I've knit this latest sweater as part of her "In Winter" knit along in her Ravelry group. She has a series of three In Winter patterns we could choose from and while the Woods in the Winter shawl really tempted me, I decided I would make my next choice Beach in the Winter instead since I am still in the midst of knitting my Sunstruck shawl right now.
I'm so glad I chose the sweater. I absolutely love how it's turned out. I worked really hard on this one to get exactly what I wanted, even though it meant ripping out sections more than once. I modified it slightly by not adding any hip increases (thanks to Laura for figuring out my numbers for that mod within minutes so I didn't lose any knitting time!), lengthening the body (as to eliminate any risk of too short a midriff in the front - no need to be showing off my belly thanks very much!) and also shortening the amount of the short rows to have a much less pronounced hi-low hemline. While I like the look of a hi-low on many people, I do NOT like the look of it on me. It's a bit horrifying actually for whatever reason. I had initially knit it as written for the short rows, tried it on, shuddered at the result in the mirror, but waited for confirmation from (BF)G before ripping it out. His assessment was to stop knitting right there and then. It was the perfect length in the back. Unfortunately I still needed the almost three inches of the bottom section to get the front to length. Another quick consultation with Laura in her Ravelry group - she's so awesome about helping figure things out - and back I went. It worked out really well I think!
My other modification, if you can call it that, was to do a contrast for the cuffs and bottom band of the sweater. I had seen a test project on Ravelry that used the contrasts and couldn't stop thinking about it so I decided to give it a try just to see if I liked the end result. I was fully prepared to rip back again and knit it with the main colour if necessary. (Look at that! Fully prepared and rip back all in one sentence. I'm such a grown up knitter now, wouldn't you say?) I LOVE the orange! Love, love, love it! My only decision I need to make is whether or not I want to reknit the collar in orange too. I'm pretty sure I have enough of the Berroco Vintage that I used left to do it. But I just can't decide.
I've not actually blocked my sweater yet. Heck, if you look closely enough you might even notice I've not even woven in the ends yet. I'm not sure why. I did wear my sweater for quite some time after getting the boys to assist with the photos - until I got way too hot. It was a warm day and the sun was streaming in through windows. Not quite the day for a worsted weight wool sweater! This sweater is going to be perfect for the early spring weather we're having lately I think! It's a bit chilly today, but I actually wore my Hay Cove cardi all weekend. No coat necessary! Whooot! Spring has sprung! (and I really, really hope I didn't just jinx it or I'll have a whole lot of people annoyed with me. Stay away winter, stay away!!!!) I think it'll be great to have a good pullover to wear out and about in the fresh spring air when it's too chilly for a light jacket but way too warm for a parka!
And now that I mention it, I think it high time I go weave in those ends and give my sweater a bath!
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