Sugar’s measurements for this pattern are:
Chest circumference at the largest point- 15 1/2”
Depth of chest from base of neck to f. legs-3 1/4”
Length bet. back of forelegs to front of hind legs-8 1/4”
The pattern doesn’t call for it, but her neck is 9 1/4”

Made swatch, size 3 needles give correct gauge.

I think I will try to incorporate some beads and maybe a little heart motif of some kind. I have already started it, so I can’t put beads on the neck.

I decided to use a heart cable down the back, and I am incorporating part of a fingerless glove pattern called Strong Heart that has a pretty heart cable. I spent most of Oct. figuring out how to place the beads so that they are where I want them, and writing out a pattern to follow for that section (because I was having trouble marking the chart for bead placement). I think I might also add a little ribbing or other small cabling down each side.
10-31 Finished the written pattern incorporating the beads, and then decided that I want the pattern upside down. Now I am trying to figure out how to do that.
11-10 Figured out a new chart that is right-side-up and starts at the top of a heart motif. Zipping along on the knitting, I made it to the row after the short row shaping for the chest, and discovered that the edges of the pattern should have started sooner (when the 2x2 rib for the neck ended), so now I am unlatching columns of stitches as I get to them and re-latching them the right way or adding beads as needed to make the beginning of the edges of the pattern correct. I will probably turn a few knit stitches into purl stitches above where the heart cable begins while I’m at it. If I’ve got to make it harder to get through this row anyway, I might as well GO FOR IT! :^0
When I was pretty far into the project, I realized that the yarn I was using for the sweater is not the same colors as the yarn I was practicing the cabling with, even though I bought both skeins at the same time and they had the same dye lot. The blues in the practice piece are much brighter, the ones in the sweater are kind of “muddy” in comparison.
12-09-14 Finished it!
I had to make a new chart for the part of the back that is knit back-and-forth.
When I got almost to the end of it, there was a weak place in the yarn where it just fell apart in my hands. I hope that that was the only weak spot. This was a lot of work, and I will be sad if it starts falling apart!
There are a couple of mistakes in it, but I’ll never tell. Sugar says she likes it. Tim does too, even though he can’t wear it. I think it is warmer than Sugar’s old sweater.