"Simple" Stripes

One good thing about not buying new stuff, it keeps you focused on finishing works already underway. I started this sweater (Last Minute Stripes Pullover with Knit Picks' Simple Stripes "Sweet Tart") eons ago and got to the front shoulder and thought there was a pattern problem. Luckily, Lou at knit night was making the same one and solved my dilemma. She also gave me some of the best advice: "Trust your knitting!". So I did and cranked out the back and the two sleeves. Here it is in its pre-blocked form:



And here it is all blocked and assembled. Boy howdy, I will NEVER knit this one again. #1 needles, scratchy yarn, something freaky I did that made the sleeves too big for the arm holes, ripply edging (I trusted the pattern when it did not call to change needles sizes), gorilla arms, and just general fussiness made this one a non-fun knit. Was it me, the pattern, the yarn, or all of the above?! Glad it's over! Despite all the grumbling, I do like the little sweater and the stripes.



The three-needle bind off shoulder is really cute and fun to do. I purposely mismatched the little buttons so the mom of the recipient could easily pop on another one if it falls off (while the baby's not wearing it, of course!).



I even added another little one beside the label, too.

It's supposed to be a 9 mo. size, so I put a 6 and 12 mo. size label in it to remind the mama to check for fit early and often!




Now, we just need a baby! Hopefully she'll be here next month and off the little sweater will go.