A Vintage Vest --- Three Years in the Making

I started knitting this almost 3 years ago.  It went in fits and starts. By August 2009, I'd finished it  - except that the edging bands were too puckery and tight.  It sat in my bag until I contracted the "Finishitupitis" that the Yarn Harlot talked about in a recent post.   I unpicked the bands, and cast off again on much larger needles.  Now the bands are flat.  I've worn this several times already. It's very lightweight, but oh-so-warm!  Unfortunately I've had a hard time getting good pictures of it.  I tried some pictures with me wearing it, but they kept on coming out too dark.  The pattern is Valley Yarns Vintage Vest available at Webs, and the yarn is Valley Yarns Alpaca Silk.  You can also get the pattern for free on Ravelry. I used perhaps a little more than half of the cone.  (I think the pattern is also in one of the

Midway Through

It's not much past mid-day and I think I have finally finished all the have-to's on the list I made yesterday. I didn't sleep very late (6:30 am) but it's an 1.75 hrs longer than during the school week. I spent the better part of the morning getting the business checkbook balanced, and I finished off the morning with grading papers and analyzing assessment data. I had wanted to make it to church but the timing was off. At the time I had to leave, I was on a roll, and knew that if I interrupted it, I'd lose too much ground. I've compensated by playing some sacred music and plan on heading out to the porch in a few minutes to ponder the lectionary for today.


I also hope to take some time later to pursue a new "addiction." I recently started researching my husband's genealogy. My family tree is well-researched on my maternal side, at least back to 1632 when the earliest members of her family arrived in the New World, and while I'd like to tackle my father's side, most of his records are in Cuba or Spain, not exactly accessible at the moment. My husband's family will be challenging. His father emigrated in 1920 from a Jewish town in what is now the Ukraine. In 1908, when his father was born, the town was in Austria. We have found the passenger manifest that lists his father, grandmother, and an aunt. We've also found at least 2 instances of his grandfather's trips across the Atlantic - once in 1900 and again in 1911. It's really fascinating and addicting. It's a bit like untangling a knotted skein of yarn. You find one end and follow it for a while, and then you get stuck and have to find another way through.

And of course, I want to get back to knitting my Vintage Vest which has been feeling lonely this past week or so. I've been too tired to knit when I've finally had some free time. While it's not a hard pattern, it is lace and I need a focused mind when I knit lace. So, after some quiet time on the porch, I will either research or knit. . . .