Dropped Rib Vest- Finished

I'm delighted to share my completed vest. I started it right around Valentines day- which must have influenced my color choice- and I love it. The colors shimmer and dance, and they make me want to dance too!


Pattern: My own, inspired by Macro Lace Cardigan (see below)
Yarn: Malabrigo Worsted, in Intenso
I wanted to knit a shrug/vest/cardi in a similar construction to the Macro Lace Cardi by Laura Chau. I like her version, but I wanted it more fitted and I've wanted to use the dropped rib stitch for a long time. I love the way it undulates, and with the bright red and pink colors, the individual “drops” look kinda like tiny vaginas.


To knit the vest, you first knit a rectangle, then fold it in half, pick up stitches along the cast-on and cast-off edges, and join to knit the ribbed edge and collar in the round. Then you have a short seam on either side to make the arm holes the right size. I used the construction of the Macro Lace, but I used my own pattern, and worked out the increases for the collar as I went. It turned out with a sort of a ruffly edge, and I like the way it looks.


I wasn't sure I would like wearing it, as I've never been much of a vest person, but it's comfy and bright and fun to wear.

My Leafy Lagoon Vest (aka #100 little lace vest from Sweater Babe )is coming along too, and I like the yarn a lot. It's Knit Picks Shine Worsted, and the color has depth, despite that it isn't heathered or anything. The shadows from the plies, along with the shimmer from the modal, make the color shift a bit. It's also soft and smooth. I think it will feel really good on my body.

My next project comes via the new Knitty- I've already ordered the yarn for Que Sera by Kristen Kapur. I signed up for the KAL for it too- my first! Now I'm in an extra hurry to finish Leafy Lagoon so I can cast on this gorgeous cardi.

I'm having a lot of fun with the warm-weather knits this spring.

The Knitting Olympics

I got a wild hair and decided to join Stephanie Pearl McPhee’s Knitting Olympics, which apparently is separate from the Ravelympics. My goals were to finish the Gaia shrug and the Duckie Onesie. The Onesie, though an easy knit, requires embroidery, which I haven’t attempted for about 30 years, Seriously, 30 years!

I was expecting the Gaia shrug to be simple and quick, and I planned to use my lovely red and purple alpaca/silk handspun. Of course, I hit a major snag, which was that no matter how many different ways I measured, I could not get the patterns dimensions to match mine. This is a problem because I had calculated the amount of yarn I would need by following the pattern. I figured that I need to knit at least 6 more inches (66 square inches) to make a shrug that will fit me, but I don’t have that much yarn. Sigh. I realized this after I was about 4 hours into my knitting.

So plan B. I went and bought 4 skeins of gorgeous Malabrigo worsted in Intenso:

The knitting in the pic is a swatch, not the shrug.
I’m going to make this shrug (because 'shawl collar vest' is too long and boring a name,henceforth my version will be called Dropped Rib) , only with a different stitch pattern, which I‘ve wanted to knit for a long time. I expect it to take longer than my original plan, but wow, these colors vibrate with awesomeness and I’m inspired to knit this!

Naturally I completely neglected the Onesie (which I'm calling 'Just Duckie') while I was driven to figure out my shrug plan. Luckily it is small. I’m using a lovely yellow shade of Bliss Cashmerino DK, which immediately tangled hopelessly. I think I need one of those yarn socks to keep the ball intact.

That’s been my last couple of days. Happy Valentines Day, and good luck to my fellow Knitting Olympians!