I found this wonderful color at my LYS and knew right away that it would make a cute little sweater. I saw this pattern go by and queued it soon after. It looked like I had enough yarn, so I thought I had a good match. Unfortunately, the yardage numbers on the Ravelry page were less than the numbers in the pattern, so I had to buy some more. The color of the new yarn is pretty close. I will alternate between the purchases in the sweater.

Summary

• I’m a tight knitter and I got gauge on the first try.

• I’m using German twisted cast on instead of cable cast on. GTCO has a similar neat edge with the added benefit of being stretchy. I can also establish a good flow when casting using GTCO. Cable cast on is much slower since I can’t establish a good flow.

• I am alternating between balls from each purchase to blend the yarn - just in case there is a color difference. I would have done this even if I had sufficient yarn from one purchase.

• I started the lace pattern on the first waist increase row.

• I completed 3 lace pattern repeats on the back (both columns). On the front corners, the lace column closest to the edge has 3 repeats; the one next to it has 2 repeats.

• Since the bind off wasn’t specified, I used Jenny’s Surprisingly Stretchy Bind Off, in pattern.

• I modified the sweater fit as follows: Wider arms - I like looser upper arms; Shorter body; shorter arms (still 3/4, but shorter to fit my arms).

Journal

2013-04-09: Cast on 106 using GTCO. Completed collar.

2013-04-12: Completed setup for sweater body. Man, do I hate written directions. There are a lot of small sub-sections when setting up for this sweater and I loose my place easily in instructions like these. I also discovered that I didn’t count my cast on correctly and I was 2 stitches short. I did 2 M1s in the back section of the RS setup row to compensate.

Completed 6 repeats (12 rows) of sleeve seam shaping section.

2013-04-14: Completed the 16th sleeve seam shaping repeat.

2013-04-15: Completed the 30th sleeve seam shaping repeat. I tried it on and it is tight around the arms - it barely meets. I’m going to knit 2 more repeats and try again.

2013-04-16: Completed 32 repeats. I tried on the sweater again and it fits, but still a bit tight. I’m going to do another 2 repeats.

I now have 34 repeats and 378 stitches instead of the pattern specified 380. Maybe I ripped back at the transition and forgot to put the 2 stitches in. I don’t know. I didn’t miss a YO, so I’m not sure where I lost the 2 stitches. I’ve counted the front panel stitches and the arm stitches and the stitch counts are equal - left & right.

Completed split of arms. I have 75 stitches in each arm (1 short) and 236 around the body. 2 skeins knit.

2013-04-18: Completed waist shaping decreases.

2013-04-20: Completed straight part of waist.

2013-04-21: Completed waist increase section, containing 1 1/2 repeats of the bottom lace. Completed second half of second lace repeat.

2013-04-22: Completed 3rd lace repeat. Tried on sweater and its at a good length. I won’t be needing the 4th; 75 rows knit after the arm separation row. Completed 5 seed stitch rows & bound off. Body of sweater is now complete.

2013-04-23: Completed 30 rows of right arm.

2013-04-24: Completed right arm down to start of cuff. I’m breaking my yarn to start the left arm. I will knit the left arm to the same point and check for fit and length, making any necessary adjustments before completing the cuffs.

2013-04-25: Started left arm.

2013-04-27: Complete both left and right arms. Ends woven in. Need to take pictures before marking complete.

Swatching

2013-04-04: Started swatching with the specified needle size (US 5/3.75mm) and ended up with 22 stitches in 4”; 30 rows / 4”. Pattern calls for 22 stitches & 32 rows in 4”. Success on the first try, thats unusual for me.

Next Time

• One less increase on arms and the sweater would still fit.