What really attracted me to this sweater were the colors - salmon and red stripes. I tried the sample on in Purl Soho last summer and was quite taken with it. Habu fibers always intrigue me.

I cast on in September, and had made quite a bit of progress early in the fall, but then put the project aside for more winter knitting.

The pattern is well written, with attention to all the detail you need to know, especially making the gauge swatch. The gauge swatch is crucial to creating the correct size garment and you have to trust that swatch as you knit. There is quite a bit of relaxation that happens during the wet-block process. The unblocked sweater looks quite small but the fabric expands beautifully when blocked.

I love the sweater. Working with the silk Gima was hard on my hands though, because it is flat and stiff, with very little give. I had to manipulate the needles quite a bit which caused me some hand strain.

That said, I do like this and am glad to have made it.