February Lady Sweater

I bring you, after long last, the February Lady Sweater. I checked with the yarn shop and was reminded that I started this project in June. It started easy, caused me great angst from time to time (and thus put it down for extended periods), but ultimately was a relatively quick and easy sweater.

The first picture's color is a bit more gray than it is in actuality, and this series appears a bit darker than life. It's knit in Cascade 220 Heathers, in the green/brown colorway. I went for a mid-hip length.

The buttons also came from my local yarn shop. I picked biggish (okay, huge) buttons because of some issues I had with the garter stitch border--I know, I know, how can you screw up garter stitch? It's a long, boring story, but trust me--it can be done.

My biggest problem, and greatest saving grace, came when I accidentally knit the first sleeve inside out (don't ask me how I managed that--lace is confusing), but also realized while ripping it back that I might not have had enough yarn for the second sleeve to be as long as the desired length. So, I re-did the first sleeve shorter, and just had enough to finish the project. I would have made the sleeves longer if I'd had another skein, but I was happy to have two shorter, but equal length sleeves.

So, my final words of wisdom are: buy an extra skein. I know you already feel like you're shelling out a ridiculous amount for a craft project, but what's an extra $8 or so in the grand scheme of things? Better to add to your leftover stash than end up a one-armed sporter of handknits.