29 Sep
Did a quick gauge swatch (picture 2) - and I’m so glad I did! I just don’t like the fabric created by the US8 - it’s just too messy looking for me. So I tried the US7 (also too loose) and the US6 (just right). Which, of course, doesn’t give me the proper gauge at all, so I’ll be following the L pattern to get the sizing for a S.

Post-Blocking Gauge with US6: 21 sts/4” = 5.25 sts/1” ; 8.5 rows/1.25” = 6.8 rows/1”

02 Nov
I’ve got about one or two inches of the front ribbing to do but I’m not 100% thrilled with 1) how many stitches I’ve picked up, 2) how the bottom edges are looking and 3) how much the ribbing is pulling in.

07 Nov
Change of plans. I’ve ripped back the ribbing on the front and bottom bands. On the bottom I will do a simple folded over hem (which I’ll sew down after blocking) and, on the front bands, switch to either a 4/1 or 5/1 rib…. (stitch count worked out for a 5/1).

14 Dec
Finished with the front band! I love how it looks though I wish I could do some sort of tubular bind off or hem so it would lay flat(ter), though blocking should help that.

Next up: sleeves. Because of the variation in the balls of yarn and the fact that I want to do TAAT (less thinking/keeping track involved), I think I’m going to have to split each ball in half and do the sleeves with 8 balls. Eep.

21 Dec
ACK! I just realized that I’ve been doing the sleeves WITH THE WRONG SIZE NEEDLES! I used US5s to do the front band and forgot to switch back! ACK!

28 Dec
Okay, I took a week off of this project for holiday traveling (this is so not a travel-able project!) and I’ve decided to rip back and redo the sleeves in the right side needle instead of just continuing on. I’m doing this for two reasons: 1) because it will always niggle me if I left such a huge mistake in and 2) the US6s will make the stitches a little taller so the sleeve should go faster.

30 Dec
Things are going along swimmingly. I had a spot where the yarn was knotted (in the ball) and it unraveled after I had knit it, but after a short panic, that was all straightened out.

I’m already farther into the sleeves than I was before. I think I’ve finally gotten a system down for working with the (insane) eight balls of yarn.

20 Jan
I think I’ve finally gotten the swing of the eight yarn thing. Still, it’s kind of an event to work on so things are going slowly. I’ve got about 2” more to go on the sleeves before BO. (I’m going for the three-quarter length thing.)

Then I’ll need to block and sew up the back hem. I’m also thinking that I’ll fold down and hem a small edge on the front band to counteract the roll and hopefully give it a more finished look. We shall see!

29 Jan
The sleeves are to the length I want them but I’m at an impasse because I don’t know how I want to finish them off. I tried ribbing twice and, meh, it just doesn’t look good. For some reason I am in an anti-ribbing mood. So I’m going to stare at the sweater for a while and see what happens.

07 Feb
BLOCKING! Next up: hemming the bottom and and front bands!

09 Feb
All the ends are woven in and the bands have been hemmed. Giving it a gentle blocking on the hemmed sections to flatten them a bit then done! Whee!

10 Feb
Did a gentle block on the hems and it helped flatten and neaten them. I kind of love this a ton! The fit is great and I love how it looks. So pleased with my first sweater!!

Modifications

• I prefer shirts that are 13” - 15” long, so I knit stockinette longer than suggested.

• I skipped the first decreases on the arm because my upper arms tend towards chunky and I didn’t want the sleeve to be too tight. Did the other two increase rounds as directed in the pattern (since I’m working the L pattern with a gauge that will give me a S) and actually continued them as I went down the sleeves.

• On the bottom band, I initially did 2/2 ribbing (Pic 5 from bottom), using tech knitter's transition, though the slip row was on the back, so I had to adjust to make it correct: *slip 2 sts purl-wise wyif, knit 2 sts*, repeat across. This seemed to make everything match up properly and I really liked it. Added to that, I used a tubular BO (Pic 4) switching from 2/2 rib to 1/1 rib and then double knitting and grafting using directions here. Seriously awesome…. but then I ripped everything back and switched to a flat hem.

• I did double knitting for the cuffs and I love (love love love) how they turned out. Given how long the bottom band hem took to sew down, I’m thinking of doing double knitting bands in the future. Love it!

• I tried to use this method of wrapping the colors at the beginning of the row to help hide the yarn I carried up the side of the front band. It worked okay, but on the second pass, I decided to do an i-cord edging (slip the first three stitches purl wise wyib, purl the last three), which made me much happier. It did tighten the ends a bit but I was able to stretch it out during blocking. Next time I do an icord edging like this, I think I’ll add extra row of icord every so often to counter that pull.