FO Report: Hourglass sweater
Designer: Joelle Hoverson
Pattern Source: Last Minute Knitted Gifts
Yarn: One enormous hank of Interlacements Dyer's Choice (about 1350 yards), part wool, part silk
Needle Size:  US 7
Gauge: 19 sts = 4"
Date Completed: Jan 2006
Recipient:  Moi

I'm working my way backwards with my UFOs that I need to complete ... this was my most recent sweater knit, and the easiest to seam up.  It was so easy to seam that, no matter what I think about this sweater, I can definitely see myself making another one of these puppies.  This was my first time to do a bottom-up raglan, and I think it's pretty addictive.  I definitely think that some fair isle projects are in my future.

What do I think?  I loved the knit (super easy, with a few increases and decreases to keep the mind from self destructing), and I love the fit (think "wool and silk stylish sweatshirt" à la Real Simple*).  I feared that this would be a wrong size (I think it was the 38" or so fit), but it's in fact perfect. 

The yarn was generously gifted to me by the super generous Cathi... I think I mentioned before that Cathi let me sift through her "unwanted yarns" recently, and I think I took home about the whole lot.  I do think I've already said this, but let me share that the experience was what I imagine dumpster diving in Beverly Hills to be like.  I took home enough yarn for multiple sweaters, so be prepared to see Cathi's name credited to the yarn source in the future.  (Thanks again, Cathi!)  The yarn itself was purchased by Cathi last summer at the Estes Park Wool Market ... and the enormous hank of yarn, which I'd have taken a picture of had I been a better blogger, wasn't completely evenly dyed through the entire hank.  So, when I wound it into three enormous balls, one of the balls had noticeably more purple in it than the others.  I ended up using that ball every two rows on the body, but not on the arms ... so the arms are a little more gray than the body.  I don't think it's terribly noticeable, do you?

One more caveat that I had on this sweater was that I twice dropped stitches without noticing for about 40 rows.  I then had to perform surgery and lift the dropped stitch all the way back up the column ... but that left me with an extra tight section in the sweater.  I've been trying to repair the damage by easing tension into that column from the surrounding stitches, but it is still a little bit noticeable.  This is my first experience with that!

Modifications: 

1. I used a picot hem for the bottom hem, and the sleeves.  How do you do that, you ask?  You work five rows in st st, the next row (instead of working a purl turning row as per the directions) you work *YO, K2tog* to the end of the round.  Continue with five more rows, and then on the next row you can pick up the cast on stitches on the edge, knit them one at a time with the stitches all the way around the row, and that saves your seaming work at the end.  (The much preferred method for us lazy finishers!)  I just love a picot hem ... I first had this idea when I cast on for this sweater about this time last year ... but as my gauge was off then, I ended up ripping out the sweater.  I decided to use a seed stitch on the neckline as well, for lack of better ideas.

2. I made the sleeves a little shorter -- I went to 18.5 inches for my size (down an inch) and the sleeves fit perfectly.  I probably wouldn't have figured this out had it not been for the Hourglass knitalong:

I've had a lot of fun lurking on that knitalong.

Next time around:  I can see a lot of variations on this sweater.  Someone recently made a roll-neck variation that I could imagine doing;  someone added a hoodwhich turned out so cute;  and I also think that trying to do a strip of this pattern repeat (from Scout's Crossover scarf) would be cute, just above the hem on the bottom and the sleeves.  As a matter of fact, I think that this might make a really nice Cotton-Ease sweatshirt ...

*The whole Real Simple thing is that I get so annoyed with their "ten must-have items for a stylish winter" that include things like "a cashmere sweatshirt that lets you go around town in style, while still feeling like you're in your gym garb" when they're priced in the $200.00 range.  Seriously ... do people buy those things?