Holiday Sweater

I took these photos a week ago (or more), but I didn't get a chance to get them up before we left California for the holidays. M's sweater turned out great (I think). I hope she likes it - and I hope it fits. Because it sat around the house in pieces for so long awaiting zipper insertion, I didn't get a real good look at the big picture for a long time. And, honestly, in the rush of getting things finished and together for our trip, even after I put the zipper in, I didn't really take time to appreciate what I'd finished. The day before we left, however, when I was still trying to decide if it was worth lugging it all the way to KY for her to open when she already knows about it, I tried it on. And I fell in love. It turned out great, and it was a really easy knit. I did feel like there was a lot of finishing and seaming, especially with the high-neck doubled collar, but the end effect is wonderful.

The zipper... I know you're wondering about that. I was terrified, I admit. But, it turned out great. I basted the fronts together with a contrasting yarn, as suggested by a ChicKnits tutorial. Unfortunately, my first pass at sewing in the first side of the zipper on machine ended up catching that waste yarn over and over again, plus, I didn't get the sweater as neatly over the edge of the zipper as I should have. All of that was revealed after I sewed the second size and turned the sweater inside out to take a look. After some ranting, I carefully and painstakingly seam ripped the one side of the zipper back out, repinned it making SURE that the front edges of the sweater matched neatly and covered the zipper, and resewed. Turned out great. I did go with a traditional zipper - not a 2-way. That was the recipient's request.

Of course, before ordering my zippers from ZipperStop, I checked JoAnne's. I was ecstatic to find zippers to match both this sweater and my Ribby Cardi. I brought them home and then got everything out a few days later only to realize they weren't separating zippers. Sigh. What a pain. So, I logged on and ordered. Painless. Great service. Confirmation by email when they shipped. Zippers were exactly as ordered, and the colors matched perfectly.

I'll have to fill in details on the pattern once I'm back home. It's from a British pub. The yarn is Rowan Chunky - something from our stash that we picked up back when we first started knitting. It was perfect for this project!