Final final update, 8/28/10:

Picture #5 is from the thrilled recipient herself. :-)

Final update: 8/6/10:

She got it & she loves it! Yay!

I’m definitely going to make one for myself. This is a great, easy pattern for an elegant result…I’m going to go through swatching hell again, but that just seems to be a me-issue, so whatever. It’s worth it.

I’m going to try a modification to the back on mine: I’m thinking of a reverse pleat in the center back, to allow the volume of the top to move around a little more…whether I do it will depend on the thickness of the yarn I use, probably.

:-)

Update: 7/29/2010:
It’s blocking! Woo hoo!
I ended up following the pattern more closely, to finish, except I did widen the pockets out to 6” at the base, by adding in a few extra increase rounds. I also did a three needle bind-off, to attach the fronts, and then just did a little sewing at the edges to neaten it up.

All that’s left is to put the buttons on, and tack down the pocket flaps.
:-)
And then, pop it in the mail for Erika!

(I also did a provisional cast-on for the i-cord fastener, so I’d have less sewing to do: it worked out well. I just bound off all the stitches, alternating side to side. It made a nice detail on the figure-8 bow.)

Update: 7/25/2010
So I got all the way down to the ribbing before I thought to try it on: too big. It’s roomy on me, and I outweigh the recipient by a good 20 pounds, and have much wider shoulders than she does, too. So I ripped back to the sleeves, and omitted the 6 cast on stitches beneath each arm, and I think the fit is much better. (She’s small, but has a large-ish chest, which is hard for me to estimate, since I’m pretty much the opposite.)

I’m also going to do more increases on the lower section, because the 5.25 inch wide pocket feels a little too shallow. I think 6.25 -6.5 will do nicely.
I considered binding the bottom edges together before doing the bottom ribbing, instead of stitching them together and think that it’s the right way to go…I wasn’t sure about having a doubled lower front edge, and want to see if this will work out better. It might, it might not.

Start: 7.22.2010
I had a hellish time getting gauge with this pattern: I ended up trying 3 different yarns & 4 different needle sizes. This is where I ended up: Aran weight yarn + size 4 needle was closest to the 20-stitch+30-rows = 4 inches gauge. The DK yarns I tried came up much too small, even with the recommended needle size. And with the size 4 needle & Aran yarn, I was at least able to get the 2 stitches = 4 inches dead on, and could work out the number of rows as I went.
So, I’m casting on now, and we’ll see what happens!
Besides, it’s something to do while I get over catching Lyme disease, yuck