9/20
Selected buttons from the huge button stash--that took awhile! Finished the button band, sewed on the buttons and re-blocked the whole thing. I blocked it a bit bigger this time as the sweater seemed pretty fitted. It is now drying (this much wool will take awhile, I think!) and once it is dry I will model for pictures. I love it!!!!! Starting another, different version of custom fit this weekend!

9/7
Marsha arrives at the end of this week and she is bringing her finished Acorn Trail. I got inspired and got my second sleeve finished and seamed it up. The seaming class instructions worked perfectly and my seams turned out great! I wove in some of the ends and will soon be picking up to do the neck and front bands.

8/28
I’m back to work on the sweater after a baby knitting binge. Back and one front have been done for awhile. I am now on the sleeve and have knitted up to the sleeve cap shaping. They seem a little tight, but the measurements are correct. I think that the washing relaxes the knitting quite a bit. I will wash and block sleeve 1 before I start sleeve 2. Goal is to have this finished by end of September.

6/2
Last weekend (5/25) I finished the back and washed and blocked it. As with the swatch, the yarn is so much nicer once it is washed. I used very hot water and a little swishing around. Coned yarns are so lifeless off the cone and even though I washed the yarn in the skein, the washing of the piece is really necessary.
This weekend, I worked the right front up to the sleeve. The front is easier than the back since there is one less cable pattern. This is going really quickly!

5/21
Finished the second repeat of the pattern on the back. It is a fun pattern to knit.

5/17
Got the pattern from Monarch Knitting yesterday. This LYS takes measurements and inputs them so you can buy your pattern from the shop. Thanks kstone for your help with measuring and getting our patterns!

Wound yarn this morning and will be casting on within minutes! I’m a little intimidated by the 16 page pattern, but once I get going I think I will be able to see how it all fits together. I’m pretty sure I don’t really need all those pages, but there is a lot of information in there!

Background:
The yarn is a Harris Tweed replica, complete with kemp. (I suppose it could be actual Harris Tweed, but I doubt it.) I bought it from a weaver’s estate. It’s a singles and I will be holding it double. The yarn came in cones and I wound it into skeins and washed it with VERY hot water to remove the oil used in weaving yarn cones. The yarn is very different once it is washed.

My vision is the kind of sweater that mature British ladies wear while puttering about in the garden. The yarn should wear like iron so I plan to still have it when I am 90 and doing my own puttering in the garden!

PS keeping my notes in reverse chronological order to correspond with the photos (newest on top) at the request of my husband!