I started this sweater well over a year ago, and was going great guns on it until I got within a single repeat of finishing the back. At that point, I started making some mistakes, nothing I hadn’t made before, but now I found myself not caring. I decided it was time to take a break before I screwed up a gorgeous pattern.

The starting of the sweater was something of a saga in itself. Because of the cables, and the need to re-size, and the fact that I was using a slightly heavier yarn, I knew that I’d need a darn good swatch. I cast on the full pattern for the back minus the edging stitches, did two repeats of the main cable pattern, and ended up with a nice big swatch.

Then I washed it.

It grew 3 inches.

You can see the difference in the first picture, which is the back of the sweater (cast on post-swatch-blocking so it’s the right size, never fear) and the washed swatch on top. You can see how dramatically the cables have bloomed in the swatch, so the swatch is almost the width of the un-blocked back with its 16 extra stitches.

The moral of this story is that even when one is not the type of person who is usually so diligent about washing and blocking swatches, one can always learn that it’s a good idea.

I wish I could remember when I quit using a needle to do cable stitches. I suspect it had something to do with the fish blanket and the 1x1 traveling stitches along the little gills. Whenever it happened, I’m pretty sure that this project was when I officially quit.

What I’m talking about is a method of doing all the cable twists and crosses without using an extra needle. Instead, I slip stitches using my working needles and rearrange them without having to carry around another needle. It’s something I taught myself to do, but I’ve heard that there are now several good books and tutorials on how to do it. I highly recommend it as a technique, so much so that I’ve even done a little photo-tutorial set. You can find it on my Flickr account as the Cabling Without a Cable Needle set

I’ve now picked up the sweater again, after an eightteen-month hiatus. I finished the back in an afternoon, which gives you an idea of how close I was when I laid it aside. I’m working on the front now, and we’ll see how far i get this time. I doubt if I’ll finish it before it gets too warm to wear this year, but there’s always next winter.

Update, July 2013: It’s finished! I don’t have pictures right now, but after the last bout of working on the sweater it was all done but the sleeves and finishing. Since then, I quit knitting for several years, partly due to a torn ligament that required surgery, and partly due to other health issues. But I’ve picked up my needles again, and two weeks ago I picked up the sweater and finished it at last. I’m very pleased with the results, and astonished that it came out looking like it was supposed to, despite my having to adapt the pattern for my fuller figure. I’m very excited, and I can’t wait for it to get cold enough to wear.