First from Knitting Reimagined by Nicky Epstein

Exploration is the name of the project in honor of this great yarn, Exploration by King Cole, 80/20 acrylic/wool. So soft to the touch and chunky looking to the eye, it was a sheer pleasure to work with. Self-striping and tweedy, I considered ‘exploring’ the yarn’s pooling. After much thought, I decided to let caution go and allow the lengths of color to fall where they may. OK, I may have manipulated the pink a bit as I love pink.

The pattern, the wonderful pattern design by Nicky Epstein, is a bit tricky requiring seam sewing, placement of the oh-so-important empire seam, as well as dealing with gaps that naturally occur when you braid. Stitch count for gauge is, of course, important but being that the entire sweater is knit in rib creates stretch which, in turn is kind for fit. However, row gauge became paramount so that all the pieces aligned nicely in the end for sewing. It was that yoke piece that became the challenge as the rib runs horizontal so, again, will stretch but this time be an important measure for proper fit.

NOTE: I use crochet to ‘sew’ all the pieces together.