Jennyarn

With the generous support of numerous cats, I have been knitting with dogged
persistence. I’m pleased to have crossed a finish line. A vest for my Dad for
Father’s Day is now an FO!

The yarn used in the pattern was discontinued. I was glad to be able
to contact the designer, Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer, through Ravelry
to ask her opinion on what yarn I might use instead. Luck was on my
side; I was able to find sport weight Louet Gems on sale. Interestingly,
the yarn is made in South Africa.

Bijou & Oliver conduct softness and durability tests

My luck seemed to be dwindling as I waited and waited for the yarn
to arrive. I contacted the online shop and learned they had completely
forgotten about my order! While I appreciated the honesty, I couldn’t
help but be miffed that ‘my’ yarn was no longer available. Choosing a
yarn for a project is sometimes ridiculously involved; that was the case
with this one.

Bijou & Oliver help me join without twisting

While I’m mostly easy going and strive to be empathetic, once in a while
I am apt to write a scorching letter, calculated to acquaint people with their
incompetence. Being the daughter of a lawyer may bring this out in me.
Except then my inclination to do this subsided when I received an email
from that yarn company which ended with ‘God Bless You.’ While I have
no religious affiliation, I was somewhat taken aback by the sentiment and
it served to quell my upset. I thought I’d just revert to being nice and
understanding for a while.

The shop offered me the same yarn in a worsted weight which they
claimed was light for worsted and not so different from the sport weight.
Despite some qualms I opted for it. But all the knitting while, I was
concerned over the vest coming out too large. It did not!

This is a wonderful seamless pattern. While none of it was difficult
per se, the stitch pattern was fairly laborious for me. There are never
more than 3 consecutive knit stitches, and those were few and far
between. That was daunting at first yet it became easier as I was
able to get into a rhythm with the diamond patterning. I have become
quite agile with knitting through the back loop. When the knitting went
from rounds to rows, purling through the back loop was not my favorite
stitch but I’d like to think I’m better at it now.

Ribbed Diamonds Man’s Vest from HeartStrings FiberArts

I am hoping the vest will make for a special Father’s Day gift. Now I
am working on a hat to match.