Greetings Gentle Unraveler’s and Happy Wednesday!
It is a Fantastic Finish Post for me today!
All the Swirly goodness!
First up… The Incredible Swirly Vest! I love it so, so much! I think this will get LOTS of wear and maybe even this week as temps are hovering in the 60’s here! Now, how about some pattern details… first thing to note is that the yarn requirement is listed in GRAMS not yards. Yes, I missed that important fact which was why I did not have enough yarn and had to order more. Sigh. I managed to keep my gauge the same in the round and at the “back and forth” portions… it took a bit of “trial and error” though. The shoulder join… sigh. The pattern called for a “crochet join” which I tried and tried and tried… but it did not look “seamless” i.e. you could see my crochet join clearly from the public side. My work around was to mattress stitch the shoulders which worked perfectly. I think you could even do a three needle bind off by just holding the shoulders on waste yarn instead of binding them off. The arm and neck ribbing were easy to do and I love how the sewn bind off mirrors the cast on edge. I wondered how the neck would turn out (with the folded in ribbing) and it worked better than I imagined! I love how it lays! I think vest knitting has become my new “jam” and, as you can see above, I happily returned to the Green Vest and made some good progress there as well!
Cher-gnome-ble, Professor Fungi, and Gnigel.
The next finish I (finally) have is the almost abandoned Professor Fungi. I confess to being a bit surprised at the shape of this gnome… I had envisioned some “color work mushrooms” not a mushroom shaped gnome, but there you have it. This is why the poor gnome lingered for over a month now… my ennui about it. However, the Gnome Village chatter eventually became loud enough that I could not ignore them any longer. They let me know that there was absolutely a space for Professor Fungi and they were all eager to learn about all the mushrooms! There is no chastisement like gnome chastisement… let me tell you! The dear Professor accepted an invitation from Cher-gnome-ble and Gnigel to come to the big blue cupboard to help improve their compost heap. And she is always on the lookout for mushrooms. I need to make her a couple of mushrooms to settle into her basket… soon, very soon… I just need to find the felting needles! (And yes she is absolutely a she despite the beard… she is well into gnome-opause and gave up some time ago in plucking out those wiry chin hairs!)
After getting Reversible Knits late last week, I have been paging through and dreaming! It is an incredibly fascinating look at pairing stitches to create fabric that has no wrong side!
And that is the perfect lead into my reading this week! I have some incredible finishes… including one book, Charlotte McConaghy’s Wild Dark Shore, which is in the running to be one of the best books of the year! I have been reading more “with my eyes” – as in hardcover books – because my library has had little or no wait time on many titles (versus weeks on end for any digital copies!) I also finished Isabel Allende’s My Name is Emilia del Valle, which was recently published. I really appreciate Isabel’s incredible research she does for her stories! It took me a bit to get through this story because I am completely unfamiliar with Chilean history and there was so much to take in! Emilia’s story has many twists and turns… and an ending that I did not see coming.
My current “night time” read is a memoir by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, We All Want to Change the World. It was published last week, and I am enjoying it tremendously! It is so fascinating to read about time periods that I lived through but with a different perspective. He has gently reminded me that I have a lot more work anti-racist work to do. I have been a fan of Kareem for a very long time, and wile I realized how incredibly brilliant he is, I did not have any idea what an avid reader he is! He has added several books to my TBR list and I have “highlighted” numerous passages in my Kindle App. If you like history, you will appreciate Kareem’s perspective!
I am listening to Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness… I am roughly half way through and this book and it is reinforcing my love for Ocean’s incredible writing. I am forcing myself to slow down and savor the story… but it is just so beautiful it is hard to stop!
Well… whew… I have probably run on enough! What about you? What is it that is making you happy this week?
As always, if you wrote a post to share please leave your link below and thank you!
Congrats on a beautiful finished vest! I too would be annoyed with being given grams rather than yards/meters needed. That’s not really useful unless you’re using the exact same yarn and getting exactly the same gauge.
Professor Fungi is adorable contribution to your gnome tribe! As usual, your personalization gives her such personality.
I LOVE your Swirly Vest – the colors you chose, the pattern, the way the swirls go one way and then another, and all the finishing details! I like cooler weather anyhow, but I’m glad we have it this week so you can enjoy wearing it. Your gnomes are quite something, and “There is no chastisement like gnome chastisement” made me laugh this morning. I have Wild Dark Shore and Emperor of Gladness on hold; now I am even more anxious to get them!
Okay. Professor Fungi is just adorable! I’m so glad you knit on through the ennui and finished him up. He seems a perfect-in-every-way addition to your gnome collection, Kat! And the swirly vest is marvelous! I’m so glad you persisted with that one, as I’m sure you’re going to love wearing it! XO
Fabulous finishes Kat!! Your swirly vest is to die for – I love it. And, I’m so glad your tribe of gnomes urged you on to complete Professor Fungi. She is gorgeous (with her chin hairs – lol). I’m in the queue at my library for Wild Dark Shore and am hoping the queue moves along quickly!
What a great post! The vest is just as stunning as we knew it would be. Your updates from gnome village are always utterly charming, and the new addition will fit right in 😁
A fabulous post to read Kat…..full of those fantastic finishes you’ve been working your way to in fits and starts.
I’m just happy to be back in the real world again….and have the ability to read and absorb your fabulous post. Thanks for lifting my spirits
omg you knitting is wonderful! That vest is awesome, love the swirls and fungi knit is to die for!!
Your vest looks great! I also love your Gnomes! I have a bunch of kits I bought to make them but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
I look forward to reading Wild Dark Shore. I have all three of her books after seeing one on Instagram that someone I follow enjoyed.
That vest is fabulous and the gnomes are adorable as always! You really did have some fantastic finishes this week!
You have some fun finishes! I love that gnome and can’t wait to see its mushroom basket. And your vest! So gorgeous. I’d never want to take it off!
So glad you enjoyed Wild, Dark Shore. McConaghy has become a must-read author for me and I was thrilled to pick this one up on my birthday bookstore trip this year. And I am excited about Ocean Vuong’s new book too!
I hope you have a great weekend!