It is done. This sweater is epic. The design is so beautiful, the construction a torment. Most amazing of all, it’s very comfortable! The scalloped bottom is actually more comfortable - and flattering - than ribbing for someone with a middle-aged middle like me.

Here are some things I learned knitting this sweater:

1. a sweater does not have to end in ribbing at the bottom, there are other options (ditto for sleeves)
2. texture all over does not have to be difficult, it can be fun to knit
3. finishing details can take a garment from ordinary to wow

The knitting gods were with me on this one, because this garment is way over my skill level. First of all, the few garments I have knit have been primarily stockinette. This is texture after texture. Muy rico! There is that cable that goes up the arm, and then joins the front and back at the shoulders, then snakes around to form a lovely finished edge at the neckline. Well, this is just brilliant.
Hats off to the designer.

One thing that helped me tremendously in this pattern was that I had previously learned how to do cables without a cable needle. That saves so much time. I might still be knitting this next year otherwise.

The difficult part of the pattern is the last paragraph with the deceptively simple heading “Finishing.” It is a densely written paragraph that glosses over a few details. It doesn’t help matters that I am someone who tends to do things her own way rather than what the pattern says. For example, the pattern calls for joining the bands in the front (and back) right there in the middle of the garment. I did not trust myself to be able to join them well enough for that. So, I knit a long band that stretched from shoulder to shoulder and then seamed it on the opposite shoulder. My flaws were less noticeable there. I did a similar thing on the bottom edges. The tricky part of joining the bands to the garment is figuring out how much to pull tension on the band. Too much, and the garment puckers, too little and the band flops loosely. It’s a thing you have to do by feel.

If I every knit another of these, I would love to try it in the yarn suggested in the pattern. It sounds luxurious. The yarn I chose is more affordable, I was not willing to spend a fortune on a project I was not sure I could pull off. I am pleased with this yarn and the way the project turned out.