Machrihanish Bound

I had a bit of time to devote to knitting this weekend, and I've made some progress to share with you on the Machrihanish vest.

Major patterning is done! The reason this looks like a sack right now is that the arm hole and neck steeks have yet to be cut. Once the neck steek is cut, it will expand to be more vest-shaped. I'm actually looking forward to the cutting part. It used to be intimidating. It's till a sobering thought -- cutting knit stitches -- but no longer panic-inducing. As mentioned earlier, I will be reinforcing the cut edge with crocheted chains as the designer, Kate Davies shows on her web site.

I'm a little concerned about fit. It's measuring a bit smaller than my gauge led me to believe. But, it's also hard to judge while the garment is still bound up with the steeks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that cutting and a good soaking will help with that.

I was hoping I could get this finished before a planned trip to Denver next,week, but I don't think I'll be quite finished by then. I might be able to get the steeks cut, but I don't think I'll have the neck and arm ribbing done. And before I can do any of that, I need to make sure the ends are woven in around the first steek. I had temporary knots tied in the ends to maintain tension while working, but now I need to undo all of those and work the ends back in. Tedious, but necessary. Can't wait for this to be finished!