This was actually my first completed knitting project of this year. Our weather finally warmed up enough that I was able to wear my new sweater on Easter yesterday. This free “Leaf Top” pattern is from Bernat. I found it on the Bernat Web site:

http://www.bernat.com/pattern.php?PID=5010

I used 7 balls of some Turkish yarn that I purchased at Big Lots for $1. each. The label says “Mixed Fiber: Acrylic, Polyester and Nylon”. But I gave it the burn test, and it’s definitely almost all cotton. Might have a tiny bit of Rayon in it as well. I followed the pattern for the most part, making the “medium” size, since I have broad shoulders and like my clothes to fit on the loose side. It’s a quick, top-down pattern, knitted in the round which we all love, right? I see that a few others have made this same top such as this ¾-length sleeve version by Jeanne:

http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-36726-1.html

Jeanne and I seem to have very similar taste. She suggested shaping the waist a bit which was my only variation from the pattern. Below the sleeves, I gradually decreased about 7 stitches down to the waist. After that, I gradually increased to the original amount of stitches down to the bottom. This gives a more hourglass shape to the sweater.

Hope you all had a SPLENDID Easter Sunday! Denny and I spent the afternoon and evening with about 40 family members and some friends. I was cooking and washing dishes for much of the morning. It was a wonderful, sunny day here in the San Francisco Bay Area. That’s my Mom in the picture with me taken on Easter Sunday.

For more information on this sweater:

http://www.knittingparadise.com/t-73433-1.html#1342017