Another sweater

I knit this sweater for my mom's birthday (in September - I am SO ahead of schedule. Unemployment has its perks.).



Ravelry Link

I’m very proud of it. Almost as proud as I was when I knit a pink sweater for myself.

I don’t know why I’ve avoided knitting sweaters for so long – there’s something very satisfying about them that I just don’t get from socks, hats, shawls, and scarves. I mean, those things are lovely and wonderful and I will always enjoy knitting them, but sweaters are kind of exciting, with their little pieces that have to fit together and that moment when you slide your arms into the sleeves for the first time and the thing actually fits.

Anyway, this is the February Lady by Pamela Wynne, knit out of Cascade 220 Heathers in Caribbean Heather. I knit it on 5 mm needles, a 32 inch circular for the body and a 12-inch circular for the sleeves. I knit 23 repeats of the lace pattern for the body and 15 on each sleeve. I found the buttons in my button box in the basement.

(What, you don’t have a shoebox full of random buttons in your basement? You should. It’s great. When my husband or I lose a button off a shirt, odds are I’ve got a close match downstairs. When I babysit, the big ones, the 3 inch in diameter ugly plastic ones, those make GREAT toys to entertain a baby. And when I knit a sweater that only needs three buttons, it’s pretty easy to find some nice ones down there. I inherited the box from my mom, who picked it up at a garage sale for a quarter, and I’ve added to it over the years.)

The only annoying part of this pattern was the instruction to “work 38 yarnovers evenly among the center stitches.” My number of center stitches did not divide nicely by 38 and I had a terrible time working that one stupid row. Eventually I cornered the mister and made him do the math and then sit next to me while I knit that row, counting stitches as I knit them and making sure I didn’t mess up.

Other than that, it was a great knit, nice and fast and with just enough style that I think my mom will like it.