Greetings dear Unravelers and Happy April to you all!
I hope that you are not sick of hearing from me because I will be back tomorrow with another post this week! I know… we live in crazy times if I am blogging for four days in a row! But April brings National Poetry Month and I am so happy to have a month where the focus is all about poetry! It is the constant in my days that is as necessary as breathing for me!
My new favorite knit!
I promised you last week that I would share my finished vest… and so I am, albeit not in the manner in which I had hoped. What I can tell you is that this vest fits magnificently (even though the armholes are a bit big.) There is a reason behind those bigger armholes… it is because my row gauge was not the same as the designer. I knew this would be an issue, but I needed to knit the garment to know where to make changes to get a more tidy armhole. However, this looser armhole works beautifully with a fuller sleeved shirt underneath! I have been wearing the heck out of this vest and I absolutely love it! And yes, I have swatched for another one but won’t be casting on until I finish my current under construction vest.
I love everything about this vest…the relaxed shoulders, the tidy neckline, and the absolute perfect length!
As you can see, I have made the tiniest bit of headway on the color work vest! I am on to my third repeat with just one more row of swirls to go before the “great divide” and the challenge of “flat fair isle” begins. I am not looking forward to that portion, just saying.
By next week, I hope to have all my stitching caught up and will be able to share March and the latest pages for my 100 day project.
The reading this week though has been spectacular!! I finished Daryl Gregory’s When We Were Real and I really liked it! It takes place some time in the future… after we have been told that we are living in a simulation and we are all just a series of 1’s and 0’s… but this book is really just one wild ride! There is mystery. There is action! And there were surprises I did NOT see coming! The story is compelling and the last half I really had trouble putting it down! It ended a bit curiously… which makes me wonder if there is another book coming? (Dare I hope?) This was a very solid 4-star book! (My only issue with it was the beginning and the onslaught of characters to remember!)
I also finished listening to the third installment in the Marlow Murder Club series by Robert Thorogood: The Queen of Poison’s. It was fantastic! This series has gotten better with each book but the character development really took off in The Queen of Poison’s. I laughed out loud more than once (I absolutely LOVE Judith!!) And the twists at the end were awesome! A solid 5-star read and I can hardly wait for the next book!
I also finished Ilya Kaminsky’s Deaf Republic. Oh my heavens. The poems are brilliant… they are interconnected… they tell a story… and they are so timely for right now! I read through the book not once, not twice, but three times and, honestly, I could sit down right now and read it again! I have put Deaf Republic on my “if you need to get me a gift this year” list!
Now, thanks to a bit of a shipping error by those lovely folks at MDK, I have an extra copy of the latest Field Guide (No. 29: Mosaic) The patterns are just stunning and timeless! If you would like the extra copy, I would be happy to send it on to you! Just let me know! (and if more than one of you want it, I will put your names in a “hat” and pick a winner!)
That’s it for me… I need to get stitching! What has percolated to the top of your making list?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
I love your vest! I also love the shirt under it what a beautiful combo. Your colorwork is beautiful – the swirly designs are cute. Looks like your knitting is keeping you happy and busy.
Depending what you are knitting the vest out of, you could stay in the round and steek. More fun than flat colourwork, for sure.
Your vest does look perfect to me, and quite nice to wear for the up and down of warm and cool days we’ve been having. I really like the swirly snail shells on your in-process vest. I’m glad you are catching up with your stitching and I’ll be looking forward to seeing some of it!
I just wore my vest again yesterday, so I know just what you mean about how great this pattern is! Even with your row gauge difference, I think the arm openings are meant to be a little larger, but I’m sure your next version will fit exactly how you want it! The new vest is knitting up so fun.
Your finished vest is marvelous (and like Karen, I love the shirt too). And the new one is so fun (love the colors). I’m happy to hear you will be catching up on your stitching and I’m looking forward to seeing it. I wonder how many of us received two Field Guides from MDK….
Yeeeeeeees the vest is the best! Congratulations! And those swirls are superb, can’t wait to see more of them.
Your vest is great, and I can understand wearing the heck out of it! A vest is perfect for spring. (I actually prefer deeper armhole.) Your current vest is spectacular… or will be!
Ooh, I, too, received two Field Guides… hopefully it was just a very small number that received double shipments.
I think your vest looks great and I bet it’s perfect for this time of year, too!
Your finished vest looks perfect! And I love that you’ve found a way to wear it comfortably even with the armholes a bit larger than you’d really like. And that colorwork! My goodness – I can’t wait to see it grow!
I’m sure you’ll find a new home for the extra copy of Field Guides – it’s so kind of you to offer it up to your readers!
and happy National Poetry Month. We are eating it up in our homeschool. We’re reading a book in verse called Alias Anna — set in Ukraine during WWII and it’s just wonderful. But poetry is a part of our daily schoolwork: we also read the assigned day in Sing A Song of Seasons: A Nature Poem for Each Day of the Year. It’s a lovely collection!
I’m wondering if that “shipping error” explains why so many people received two copies . . . while I didn’t even receive ONE????? (Still waiting for mine to arrive . . . ) Anyway. Your vest looks like one of those great “workhorse” layering pieces that everyone needs to have in their wardrobes. (I never seem to get row gauge . . . ) Good luck with the flat fair isle. (Have you considered steeks????)
I love that finished vest. I can easily believe you are wearing it often. The colorwork project is very pretty. Best of luck on the next phase. If no one else wants the MDK Field Guide, I would like it. If you’ve already sent it off, that’s fine. I’m way behind. Caregiving while going well is all consuming. I just don’t want to make any mistakes. How interesting that several of the group received two copies. Some computer somewhere made a mistake.