unknown said...

Fabulous!! Beautiful pictures, awesome fit. You nailed it Steph. I love it!!

opportunityknits said...

Lovely colours and perfect fit with a bit of ease. It goes very well with that blouse. I always enjoy your FO photos.

Veronique said...

Lovely! I know others have had to recalculate the whole pattern because of row gauge variations...
Good luck on your secret knitting! I'm knitting like the wind...

Anonymous said...

mmmm Pesto and relish.. and olives ;)

the vest looks GREAT! Very well done.

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!! It looks GREAT on you. I think I prefer the depth of the neck like yours too. Nice photo shoot too :)

Anonymous said...

I think that is the best deep-v I've seen. LURVE the colors, they are delicious. (Get it? Olive and pesto, delicious?!) I'm a dork.

Anonymous said...

Very shapely and I love the length. I just hate knits that are too short!! Great job, but I think I'd be scared to attempt this project!!!

Anonymous said...

As usual, your taste and execution are perfect. It is beautiful.

HPNY KNITS said...

wonderful and very flattering! in alpaca it is a luxurious hug!

Anonymous said...

Oh, wow! Really looks great, the fit is amazing and I love the colors.

Unknown said...

I love your changes, I think the V is perfect. I also like your color choices. Excellent!

Anonymous said...

Congratulations it looks gorgeous. Your incredible taste comes together again... I might just have to copy cat you :)

Anonymous said...

Beautiful vest - the fit is very nice and I like the colors. Very inspiring - and good reminder to do a swatch and recalculate!

Linda said...

Thay is lovely, and as others have said I prefer it with your modifications. I look forward to seeing the flicca coat!

Stacey said...

that came out beautiful - it fits you so well! Great job with the mods. Those color names are pretty funny - though they do look like relish and pesto!

Anonymous said...

lovely vest. you're so brave to do fair isle.

lori said...

i love it for being not so deep. very nice!

Krista McCurdy said...

Gorgeous! Makes me want to make one.

Allegra said...

Your vest is fabulous!

Anonymous said...

Steph, the vest is gorgeous and your mods ensured a perfect fit!

nicole said...

The vest is gorgeous! Way to go.

(I too have a Morissey thing. My "Smiths mix" is always what I put on when I have an unpleasant job to do, like cleaning out the fridge, going through the mail, or picking up stitches!)

seedless grape said...

Beautiful! It looks SO good on you. A very flattering fit. Looking forward to seeing the Flicca coat, too--it's on my distant, way-off-in-the-future to-do list.

a friend to knit with said...

Love it! the colors, the fit, everything!

Lolly said...

It looks fabulous! Thanks for all of your tips and notes too. This is something I want to try, but was worried about the Fair Isle - looks like it would be a good project though ;)

Congrats on such a great FO!

christine (threedogknits) said...

Gorgeous! I want to make one some day. Right now my stranded skills are too unpredictable. One minute too loose, the next minute too tight. I have 3 skeins in melange (cinnamon I think) in my stash. It's a lovely yarn.

Anonymous said...

Wow, it looks great!

Anonymous said...

Ooooo.. pretty. :)

Krawuggl said...

Wow! Das sieht supertoll aus! Sitzt einfach perfekt und dein Ausschnitt gefällt mir gleich viel viel besser. Und wenn ich lese, was du alles selbst geändert und angepaßt hast, kann ich dich nur wieder mal aus ganzem Herzen bewundern. Supersuperschön!

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous vest! I like the mods you made, the colors, everything - beautiful!

Sue said...

What a fantastic job you did of the Eunny Vest pattern. I love the colors together too, and it looks great on you.

Christine said...

wow, great work. the pattern is beautiful and it looks like it fits perfectly.

i'm a new blogger and i wandered onto your site. just wanted to say that your projects all look incredible and very inspiring.

i mostly sew, and if you are interested you can check out my site. again, keep up the good work!

Unknown said...

This is really incredible and the shaping is so lovely, makes it really flattering. I love the Flicca pattern so will be looking forward to seeing yours.

Re: Jerusalem Artichokes, they are harder than a potato but yes you can use them in some similar ways, they are great in soup or creamy gratins, perhaps baked or crushed.

Sally said...

Really gorgeous, I just love it. I have to learn to do Fair Isle!

Melissa said...

great job! and in my favorite color combo too. the extra effort is always worth it!

Silly Black Bear... said...

I just LOVE the photos...

Make Time said...

A beautiful knit, and the photos are great!

twigletqueen said...

Wow, really love that pattern. It almost makes me want to give the dreaded fairisle another try

KnittenKnots said...

That looks absolutely fantastic - love the colors and I especially like the higher neckline! Great job.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful vest! It was great meeting you at Stitches and getting to see the Mermaid gloves in real life!

Tasha said...

It looks truly fantastic, especially with that shirt. A great outfit combo! I myself am scared to death at steeks so I probably won't be attempting this anytime soon, but I love the look. Congrats!

Jorth said...

Jeez louise, it's fabulous!

Anonymous said...

wow! Amazing!

Sweetpea4kids said...

Looks great. Well done. I'm totally tempted to knit one up now.

Anonymous said...

Great job on the vest, it looks fabulous.

Elizabeth said...

This looks wonderful - I love the colors you chose, and the fit is perfect - totally worth all the mods. I know what you mean about balking at finishing details like picking up stitches for ribbed bands - not my favorite thing to do, either. But the finished project is so worth it.

Anonymous said...

Wow, that's very impresive, the pattern and colors look great.

Anonymous said...

I am always BLOWN AWAY at the skill levels of other knitters.. GREAT JOB on the vest! It's simply beautiful. Eunny's patterns are so impressive... I would love to make this vest.. it's on the everlasting TO DO list! LOL!

Ann K.

Anonymous said...

So stylish! love it. =)

Anonymous said...

Very nice. I had not seen this anywhere but Eunny's blog.

Ang

Anonymous said...

simply beautiful! it's the best fitting one I've seen around.

Anonymous said...

Amazing! I love the colors you chose. I'm feeling very inspired to learn fair isle now :)

LW said...

Beautiful knitting and beautiful photography!

twellve said...

that has got to be one of THE nicest looking hand-knit items i have ever seen. and i really like the pattern. excellent work!

Samantha said...

Your vest is AMAZING! I'm not really a vest person, but I want that really bad.