May I have a moment of your time?  I’d like to alert you to the fact that I have knitted a garment!  A piece of clothing that I might wear out of the house!  This is a landmark moment for me, please be upstanding.  Or, if you read blogs when I read blogs, try to keep these words in focus as you lay exhausted in your bed at the end of the day and endeavour to catch up with your crafty friends by squinting, sleepy-eyed at the screen of your phone.  Don’t smart phones hurt when they slip from your grasp and clock you right on the conk* ?  Just me?

What?

What is the name of the pattern that has tempted me to commit to knitting something other than an accessory? Well, it’s, are you ready for this?  It’s a truly memorable moniker.  The pattern is… ‘118-13 Waistcoat in “Muskat with patterned rib border‘.  I know.  Whilst I tire a little of the ‘pattern-with-a-female-first-name‘ thing ‘118-13 Waistcoat in “Muskat with patterned rib border‘ doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue.  Looking at the company (DROPS design)’s website I can see why they’ve adopted a numerical system, they appear to produce patterns on an industrial scale.

With the formal identification out of the way and as I am in the company of friends, I hope that we no longer need to stand on ceremony.  From now on we can refer to her as my Wensleydale Waistcoat.  Not just because I’m a sucker for gratuitous alliteration but because she’s made from Wensleydale Wool.

How?

How did I find it?  Well, the pattern was pretty easy to follow with both written instructions and charts.  The waistcoat is knitted from the bottom up in one piece.  You make the button holes and the button band as you go and the only seaming needed is the front to the back at the shoulders.   There were enough changes of pattern and pace to stop me getting bored and not so much that I got lost and gave up.  The giving up is quite likely given how slow I am at knitting, I need to see shape and results pretty quickly.

Look at this:

This is my first attempt at blocking.

What again?

‘What’ again?  What does it look like on me?  Oh, well, it’s very cropped and snug even after I blocked it.  Really, given it’s promo pic, I should be wearing this when I have cause to waft dreamily about my local sandy beach.  At the very least I could don a fabulous, floral frock and hope that I capture the essence of the queen of killer knitwear – Bernadette from The Big Bang Theory.

What we actually have in terms of modelled images is me in me thermals making do with the camera and timer in a few square feet of sunlight.  I climbed into the border for you guys!

I will at some point update my Ravely notes.  Until then, you have the most up to the minute info. right here.

Happy Tuesday one and all!

*nose, what were you thinking?