My First Ever Sweater Is Finished - I I Love It !

When I began knitting a couple of years ago I swore that I would never make a sweater. I'm not sure why I was so vehement about this - maybe because I used to be too warm most of the time to wear sweaters much. Maybe because I thought that they would be too hard or too boring. Maybe I felt inadequate and not up to the take of a WHOLE sweater. The too maybe stories of how many first sweaters some out unwearable affected me. I did not want to spend that much time, money and effort making something that I would never wear - or would have to take apart to salvage some of this beautiful wool. I used Noro Silk Garden Nbr. 255 and the three needle bind off was done with a Dream In Color all merino yarn called Spring Tickle. On another note, The Dream In Color Yarn is one of my new favorites. Soft, luxurious , several weights to choose from - and did I mention the lush, dreamy colors. Fabulous stuff ! This sweater became so delightful & super soft when I washed and blocked it too.. Much softer than I had thought it would be. I can even have it next to my skin - on my arms at least. The sleeves on this were a bit too long - and I was told that this was something with the pattern - most people who have made the pattern shorted the sleeves - but I wanted to see how it was knit straight from the pattern. I love the length ! It falls just at high hip- perfect!

I had thought I might use the glass buttons I made but they were all different sizes and the pattern called for quite small buttons - so I made some Dorset buttons (thanks, once again to Stephanie Pettingill!) and then beaded them. They ended up looking quite nice and were just the right finishing touch. This project took me only about three months from ordering the wool to completion - just knitting in the evenings . My next project will be an "Einstein Coat" from Sally Melville's book, "The Knitting Experience: The Knit Stitch". The yarn, from KnitPicks is on the way & is called "Firecracker Heather". Wish me luck !