December 24 - I’m combining some gifted yarn with some thrifted yarn… I didn’t have enough of the beautiful grey yarn left, and found a lovely chocolate-color merino wool sweater at Goodwill to unravel, wash and re-use. I’m using Sonnet as a jumping off point to make a stripey vest, inspired by this cardigan So far, the modifications that I am considering are to first of all make a vest instead of a cardigan, secondly to change the box stitch panels to seed stitch, since I am thinking of possibly adding some embroidered vines to the front panels, inspired by the viney leaves on this sweater, and thirdly to add some short row panels to add shaping to the sides so it will lay smoothly and not pull across my tummy. I’ll probably do an I-cord border around the edges. Other than that, I’ll be making it up as I go… I’m looking forward to starting this on Boxing Day.

December 26 - The stripey vest is begun, and is just as easy a knit as I’d hoped. I’m not sure which side will end up being the “right side”, both are stripey, just different…

December 30 - One front is done, and I am figuring out short-row gores to add just a bit of width to the sides.

December 31 - short rows are easy-peasy, took two tries to get an appropriate amount of extra added in (my first attempt added far too much hip-flare)

January 3 - Very frustrated, my circular needle broke! They are bamboo and clear tubing ones from Purl District, that I got this year at the Sock Summit, and the tubing snapped in half right below the bamboo part. I’m going to see if I can repair them somehow…

January 11 - More than halfway done. A long car trip to Seattle and back with lots of opportunity for knitting. Added in a dark seed stitch stripe at the center back, with two small short-rows for a bit of added shaping.

January 18 - Halfway through the left front, done with the short row gores on the left side. Am thinking of using the same technique for a faux bois scarf someday

January 21 - The primary knitting is completed. Now need to learn how to do applied I-cord edging for the armholes and edges. Lastly will add embroidered and beaded decorative motifs to the neck edge seed stitch stripes. The end is in sight.

January 24 - Applied I cord edging is my new best friend - I love it! and learning something new is always good… This video tutorial really helped

January 26 - I-cord around the armholes, the neckline, and the bottom edge is the perfect thing for this vest…

It drew in the armholes just enough that they don’t look floppy, and stabilised the bottom edge making it look more “finished” than leaving the garter stitch alone. In addition, the yarn “carried over bits” where I changed color every other row to make the stripes, made perfect loops to pick up for the border.

The back neck was particularly loose, so I first ran an I-cord border just across the center back, then did I-cord around the square neckline, so that there was a double row at the center back. This stablised the neckline, and by adding a small border, also made the neckline a bit smaller. (The pattern as written makes a rather larger neckline than I like)

I ended the I-cord, on both the neckline and on the bottom border, at the edge of the button bands. I thought it would add too much bulk to the center front, and goodness knows I have enough bulk there already!

Now that the border is finished, I’m not sure that I want to add any embroidery. I have a very strong tendency to embellish everything that I make, and this little vest already has some serious stripe-action going on, maybe it doesn’t also need embroidered and beaded leafy vines?

January 27 - The I cord border is working perfectly, and I’m calling this finished, if I decide it needs embroidery, I can always add it later. Besides, it is cold now, I want to wear this.