16 Oct 11: I sewed the buttons on while Owen ate lunch, then he wore the sweater to the park. WIN.

If I were to make this sweater again, I’d leave more stitches live at the underarms before working the yoke, so it’s not so much of a damn nightmare to knit those first few yoke rounds.

Also, my row gauge may have been off, but if it’s not the next time around, I’ll shorten the yoke a little. There’s too much of it the way I made it – not so much that the sweater’s unwearable, but enough that I wish I’d eliminated about three or four rounds.

5 Oct 11: I ran out of the Cashsoft Chunky just a few rows short of the end, so switched to the contrast colour for the last few rows of the yoke. I thought it might look ridiculous, but it doesn’t. PHEW.

Also, I gotta say, this round-yoke construction in a sweater this size is a ripe-old pain in the arse. I’d have ripped it out had I not had Alexa at my elbow pushing through the parts where you have to force the sleeves onto the body. From now on, I’ll either do one-piece baby sweaters from the top down, or I’ll piece ‘em.

3 Oct 11: After a few months in hibernation, I’m itching to finish this sweater. Alas, my Addi clicks keep coming apart! So first I must swap out the faulty needle.

22 March 11: I have four balls of the Cashsoft Chunky, and want to use them before Owen gets too big! So I dug up the half skein of Sirdar Denim Chunky to use as a contrast colour, and will hopefully have enough yarn to make this sweater in the 12-month size. Since I’m using stash yarn and really don’t want to buy more, I’m not doing the dog intarsia pattern. Just a simple cardigan.