My new favorite sweater

I am so excited to have finished this. It's been a while in the making, but it's finally done! Yay!

First, it was going to be the February Lady Pullover. I got up to the neckline and had to put it aside for a while. When I got back to it, the neck shaping just wasn't looking right. Ripped it out and redid it a few times. No good. I even took it to my favorite yarn shop and got their assistance, which was definitely helpful. In the end, though, I learned that I knit funny. It turns out that not only do I tend to knit in a style that means I have to modify instructions for lace knitting, but I think I've also been wrapping my yarn the wrong way. Non-knitters won't care, but I think you knitters out there will get how that's troublesome.

So, I gave up. Sad to say, but true. But, there is hope - now that I've figured out what I tend to do wrong, I will likely go back to this pattern - it's so pretty!

Now, this yarn has been a dream to work with, and I love the color, so I had to find a project worth the yarn, so I had a go with this. I am so pleased at how it's turned out!

I am also extremely pleased that I can honestly say that my sweater is a size medium - I can't remember the last time I wore anything up top that didn't have an "L" in it!

This sweater is a wonderful testimony to the mystery of blocking. I've not always done it before, but the more I do it, the more I am convinced of how helpful it is. "Blocking" (as I understand it) is simply the method of moistening the fibers and allowing them to relax. You can spray or soak, then pin the garment. It then goes from being kind of tight and a little stiff to being relaxed and soft. In this case, before blocking it was kind of snug, a little short in the sleeves and you couldn't really see the yoke detailing very well. Now, it's perfect. And I love it.