Celtic Seas Vest coming into its own!

I have been busily knitting away on the back of the vest which I have christened Celtic Seas, and last night I bound off the shoulders.

To wit:


I am very happy with it so far. It seems like the size is going to be right, and the colors and texture are really pleasing. I soaked it in cool water for a few moments and then blocked it. When it got wet, it emitted a rather alarming odor (wet dog? wet sheep??) But once it dried, the smell was gone. So the moral of that is, don't wear this in the rain! However, dampening it did soften the texture nicely. The yarn as it comes off the skein is rather earthy and primitive feeling, but it settles down some as you handle it while knitting and it settles down even more when it's been wet blocked.

I also really like the textured stitch pattern:



It took me a while to fully understand the pattern. The book calls it "box stitch," but I prefer another term: double moss stitch. It's basically

KK PP KK PP KK
KK PP KK PP KK
PP KK PP KK PP
PP KK PP KK PP

But you need to start on the second row rather than the first in order to get it to come out right. And you alternate between knitting the purls and knitting the knits:

KK (knit the knits)
KK (knit the purls)
PP (purl the knits)
PP (purl the purls)

And you need to cast on a multiple of 4 plus 2 extra.

But it makes a nice flat fabric which is exactly the same on both sides, and which has an interesting amount of texture. I'm thinking of trying it on a dish-cloth in cotton to see how the texture works for that. It seems basically kind of "scrubby."

So now I've cast on the first front side, but I realize that the self-striping will turn out completely different. Even on the back, when I decreased for the arm-holes, the width of the stripes changed noticeably. But that is the nature of the yarn, so I am determined not to let it bother me. I really like the way it subtly changes colors. It took me 3 weeks to make the back, and the fronts should take maybe a little less, if I don't get confused and have to spend time figuring things out again. Ha.

Kristen goes back to Chicago tomorrow around noon. We had a great time while she was home. And she ordered Cash-soft yarn online at a great discount and had it shipped to Chicago, so when she gets back, she will have a go at knitting a sweater. She found out her grades today, and she had an A, A- and B+, which was better than feared, so she can once again go back a happy camper. Spring term is sure to be more enjoyable than winter term was.