The Clock Has Started on the Clock Vest

I had been wanting to start another vest for about a month, ever since the yarn arrived, but kept putting it off in order to finish other projects. The pattern is called "Clock Vest" and it's from Cheryl Oberle's "Folk Vests." When finished it should look like this --

In a weak moment – wide awake in the middle of the night – I surrendered to temptation and cast on. This is what the vest looks like right now –

I'm on row 11 and I've already contrived to make a major mistake, which required the tinking of an entire row (212 stitches). The error? I mistook a 2/1 purl cross for a 2/2 purl cross. Lesson learned. One should review an extremely complicated pattern before launching into the knitting.

The clock vest pattern has five charts. Each chart includes 1/1, 2/1, and 2/2 crosses, which may be variously left or right, knit or purl – 12 possibilities in all. To add to the challenge, the charts are small, two or three to a page, and purls are indicated by shading. Enlarging the charts makes the lines easier to read, but messes with the shading.

The yarn used in the pattern is Schoolhouse Press Quebecoise. And that's what I'm using. It's quite an interesting yarn. Something between a DK and worsted weight, rather hairy and sticky (in a good way), and lightly two-plied.

The whole process feels odd. Knitting exactly to the pattern without a single modification and using exactly the yarn called for by the pattern – I'm not sure I've ever done that before.