Aleita Shell in Progress

Aleita Shell in Progress

Here’s my progress on the Aleita Shell.  I’m making the 36″ size and I’m hoping it fits.  My gauge, I confess, wasn’t exactly spot on but I decided to go for it and I’m slightly concerned it’s going to be too small.  I’m hoping the wonders of blocking and the distortion of being smushed on a circular needle prove me wrong.  (If I wasn’t quite so lazy, I might put it on some scrap yarn and give it a whirl, but I guess I haven’t reached that level of concern.) 

I’ve never been a vest wearer and I promise I’d look terrible wearing one the traditional way — over a white, long-sleeved button-down.  But I’ve seen several cute versions of this vest on Ravelry worn with a t-shirt — and I think I can pull that off.  Again, I’m crossing my fingers that my instincts are correct here. 

The yarn is Knit Picks’s new DK City Tweed in the color chipmunk, a soft brown which should look good over a white or black t-shirt.  Here’s the yarn up close on the ball…

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…and knit up:

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By the way in the top photo above, do you see the thin pink yarn hanging down?  That’s my lifeline.  Even though I’m now an advanced knitter, I remain a devoted user of lifelines, even for simple stockinette-stitch pieces.  When I have that insurance policy, I knit with a bit more abandon, a lot more confidence.  It’s worth the minute or two it takes to establish it.  With knitting as a frequent metaphor for life, I’ve often considered the other kinds of lifelines I rely on.  First that comes to mind is my kind, stable husband.  But I know I have others.  I’ll keep pondering…and knitting.