This sweater was so much fun to knit!  Because of the super bulky yarn, it knit up fairly quickly. The cables (on the back, fronts, and arms) kept it interesting without making it too challenging. The only real modifications I made to the pattern were fixing the trellis cables on the back (so they’re all overy-undery) and knitting the sleeves in the round (so I wouldn’t have to seam them shut). The instructions were clear and easy to follow. The only thing I would have liked to be different is explicit instructions for shaping the right front piece. (The designer expects me to write my own instructions for that part. It’s not rocket science but it would have been nice to just have it written out.)

The day after I seamed all five pieces (1 back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves) together, I wore the sweater to work. I couldn’t help but show off to some folks who oohed and aahed over it. It’s pretty awe-worthy, I must admit. And I love it when I get compliments on it! I then get to tell them that I made the sweater. It’s a pretty fantastic feeling.

Next project to go on my needles? Treads, a fingerless glove pattern, for a coworker. I’ve finished one glove and I’ve started on the second. I’ve never knit gloves before (fingerless or not). I have 1 mitten that I made last month for another coworker. It’s kinda similar but slightly different. If it weren’t for all those pesky double-pointed needles, I would take this project on the subway with me and finish it on my commute but I hate fiddling with suicidal needles on a moving train packed to the brim with commuters. Ah, well. It’ll be finished soon and I hope the recipient loves them!

This is the Hey, Teach! cardigan that I started at the end of February.  It was knit in pieces (1 back, 2 fronts, 2 sleeves) and had to be seamed together.  As it turns out, I didn’t hate it the seaming process as much as I thought I would!  I mean, don’t get me wrong… I’d love to not have to do this again if I don’t have to.  However, I realized that it’s not worth stressing out about it.  It just requires patience and a steady hand.  (Two things that I don’t have, really… but two things that I can fake when necessary!)

It was knit as a gift for Alex’s mom’s birthday and I presented her with it yesterday.  She said she loved it… but she didn’t try it on or anything so I don’t know how (or whether) it fits.  I already have a request from Alex’s sister to knit her one “just like it but in white” and another request from Alex’s mom’s friend for “something warm” (maybe a shawl?).  I already have a long list of items that I’d like to make for friends and relatives, so I guess these two will be added to it.

In the meantime, I’m starting something for me:

It’s going to be a hat!  I haven’t knit anything for myself… ever.  So before embarking on Alex’s impossibly large (not really but it sure seems like it!) striped long-sleeve cardigan, I’m making myself a quick slouchy beret.  Neither the yarn nor the needles I’m using are true to the designer’s instructions, so I’m worrying about the final measurements of the thing.  I hope it will fit somehow.

(That hat she’s wearing? I also made it! Back in December, when I was still a n00b. A bigger n00b than I am now, I mean.)

I’m so glad that the vest actually turned out well. I was worried that it would be too big or too long or too awkward or … Well, you get the idea. However, it came out well! Of course, I made some mistakes here and there but they’re barely noticeable to the untrained eye. Besides, this is how you learn, right? Now I know what to do and what not to do the next time I make this vest. (And I will be making it again. It’s a nice vest!)

Next up on my agenda: Hey, Teach! cardigan. I’m nervous because it’s knit in pieces and then seamed together (and we remember how much I disliked seaming just the 3″ inches on the vest, right?) but it’s a really nice cardigan so I will power through it. Here’s what I have so far:

That’s the beginning of the back panel. Once that’s finished, there are the two front panels and the two sleeves. (Man, that’s a lot of pieces!) I racked my brain trying to figure out which cardigan to make for my boyfriend’s mother before I came across this one. I hope she likes it! (I’m aiming to have it finished by her birthday, April 1. I think I have plenty of time! What’s more nerve-wracking is the prospect of knitting a full-length sleeved cardigan for Alex by his birthday, April 13. Ack!)