Pattern:  Eunny Jang's Deep V-neck vest
Yarn:  Knitpicks Merino Style; CC nutmeg (4 skiens), MC moss (5 skiens)
Needles:  3.5 mm addis
Start/Finish:  1 sept/ 10 sept 2006
Notes:  i added a skull motif to the pattern.  i'm wearing the vest  in the picture--one with the b-day girl to be added--mostly, i just hate when people post a FO that's just flat and not worn as it's intend to be.  makes it hard to visualize it for me.  any who, my measurements are different from the intended wearer--i have a bigger rack, and i'm a good 6" shorter than she is, so i think it's going to look alright on her.  if i make myself a vest, i have to figure out something different with the shoulder/arm area.  the shoulders are so wide and so arm holes are a bit floppy.  the vest is also a titch longer than i'd like it to be (i did some finagling to get it to look alright in the picture)
truth be told, meg (the recipiant) and i did a fitting yesterday.  i gave her the choice of trying it on in front of many people or just me and G.  i was a bit worried about the fit at the waist and hips as i'm a bit smaller than her in those areas and couldn't get an accurate idea of if it would fit her or not.  i'm going to block a bit more ease into the waist/hip region, and it's going to be fine.  incidently, she really really liked it--she gave me the best compliment ever "Kate, this looks better than store bought!"  i was tickled.

in other news, g and i ended up buy a new car yesterday!  we went to the dealer to check it out in person, and ended up taking it home!  (his name is clive--i name everything) he's really really red, and the nicest car that either of us has ever owned!

in closing, for you freaky check-out-the-innards-of-fair-isle people, a gratuitous, inside out shot of the vest!

this is how the v-neck looked at about 5:30 in the morning on saturday.  i had a touch of insomnia plus that whole "i'm so freakin' close to being done" so, i knit on into the wee hours of the morning.  and then i decided, since i was up and all, i should just do the steeks.  i used some spare Rowan Kid Classic that was in my odds-n-ends stash (left over from the scarf that G knit himself), whipped out the crochett hook and got all the crochetting done for the steeks.  and then, i did perhaps the most insane thing of my knitting carreer:  at 7:30 in the morning, nearing my 24 hour of wakefulness, i whipped out the tiny sharp scissors and cut the steeks on this bad boy. and......SUCCESS!!!!  lovely and all cut up and no mishaps!  whooot!!  i've started the neck edging, but i had the damnedest time picking up stitches evenly yesterday (i had a bad case of the wah wahs brought on about by the wonky sleep schedule).  after 5 (FIVE) attempts i finally got it right.  so, had i not been retarded, this would be done by now.  i'm feeling sharper today however, so i have faith it'll be done and blocking very very soon.

i'm certain that my needles would be smokin'.  i have 15 rows of the chart to complete before i can start a-steekin' the Skull v-neck.  and it is looking good, let me tell you!  it's not huge at all!  in fact, after blocking, it's actually going to be the size that i intended it to be!!!!!  i've been knitting on this like a crazy thing all week, cause of the dead line and the fact that i still haven't started the easier b-day gifts that are in the line up.  i entirely plan on having this bad boy completly done tomorrow (sunday at the latest) and you better believe a picture-heavy post will be soon to follow!  after a couple of inquiries, i decide to give posting the chart a go (check the sidebar).  any questions about the chart, drop me a line!
in non-knitting news, g and i are looking into buying a new car.  the one we have now--a mercury tracer wagon (shut up!) has put up with quite a lot from us in the past almost 3 years (at one point, g was commuting at least 120 miles a day for a couple of months), but i think that its rapidly approaching that fateful time of "holy shit everything is falling off/breaking down/what's that freakin' noise?"  we are looking at pontiac vibes (cause i love a hatchback like no body's business), and we have an appointment at a dealer's on monday.  i'm jazzed.

i have four birthdays to try and get ready for this month....gah.  it's almost as bad as christmas (which is only 110 days off, btw--eeek!).  the skully deep v-neck for b-day 1 is coming along alright.  i've finished up one repeat of the pattern, and i'm fairly certain that the gauge is going to be just dandy.  i'm love love loving how this looks so far.  this will be the first large scale piece that i've given as a gift--well, one that has to fit (not like a shawl), and i'm sooo nervous about it.  either way, it'll look good, i suppose!
the gift for b-day #2 will be the boring and grey alpaca hat.  i made one already, but i wasn't really happy with how it turned out (i think that i'm going to use a swirling decrease pattern).  i'm not overly worried about timing on this one, cause seriously, a little hat doesn't take hardly anytime at all.
my sister-in-law's birthday is on Mexican Independance day, and i picked up some more delicious Malabrigo to make her some felted lovelies.  i also grabbed up another skien of the autumny colorway that i used for the felted mobius basket for a bag for me...cause i tend to get a little antsy just knitting gifts.  is anyone else like this?  i think that it has to do with being nervous about how the gift will be received.  i know that i'll be thrilled when i finish somthing for myself so i usually don't have to worry.  gahh..
i also need to think up something to make my mama (who has birthday 4 at the end of the month).  any thought? 

i knit up a little basket with a mobius handle with the beautiful autumnal Malabrigo yarn.  this is the floppy before felting picture--doesn't look like much, eh?  but after, oh the delicious results that felting brought on.  man, this yarn was made for felting.  i made a felted bag with Cascade 220, and hand felted it in the sink....it took close to two hours to felt.  the malabrigo took all of ten minutes.  i adore how the finished product looks, and i'm definetly going to do more felting with the malabrigo.  i've got ideas for a lightly felted sweater coat thing floating around in my head.  i need to do some swatching and sketching and try to get it out of my head and into actual practice, so we'll see. 

i swatched up the Merino style i got yesterday from knitpicks.  i had an idea for incorporating some skulls into the argyle pattern of Eunny's Deep V-neck Vest for a friend of mine's birthday.  she's a little retarded for skulls on things.  anywho, after about 2 days of charting different skulls and seeing how they interacted with the argyle pattern, i ended up with a swatch.  the skull is a mismash of different ones that i found with a google search.  i love how the skull is a subtle design that almost meshes with the argyle, making it a little more tasteful and less gaudy (imho).  i use 3.25mm needles, and (cross your fingers) i think that i may have actually gotten gauge.  we'll see when it dries!