Moebius sweater???

This was a very tough work week for me.....no need for elaboration, but a time when knitting therapy is in order.  Knitting is a form of meditation for me.  The repetitive movement, the tactile sense of the yarn as it slides though my fingers and the bamboo needles on my palms.  I feel tension slide away as the rows increase....I love the fibers.  This is a 75% viscose and 25% linen from Classic Elite Yarns called 'Firefly'  www.classiceliteyarns.com/.  

I took French in school and always thought that 'viscose' was the French word for 'rayon' so why does it say 'viscose and linen'?  So, I looked it up....

Apparently, viscose is the base material used to make rayon - (you can skip the next paragraph if the chemistry of it is unimportant to you;  with a background in science, I like this stuff!) From Wikipedia:


At first wood pulp is dissolved in caustic soda and after steeping it for a specified period of time it is shredded and allowed to age. Aging contributes to viscosity of viscose. The longer the ageing time the less viscosity it will have. The aged pulp is then treated with carbon disulfide to form a yellow-colored cellulose xanthate, which is dissolved in caustic soda again, but of a lower concentration. This is the starting stage of viscose formation. During the process an acetate dope is added to alkali cellulose which is necessary for the yarn lustre.


Anyway, as you probably know, linen is an ancient fiber make from flax plants.  Viscose is really rayon...maybe it sounds cooler to say 'viscose' rather than 'rayon'.  But it's a beautiful kind of DK weight yarn at 6 stitches/inch on a #5 needle.  I bought it at the  Knit 'n Knibble, my favorite LYS (local yarn store).   The owner, Caroline Kerr is very helpful and showed me this beautiful new yarn.  Yummy!!

Anyway, I realized in my furry to resolve my anxiety through yarn therapy that I broke the cardinal rule of knitting in the round;  I twisted my stitches!! AHHHHH!  But, not to worry....I'd gone quite a way when I realized it so I decided rather than frog it and start again, I'll steek it when I'm done!!  (if you knit you know steeking is cutting the fabric;  sounds horrible to a knitter and  I've never done it, but have read about it.  Good time to try it, eh?)   There are no mistakes in knitting!   Just another chance to learn something new!  I'd probably be best off to use that as a metaphor for life;  there are no mistakes - just more chances to learn.  (This is NOT a missive about good and evil...those forces DO exist)  Anyway, I digress...

So, I'll post the pic of this moebius sweater  when it's de-moebied.  But in the mean time, the meditation and the realization about life's lessons were profound in this sometimes nutty world.  Thank God for yarn and my grandmother, who taught me to knit!

Japanese Cotton Vest

 I bought this wonderful Japanese Cotton at Britex, one of my favorite fabric haunts in San Francisco.  The pattern fabric is a collage of different traditional Japanese patterns;  the navy sides and lining, are a high quality navy cotton, also from Britex.  It is so dense
that it wrinkles minimally.

I decided to showcase the fabric just in front and back panels - allover is a LOT of pattern.

I wanted to make something that was  highly wearable in our Florida heat.  This could conceivably be worn alone,
although I like a T-shirt underneath.

I used the 'Easy Silhouette Vest Pattern' (IJ730) from Indygo Junction.  It is fully lined with the navy cotton, except for the front facings which of course, are patterned since they show up as the lapels.

Although the pattern does not suggest it, my training told me to interface the front section and the collar using a light fusible interfacing.  I used two snaps for closure as I didn't think it needed any more detail from a button.

I made bias tape from the plain navy fabric to face the armholes.  I have a Simplicity Bias Tape Maker, which seems like 'just another sewing gadget' but is very handy for these kinds of projects (and particularly if you need to make yards of quilt binding).  By binding the armholes this way, also, I could put right sides together, sew all around the periphery, (except the shoulder seoams) and turn it right-side out and handsew the remaining seams.  I always have to think pretty hard about how to sew in lining like that;  I usually end up ripping out at least one seam when I can't completely turn it right-side out!

I've worn the vest several times and enjoy it.  I love unique fabrics, and I think this qualifies!