Hello. I have startitis.
[Click, make real big.]
[And don't forget to click here for a close-up of the stitch.]

Okay. I went off and started a new project. I simply had to. I NEED a quick but different project right now, and this fluffy vest (from Phildar's Pitchoun Winter 2003), knit using Phildar's Steppe and size 5mm needles, fulfills that requirement. The vest is for my son, and he likes to pick up the yarn and rub it against his cheek while drawling, "C'est doux...c'est doux". Apparently, he loves the softness of it. Potential yarn addict? Maybe it's hereditary.

This yarn is fluffy. Nice to touch, but difficult on which to check gauge. I had to hold the swatch up against a window in order to allow daylight to come through the fabric so I could count stitches and rows. Ever tried that? It really works, by the way. I got gauge on the first try [how I love it when that happens!], cast on for the back before the beginning of a dubbed into French version Pretty Woman*, and by the time the final and ridiculous scene rolled onto my tv screen I was nearing the neckline shaping. Nothing like a quick fix, I tell you.

*Richard Gere: Ewww. Oh yes. Just like that. Simply...ewww. Julia Roberts: Usually like her, but not in that movie because, well, the movie really sucks. However, I like watching it because I saw it when it came out in theaters during a most excellent summer I spent living and working in New York City. Ditto with Ghost, which came out the same summer. Sniff. Such a nostalgic person, I am.

Happy Thanksgiving! Send pumpkin pie. And here's a project that's almost reading for seaming:


My son's fluffy vest!

Looks like I went a little overboard with a few extra rows on one side, doesn't it? Well, I did! The left shoulder of the vest is buttoned, so the front piece (shown above) has a knit-on facing with buttonholes. A little less sewing and looks just as polished. Spiffy, eh?


Now, please excuse me while I get totally distracted by:

1) The scarves I want to knit. And muff. And legwarmers.

2) The last of the swatches I'm sewing into strips.

3) The remaining Bucket-o-Chic hats* I am aching to knit but refuse to until I've finished the right front piece of my Elfin cardi, which should be this evening if I just knit it and stop getting distracted, already. But I want to start on those bucket hats this weekend, as they are gifts. They'll need matching scarves, too. Because I say so.

4) My trip to visit my family next month! I admit - this is one of the biggest reasons for my distraction. In addition to the preparation that's going on here, I'm just too excited about being with the fam and getting spoiled rotten by the 'rents that I can't remain focused on any of the projects I've got going now. But I booked flights with an airline that allows knitting needles on board, of course. (Guess I won't be able to drink some port and then conk out for a few hours this time.)

*And a few of those participating in my knitalong have finished already! The yarn is calling to me, I tell you.

Look who's wearing his new vest!
[Click me and I will give you another view.]

My son's fluffy vest is finished! It's a hit with the kid, and he's worn it several times already. It's still a little big for him; I sized it for a five-year-old (he turned three in September), so it's roomy enough for him to be able to wear it in early spring and, let's hope, next fall. He's growing out of my knits (and all his clothes) way too fast. Sniff.

Seaming was fun because this bouclé yarn makes for nil stitch definition. I could have blindfolded myself while seaming, and I bet it would have still come out looking right. Sewing went quickly, but finishing took a bit longer: The armhold facings were knit separately and then sewn on using invisible stitch, and a buttonband was also knit separately and sewn onto the left shoulder. I had considered picking up stitches for the neckband, but doing that with this bouclé yarn wouldn't have made for such a neat neckband. So I just followed the pattern as is by knitting the neckband separately, and then sewing it on using free loop backstitch on the right side of the work. All those pieces made me feel like I was putting together a little jigsaw. In bouclé yarn. Ripping out would have been a party, I'm sure.

All in all, we're very happy with the way the vest came out, so there are lots of pictures for you. Above are the obligatory "still" pictures of the knits, and here are a few additional action shots* for you:




P.S. I love these vests. They're fun to knit, and my son prefers them to sweaters. Obviously, that means that I must go off and buy more yarn to make another vest. It's like a rule. Kid likes knitted vests = Mommy must come through. So I made a visit to my local Phildar boutique [like I really need to have my arm twisted to visit the yarn store], and happily picked out three skeins of Fantasia to make another vest like the one I knit for him last year, which still fits him but probably not for much longer as he will outgrow it any day now. Maybe even tomorrow! (Well, that's my excuse, anyway.)

*Yes, the kid is still a ham before the camera. The above "still" picture of my son was taken while my husband was talking to him, because a little distraction is the only way to get a decent shot of the knits when the kid is wearing them. The "action" shots are the pictures taken when the kid is actually looking at the camera and "posing" for me, and that usually consists of making wacky faces and dancing. It must be hereditary.