Finito!

I have actually finished a garment that is NOT a hat or scarf and that fits, and is wearable, and has gotten a few compliments! The mitered vest, with a few mods--- instead of knitting in a buttonhole, I sewed on a loop after it was done; I made the collar a bit shorter, and the vest itself a bit shorter, than the pattern. Because of the "open" nature of the yarn, I also crocheted a stabilizing line along the collar-to-body join and around the armholes, to prevent too much stretching. When I soaked it, I squished most of the water out with towels and then threw it into the dryer by itself, on low, to see if it would felt just a wee bit. In hindsight that was a horrible gamble, but... It came out just right, the drying made the fabric just a little firmer and denser, and stronger, without really shrinking it. On the downside, it also bloomed like crazy, which makes me look like a fuzzy bear wearing it. As soon as I had the button on, I wore it to the LYS on the pretext of buying yarn, to show it off. There are always a number of ladies knitting and hanging out there, and the response was totally gratifying; what was the yarn, what was the pattern, etc. etc.

Now I'm finishing up a capelet based on Paris Loop in a group of yarns (stash-eater), and a hat for a friend's little boy, and I still have those fingerless gloves for Andrea to do. The wonderfulness of knitting, that you never, ever run out of projects!