Angostura came off the needles Friday night, and I dunked it in the sink with some Soak and then promptly had a mini panic attack. Can you block superwash this way? Will it pull out of shape and stretch and distort and be ruined forever? I ran around in circles clutching my pearls for a few minutes (figuratively, of course), then did what any reasonable knitter would -- I started a thread on Ravelry. In a few minutes, I had all sorts of reassuring responses, including a couple from the folks at Cascade Yarns, which I thought was pretty impressive.
I pinned the pieces very carefully so they would flatten out but not stretch. In the morning, everything was dry so I seamed the sides (an aside: I know everyone hates seaming, and I'm supposed to hate seaming and go to enormous lengths to avoid it and whatever. But. The OCD part of me kind of loves watching stitches come together so evenly with mattress stitch, and gets a bit of a thrill with the perfect little seam that appears inside. Am I the only one?)
On Sunday morning, I got up at 5:15(!) to get showered and make-up'd and cute in time to go pick Mr. Right up from the airport. And it fit! It fit precisely the way I dreamed it might! Here's the outfit:
And the back of the vest:
And a detail of the front:
And the verdict:
All in all, this is probably the best knitting experience I've ever had. I owe big thanks to Kris and Denise in my lunchtime knitting group who convinced me to knit the right size. Also, the pattern is fantastic and well written and not at all something I'd like to light on fire. The vest is warm and squishy and comfortable, and I've worn it twice already this week. I don't want to light it on fire either, for the record.
The details for those interested:
Angostura, by Ysolda Teague
Size 38 with one mod: I took about 1" of length out of the back above the cable
Knit with Cascade 220 Superwash in the Ruby colorway
For 2 6" square swatches and the vest, I used about 3.2 skeins
Now, I'm off to relish everyone else's yarny successes over at FO Friday and Fiber Arts Friday. See you there!
Gorgeous! I love the cabling details, they're so crisp and neat. And the colour is fab.
ReplyDeleteIt looks great. There is nothing better than when something you've slaved over comes together beautifully.
ReplyDeleteIt looks wonderful, I'm so glad it worked out :)
ReplyDeleteWonderful vest!! I am also a lover of seaming knits!!! Is it really the OCD in us? Do you also have to straighten things? I don't mean around the house, I mean, things that are in lines, like dominoes, cards?
ReplyDeleteIt turned out wonderful. It looks great on you.
ReplyDeleteGorgeous! Perfect fit.
ReplyDeleteLove it! And what a great color. I too love to seam.
ReplyDeleteWOW! Now that's the kind of things I want to make! It looks beautiful on you! Anxiously waiting for my Darn Pretty Needles to arrive so I can cast on something fantastic!
ReplyDeleteNice work. On him too.
ReplyDeleteGlad you don't want to light it on fire. It looks great! Congratz on completing it and you look great!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful vest and a beautiful picture of you! Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? (Am I the only one remembers George Peppard saying that on the A-Team TV show?)
ReplyDeleteThe red is seriously gorgeous.
It looks great! And I'm impressed about you getting up early for pictures - I'm not a morning person so that is almost harder for me to imagine than completing a wonderful sweater :).
ReplyDeleteThe vest looks great and fits you perfectly! Kudos :D
ReplyDeleteAwesome.
ReplyDeleteAnd mattress stitch secret admirer? Nope, you're not the only one.
That turned out really well (love that color!), and Cascade 220 Superwash definitely blocks out well exactly as you did it. I've used it for a bag, and I wet-blocked it with a little Method hand soap, with great results.
ReplyDeleteAnd @ Marushka - I remember that line ... from syndication. :) I remember George Peppard best from Breakfast at Tiffany's!
Very nice. So much better than the flambe. ;-)
ReplyDeleteIt turned out beautiful! The fit is perfect and you look so awesome wearing it! I love how you styled it with the skinny jeans. This totally makes up for the vest from hell ordeal, doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteI LOVE how beautiful that vest is. I give you a thumbs up too. That Cascade yarn is a workhorse, isn't it. I love the color and the details. I think I'd be wearing it every day. I love that you used Superwash too. Smart move on that.
ReplyDeleteYour vest looks wonderful! Well done, I love how it turned out.
ReplyDeleteThe pattern on your vest is fabulous! The color is perfect. Really pretty and it looks great on you. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteIt looks lovely on you, fab shape and colour. Well done.
ReplyDeleteGreat job on your vest. I love the color and the fit is perfect.
ReplyDeleteYay, it looks great! Nice job!
ReplyDeleteJust an FYI. The designer was featured on a recent Knitting Daily T.V. show.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. The color and fit are perfect for you!
ReplyDeleteYou look beautiful. The vest is gorgeous. You are a very talented knitter. Hugs and Happy Monday!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. The yarn is beautiful, the finished vest is beautiful, and you look beautiful in it -- way to go!
ReplyDeleteWOW! It looks great and looks great on you. Congrats!!
ReplyDelete