I chose the make the large size based on the final measurements. It will fit better for the sleeves & have room to fit over my studly rocking guns & since it’s very drapey any extra length will be ok.

7/13 - I had an extremely stressful day today. Devon had been having a hard time & he didn’t want to stop playing the PS3 so I went into my bedroom, laid back on my bed & watched the thunderstorm roll in over the mountains. I was so relaxed & enjoying myself so much after a few hours I had almost 6” knit! I knit through the entire first skein of Lago. I only picked up a couple skeins since I really like the yarn but didn’t know what I was going to do with it. I’ll stop by colorful yarns & out the rest on hold now that I know what kind of yardage I’ll need.

7/17 - I finally got to colorful yarns & picked up 6 skeins then put 6 more on hold. I already knitted through the first two skeins & halls way through the third. Now I have more yarn!

7/18 - Finished the third skein this morning at Stella’s while drinking coffee. Knitted though most of the forth on the way to & from a client’s office while riding in the car, for once I wasn’t driving! I’ve now hit 20” (really with at least an extra inch over) so it’s time to start the sleeves!

8/3 - Totally messed up the second sleeve. I lost the paper pattern I was working from & couldn’t remember what size I was working off of. I think I used the medium size for the sleeve count then knit across the entire back. It’s not a big deal, that just makes the back a few inches shorter, which I’m ok with. But it threw me off when I got to the second sleeve. Plus somehow I may have gotten backwards or something because I did the stitch count opposite (I did the short part at the bottom not the top so the sleeve hole was near the bottom). Plus being off on the stitch count I ended up completely ripping out the sleeve & doing it all over again. It looks much better now & fits well too. Now to just finish the second half of the sea of stocking stitch!

8/11 - Got about half way through the second front! I need to go get the rest of the yarn, I only have one more skein left! I had 15 on hold all together at Colorful Yarns. Plus I’d like to get this done at some point in the near future before it gets too cold to wear.

9/22 - Picked up 3 more skeins during Yarn Across the Rockies 2013! Have four more on hold at Colorful Yarns.

10/26 - Knit a ridiculously lot. I always get a lot of knitting done the day after I go out. If I stayed up late drinking all I want to do is lay on the couch the whole next day & what goes better with marathon couch warming than knitting & watching weird movies??! NOTHING, that’s what. Knit almost all the way to the end of the second side.

10/27 - After trying it on I decided the first side is WAY too long. It seems to have loosened up a bit, which is to be expected with the linen, but it was hanging down to my knee! The first side had 108 rows knit before the side seam so for the second side I only knit 85. Finished the second side, then went back to the first & started unravelling back to 85 rows. I forgot that was the side I started on & unravelling from the beginning is such a pain in the butt. I picked up the stitches where I will put the new edge & undid almost the entire edge (I have maybe 2” left to go) when Devon finished his chores & I “HAD” to take him to get stuff for his Halloween costume. Then we went to Fancy Tiger & my truck broke, which you can read about in the opening part of the Helping Hand Cardigan project. It sucked but I got a lot of help & kindness sent my way which was much needed & appreciated. <3

2/2/14 - After a lot of boring sleeve knitting I’m DONE!! I finished after giving up hope of the Broncos winning the Superbowl, stopped really watching & just knitted. I LOVE this thing. It fits perfectly. The custom size right sleeves not only give it a cleaner look but help it stay in place better. Since the yarn is so drapey it wants to fall off my body but the sideways knit back & solid snug sleeves keep it right in place. Too bad it’s like negative 10 degrees outside. I really want to wear it but the linen makes it cool to the touch & it’s been WAY to cold for WAY too long to tolerate that. It will perfect for warmer weather, which, if you look at when I freaking started this thing, you’ll see it when I initially started it & intended to wear it. Sigh, I guess in six months it will go perfect with whatever I’m wearing then!