FO: 45 and Rainy Vest; and a belly pic stretches my tanktop

Yes, I really did eventually finish my vest, "45 and Rainy" (pattern is "70 and Sunny"). I've worn it a couple of times to work, and it does what I want - adds a nice warm layer to thinner shirts in the office (unfortunately, most of the cute button-down shirts I planned to wear it over are, well, not so much buttoning any more!). The pattern was very nice, easy to follow, and went fairly quickly since we're talking bulky wool (and silk).

But. I chose a slightly larger size than I might have if I hadn't discovered I was pregnant about a week before casting on. This was not a bad idea - but the sari silk I chose also was much bigger than the suggested yarn/gauge (maybe super-bulky?) and ended up pulling down the front. I have to assume that the pattern author's sari silk yarn, from Artfibers (not Knitpicks as I incorrectly wrote originally), is both better quality and more uniform (mine went thin-to-super-thick).

And I think the huge-ness of the silk is what's making me dissatisfied with the eyelet closure - it's really pulling at the front sides (though I do have plenty of ease at my back thanks to the generous sizing). I guess the individual stitches of the silk want to stretch out, rather than pulling the whole garment in. Picture demonstrating this is to the right.

But, but, but... it won't be too long before I'll just wear it open anyway, and like I said, it has been a useful layer, at least over that particular shirt which is pretty thin cotton.

By the way, these pictures were taken by the rosebushes in the interests of having a record of how they looked just a few weeks after pruning. It will be neat to document them growing as I grow!

And speaking of growing... we thought it was time to start taking some belly pictures :D. I don't really have a "before" picture (somehow it felt like it would jinx things to take one the week we found out), but I do have my tank top FO pics from last July. So I figured to start out, I'd put
tank top back on and take a picture.



Now, keep in mind, I'm pretty sure that a worsted-weight, tight-fitting, cabled garment adds at least 4 weeks to a pregnancy. I don't look nearly so huge in somewhat loose clothes (see vest pics)! This was taken at 17weeks 2 days.

One more thing - Sasha also appreciates the vest, especially when I've thrown it on top of the couch. I don't blame her - wool and silk are a nice, warm, cat-friendly combination!