Okay, the two grays are too close to one another. I’m getting single skeins of multiple colors and am going to swatch until I find the magic color combination for the perfect jacket for a spring ensemble. I think maybe pink. Originally, I imagined this in dark brown and pink…I might go back to that.

Colors sampled, shown in swatch from left to right: Dogwood Heather, Carnelian Heather, Brass Heather, Camel Heather, and Basalt heather.

Process:
-My gauge knitting in the round in this particular slipstitch pattern is very different from my gauge knitting back and forth (thank goodness for swatching, where I figured this out!) so to keep the fabric smooth and even, I knit the sleeves flat, and then seamed underneath.

-because of this seam, I didn’t think a provisional cast-on was as necessary, so I simply cast on extra stitches for one side, worked the sleeve, and picked up an equal number of stitches from the cast on row on the other side to create the bottom.

-Following lessons learned in past projects, I made a size medium in spite of my hunch that I’m really a large. In my opinion, knitwear looks best when it fits close rather than floppy…plus, cotton stretches.

-I’m making it longer to reach my waist, so I added 16 stitches on to each side.

-Rolling down the home stretch, working my way around the moss stitch border. I didn’t have any real big tangles or problems on this sweater; to me it seems like a fairly straightforward piece with interesting construction and a rhythmic stitch pattern that is both easy to remember but also not boring, so it’s been a really enjoyable project. (It also didn’t take up nearly as much yarn as I expected.) I do note, however, that there are enough details to make the pattern possibly intimidating to a newer knitter.

And of course, I have yet to cast off, so a lot of my judgment depends on the success of the finished project.

5/25: It’s awesome! I’m really happy with the fit, in particular. Actually, I’m really happy with all of it, every way around.