Pre-steek

I can't quite call this finished yet. Simply the beginning of the end. This is the vest pre-steeking, from the front. You can see the long rows of steek stitches that will form the v-neck once cut. There are small holes at top where the neck and armholes will be after their steeks are cut. What look like pointy ears are actually where I've done the three-needle bind-off at the shoulders.

It looks doubly strange since I have it over a trash can. I wanted to be able to show where the armpit holes are, too. This is a strange piece of knitting.

A detail of the innards.
Another shot of the insides.

I guess these can be considered the "before" shots.

SnB

The Finger

Are there thimbles for knitters? If so, I need to find one. Check out this knitting injury. It might not look like much but it hurts a lot -- a callus that's split open and is now, I think, infected underneath.

Infection or not, it's going to slow down my progress on the vest.

Knitting is not for sissies.

Getting There. . .

Slowly but surely I'm getting there. Just a few more rows for the shoulder and neck and then I'll be good to go.


I'm afraid it's going to be too small. I'll block the crap out of it but even so, it's going to be snug. Perhaps it'll be motivation to trim a few pounds by next winter when vest season rolls around again.


This is a great project. I just might knit another one. If the steeking goes as planned.

To Be Continued. . .

doggone vest

Slowly but surely my vest is coming along. I'm just now about to start the rows with the steeks. It's really addictive and gratifying. My seam area (especially where the color changes occur) is kind of lumpy. I'm hoping blocking will reduce some of that unevenness.


I wish I could figure out how to post these images side by side so you could see how I'm doing my colors. The panel directly below is based on Dean-O's coloring, and the one at the bottom is trying to capture Cecil's mottled color on his shoulders. The band of color I'm about to begin will have a dark ground with lighter design motifs. We'll see how it goes. I'm prepared to do some ripping out if it doesn't look good.




I love my dogs and I'm loving this vest.