Vivian 2 and Elijah

The zipper install on Vivian 2 didn't take quite so long as I thought it would.  LA's heat wave abated, and I forced myself to really buckle down and work on it.  After a few days of diligent work, the zipper was in, with a layer of grosgrain over it.  It was cool enough that I wore it yesterday, and though I had some problems with itchiness during the first fittings, it felt great.  I've mentioned my problem with itchiness in the past on this blog, and though I've gotten a little better with age, it's no coincidence that the itchiest things in my wardrobe get worn the least.  I was discouraged when I first felt itchiness during the knitting process, but I'm happy to report that I wore it all day yesterday with no complaints.  I suspect the blocking helped.

Vivian number two finally finished, originally uploaded by rubychan4.

Of course, you can't see the zipper and grosgrain very well in the photo, but we can chalk that up to my armshot skills.  Trust me, they are there.

I can also report definitively on the mods.  I love the added length in the body.  I really hate when bits of skin pop out between the top of a skirt or pair of pants and the bottom of a top, and as a result, I generally like my tops on the long side.  Even halfway down my butt is better than exposing muffin tops.  The first Vivian was a good length, but not great.  I often found myself tugging at the bottom hem to make it lower, and I reminded myself of that as I slogged through that extra repeat on Vivian 2.  I also like the ultra-fitted sleeves on Vivian, and I think they're quite flattering.  But I think they're impractical if I want to wear an extra layer, and jewelry and watches become problematic.  The same goes for the length.  Mid-palm is great for the cozy factor, but they get in the way more often than not.  I will, however, report that the modified length is a bit odd.  They are a little short of the wrist, and fall maybe a half inch or so above it.  If I did it again, I'd make the sleeves about an inch longer.  And though I made a lot of modifications to enlarge the hood on the first, I made more on this one.  This hood looks relatively good, although I almost never pull the hood up, so it's really just decoration.  But good decoration.

Back to the backlog.  I mentioned before that I didn't knit very much in the end of 2009 and the beginning of 2010.  Thinking back, I don't really know why, and I suppose I was trying to minimize my yarn purchases and concentrate on school.  I did, however, make Elijah.  At the time, I thought knitting stuffies would be a good way to get my hands in a new yarn and get a feel for it without committing to something big.  I was living in Tokyo at the time, and I misunderstood the yarn label and brought home fingering, or even laceweight instead of DK.  I think I even tricked my eyes into thinking it was DK.  I had had enough of lace after the summer of 2009, and with the yarn I had bought, a shawl's worth would cost more than I wanted to spend.  And I hadn't found a good new DK-weight yarn.  Still, I had wanted to make Elijah, and it was a fun, easy project, so I went ahead and made it.  It was a good project, and I have a lot of respect for Ysolda for designing it without seams (and for a well-written pattern!).  Not easy with a stuffie.

Finished Elijah, originally uploaded by rubychan4.

Elijah, sitting, originally uploaded by rubychan4.

There is more to come, but it has just come to my attention that some of the backlog has not yet been photographed.  Coming soon: fingering-weight gloves, and another vest for my mom.