Kelly gave me the pattern for my 52nd birthday, which is/was/ever will be 11/06. Now I get to go buy yarn for it. Happy birthday to me. :)

11/13/10 - Hit stitch gauge the first rattle out of the box, and cast on.

1/13/11 - exactly two months start to finish, and I was in Laos and Cambodia for nearly 3 of those weeks. Not bad for a slow knitter like me. This sweater was a dream to knit -- the pattern is very well-written and I had no problems at all. The only mods were to make the length and sleeves hit where I wanted them to, and I did a tiny bit more waist shaping than the pattern called for but that’s it. It’s a very comfortable sweater, too, and I can tell I’m going to wear it out.

The yarn is beautiful when it’s knitted, but it kind of felt hard going over my fingers while I was knitting. I can’t wait to see how it shifts when it’s blocked. Pre-blocked it’s gorgeous, so I hope blocking makes it even better.

Bottom line: (1) make this sweater and (2) use this yarn.