A spencer for Christmas

I've been very busy with rehearsals with De Nederlandse Opera but have found time to fit in a bit of knitting here and there in the evenings. For Christmas I wanted to make a sleeveless pullover (or spencer in Nederlandse taal). I used a lovely sock yarn in wool/alpaca mix which I bought from Schouten Handwerken, Hoorn. It only took two and a bit balls of 100g so it was a cheap and quick knit! The yarn is so soft, and I've already washed it to settle the stitches and seams and is now even softer and kept its shape well. It's from a 1950's pattern that I purchased from ebay so is shorter than a modern fit (23 1/2 inches) so you need to wear a pair of high-waisted trousers with this one.

My Mum will be happy that I'm so well dressed on Christmas day!

The front is in basket stitch and the back is in plain stocking stitch

The finished neckline and the collar under construction.

I was really chuffed with the arm bands and the collar. I worked out the maths to make certain that the ribbing was even and my picked-up stitches are the neatest I've done to date. It's very satisfying to see a continuing development in my knitting skills.

Next on my knit list is another pair of gloves (almost finished glove number one) and then a pair of fair-isle socks using the remainder of the yarn from this sweater with a bright red sock yarn! Oh, and a spencer in navy blue merino sock yarn for my lovely model and husband.

Keep knitting and Happy Christmas :-)