You want me to WHAT??!!?

This could also be titled "The great steek experiment." For a few months, I have been toying with a pattern that requires a steek for the neckline. A 'steek' is a section of stitches put into the pattern so that the piece can be continually knit in one piece (in the round or flat) with the purpose of sewing around them and cutting them later for a neckline or arm holes. It's done in stripe or fair isle type knitting so that one doesn't have to fuss so much with matching/continuing a pattern etc. It's also a very scary thing because you are putting your faith in four little machine stitched rows and praying to the fiber gods that those jokers are going to keep everything else in line. (Those of you that have dropped a stitch (or lots) that have laddered all the way to the selvedge edge know what I am talking about here.)

Anyway, I have been working on an original vest in a multicolored yarn that conspired to make its own color pattern as it was knit. Things were going great until I realized "It's not a pullover. You need an opening." Drat.
That one got "tinked" and I started thinking about how to get that same pattern with the ease of knitting in the round. Again and again, the steek looked like the way to go. It would also allow me to make a "V" shaped neck with a minimum of fuss. Laziness wins, I incorporated the steek allowance and off we go.

Now, everything is finished except for the steek. I will probably block it and sew in the holding stitches this afternoon. Depending on my nerves, it may get cut tonight. Or not. I'll post the pictures if I'm still steady enough to work the camera. :-)