Holiday Vest

I bought the Rowan book Tuscan Retreat a while back, containing a selection of designs based on the Holiday yarn. The yarn has been discontinued for a while and so I was able to buy up some cheaply to knit this Isabella vest
I tried to make the vest a little longer than in the pattern, but couldn't add too much length due to yarn shortages (there's not much leftover yarn in this one). The final length seems OK, it hangs just about level with the top of my belt on a fairly low-waisted pair of jeans, hardly a crop top. The pattern, once established is easy enough, although I had to start over several times before getting the 3rd row with the 'make one's correct. It's a little ambiguous about whether you should m1f or m1b, I decided that m1b is the intended stitch in the pattern and it seems to look correct. The decreases are a little tricky to do keeping the pattern correct, as the number of stitches changes in some rows, but with a little thinking and working out where to make your decreases it's not too bad. This was also my first time picking up stitches, not an easy feat on this pattern as it's hardly stocking stitch! I followed the pattern exactly, even though it seemed to give me too many stitches up the left side of the neck. Blocking helped to reduce the wrinkles, however, and you do need that stretch in the neckline when you wear it, so I am pretty pleased with the final result.