Friday, November 30, 2007

The vest, at long last, is done!!

So my boyfriend did actually send the yarn and it arrived just yesterday morning. I had to fight the urge to skip class & finish the vest, but of course I ended up being good & going to school. Today, though, I had no classes (college students don't believe in Friday classes, didn't you know?), so I set to work on knitting the last couple rows, learning & working the 3-needle bind-off (a little fiddly at first but SO MUCH better than sewing seams!), weaving in the 6 thousand or so ends, and then sewing up those two little side seams.

Looking at those seams now, they do seem little -- but they took me hours! It didn't help that the yarn (which until then had been perfectly lovely) kept breaking while I was doing it. There was a lot of swearing and by the end I'd concluded that (a) there are not words strong enough in this language to truly express my hatred of sewing seams and (b) any & all garments I make in the future will be knit in the round! My grandma told me over the summer that she actually stopped knitting because she hated sewing seams so much. At the time it seemed like throwing the baby out with the bathwater to me, but now I'm thinking she might've had a point...

Anyway, the seams unfortunately look a bit like they were sewn by a mentally challenged chimpanzee with a drug habit, but I pretty much love it regardless:



Better pictures will come very soon (sorry for the dirty mirror!), but I was excited just to document it. At some point I will probably still crochet the recommended edging around the neck & armholes, but most likely not until after holiday knitting is out of the way. Also I should block it but I can't stand the thought of making my room smell like a wet sheep when it's much too cold to open a window...

I'm very relieved to have this done, because for the next twenty-odd days I need to throw myself in to holiday knitting! I'm pretty sure of everything I need to make, but last night I was talking to one of the few friends for whom I wasn't planning to knit and when I asked him what he wanted his only response was, "Make me something out of yarn!" Sigh. What he really wants is a pair of mittens, so I'm on the hunt for a good (and preferably free) dude's mitten pattern. Recommendations would be appreciated!

8 comments:

Shorty said...

The vest looks great. I can't wait to see it in person.

I think one of the main reasons I have never knit a garment is the thought of having to finish it (seams & ends scare the crap out of me).

yoli said...

there's this absolute shit knitting book i just added to my goodreads account but there was a tip in there that I thought was good: don't seam in the same yarn you knit so that in the even you want to unseam it'll be easier. I wish I had thought of that *before* I seamed up my Carolyn sleeves but this definitely seemed like something I should share.

I hate seaming too but then, suddenly, when you're in the middle of it it's like magic and voila! you have a finished piece. Weaving in ends, on the other had, has no such magic. >:|

But I love it! You make me want to knit it again, in my size, for me. Don't tempt me!

yoli said...

http://www.knitpicks.com/Lucy+Mittens_PD50392221.html

i know the name says Lucy but the look fairly androgynous.

Diane said...

It turned out great, I love it! You should be very proud of yourself. I hate seaming too, yuck.

Had to laugh about Friday classes. My daughter did her schedule for next semester and worked it so she has no Friday classes.

Larjmarj said...

Looks super cute...I also hate seaming and seaming hates me.

Kenna M. Kettrick said...

Ooh, I like it! Very much. I...sort of want to make one for myself. Um. But I don't think I'm talented enough yet...or, really, patient enough. I'm a yarn whore but I never follow through. :)

-elanor2

Unknown said...

Oh wow, it looks amazing! I'm incredibly impressed; I still haven't progressed beyond scarves...

Hasbu said...

I've been reading your older posts and just found this. I'm knitting the same vest, just started over the weekend. It looks super cute on you! I hate seaming, too, so I almost always knit in the round.