Dyeing ...

Well the skein I dyed for the armhole bands and collarband soaked up too much dyestuff and came out very deep, deep brown. Much too brown for this vest. I left it in the pot too long. But there was still a goodly amount of dye in the pot and I have 3 or 4 more skeins of white/off-white, so I put another skein on to simmer for an hour then plopped it in the dyepot. Turned the heat on under the dyepot and brought it up to simmer but didn't leave this skein in for as long a time and it came out perfect! A very good match for the vest. I hope I will have enough of this skein to do both armholes and collar, but if not I'll throw another skein in to soak up some color. Shown here next to the first--very dark--skein:



The car had to take an emergency trip to the mechanics this afternoon due to some washing machine agitation sounds coming from the rear wheels. It started a few weeks ago, but has only gotten worse. I need to go down to Belmont, a nearby town, tomorrow and didn't feel comfortable about it without a professional look-see. The problem is a wearing wheel bearing. Mechanic said I could go to Belmost and it should be OK because there is not yet any play in the bearing, but the car has an appointment for next Thursday to have that fixed.

So when the car is in the car hospital, I need to occupy myself in downtown Plymouth and I did so today by stopping at the trendy coffee-shop and knitting over a cup of green tea and a brownie. The brownie was dessert after the fabulous meal of vegetable Tom Yum , spring rolls, and Thai salad at the local--and very good--Thai restaurant. I finished the collar band last night and I was able to get most of the right armhole band done this afternoon at the coffee shop. I finished it this evening. Tomorrow: The left armhold band.

Getting close to a finished vest. After the left armhole band is done I need to weave in a multitude of loose ends. Two loose ends for every color change! There are a lot of them. But it will be a nice task. I have learned in this craft and others (weaving comes to mind) that these "dreaded" "dreary" tasks are as important and vital as the actual making of stitches and bring their own sense of joy and satisfaction to the making of the whole.

Where things stand this evening:



The table I chose at the coffee shop--a table I have often made my vantage point--looks out at this beautiful tree across the street. It is always beautiful: Spring, summer, fall, and winter.

Cutting the steeks ...

I did it! My first ever steeks are cut open.

I decided to add the securing stitches with my sewing machine, stitch length at 1mm--very small indeed. My steeks were 7 stitches wide making the 4th stitch the middle one--the one that would get cut. To keep things clear in my mind, I ran a piece of white yarn up this stich so there could be no mistaking where I would cut.



I ran 2 lines of machine stitching up and down the 3rd and 5th stitches thereby isolating the impending cut. Since I wanted the feed dogs on my sewing machine to create a consistent 1mm stitch length, I didn't want to lower them out of the way, therefore I placed a sheet of tissue between the feed dogs and the knitting so the knitting wouldn't get tangled in the feed dogs which could end in disaster.



All set for the first line of stitching:



The back side after the 2 lines of stitching. The lines are quite close to each other:



That made it a small task to remove the tissue from between the lines. Tweezers and a porcupine quill did the job:



The machine sewing all in place:



Let the cutting begin!



I used my left hand to ensure that I was only cutting the fabric I wanted cut. I read that some people place a piece of cardboard under the cutting area to make sure it's the only layer to get the scissors, but I trusted my hand better.

With all 3 steeks finished, I laid out the vest and pinned down the yoke so I could get a better look:



All that remains is sewing up the shoulders and knitting the collar band and armhole bands. I discovered that I don't have enough of the dark brown which I used for the waist band to do the yoke bands! I thought I might get some more brown wool and spin it, but I have plenty of spun up white wool so this evening I dyed some of it brown. I didn't have brown dye but with a little testing I discovered that burgandy mixed with half as much teal and a smidge of burnt umber makes a nice deep brown. That yarn is now drying and I should be able to start the final bands this week.

Fall foliage ...

I took a quick trip up to the mountains this afternoon. I intended to go the craft fair in Lincoln but as I approached the exit from the highway I could see the traffic backed up all the way onto the highway and it was not moving. Very crowded. So I decided not to stop and drove by, deciding to head on up to Littleton to do a bit of antiquing instead.

The foliage is turning now. Lot's of beautiful color up in Franconia/Sugar Hill past the notch. Franconia Notch, itself, was clocked in fog but north and south of it was clear.

This sure is a vibrantly colorful time of year. Some pics from the road I take to Rumney (Halls Brook Road), some pics from the notch and points north, and a few pics from the back yard:

My road leading to Rumney (Halls Brook Road):



The Notch and Franconia--all ablaze:



Pics from the back and front yard. The flower is a Japanese Anemone, one of my favorite fall flowers.:

Steeked ...

Work on the stranded vest continues, it has been knitting up nicely. Ever so satisfying to knit with my own handspun yarn as always. I have noticed some unbalanced yarn slipping through my fingers which leaves me with mixed feelings. I love the look it creates--lots of character, but it makes knitting a little harder because of the extra twist. I think a good hot soak after I'm done knitting will relax the fibers a bit more.

I am employing "steeks" in this vest for my first time ever. I've never done them before. To "steek" means to cut, I believe. When knitting in the round, as I am doing on this vest, 7 extra stitches were cast on across each armhole (after the underarm stitches were placed on a holder for later) and 7 extra stitches were cast on across the v-neck opening. When I am done knitting, I will sew a line of stitches with needle and thread along both sides of the center stitch in each of these steeks. Then I will take a scissors and cut ("to steek") right down the center stitch, opening up the armholes and v-neck. The 3.5 stitch flaps will get turned in and stitched down inside the vest.

Steeks allow the entire vest to be knitted as one tube, whereas without steeks, the back and left- and right- front sides would each have to be knitted back and forth once the underarm has been reached. Knitting in the round is so much easier when doing stranded work. An ingenious idea and I'm thankful to the person who thought of it.

It won't be long before the knitting is finished. In this picture the steeks make the top part look narrower than it really is because the v-neck and arm holes are being pulled in by the steeks.