February Little Lady sweater DONE

This sweater took exactly two months to knit, from casting on to attaching buttons. It was a surprisingly painful journey for such a simple knit. Somewhere along the way, I screwed up the stitch count in the yoke and, rather than starting over, I added a placket. Other mistakes were made along the way as well, including an attempt to cap the sleeves which was rapidly abandoned, and then there was the massive procrastination in buying the buttons and another one in sewing them on. But finally, FINALLY, it is finished.

Took long enough, huh?

Pattern: February Little Lady sweater, adapted by Paula Fletcher from EZ's February Baby sweater
Yarn: Elan Den-M-Nit Pure Indigo Cotton
Needles: US7
Modifications: Intentional: short sleeves; unintentional: mistake placket

Goofy face

Despite the setbacks, I am happy with the results. The gull stitch did not get all wonky from the denim yarn shrinking in the wash. There is plenty of room for growth horizontally but I can add to the sweater vertically if that becomes necessary. And there is no way my daughter can felt this sweater in the laundry. Win, win, win!

Don't try this at home

I would have a finished February Little Lady sweater to show you except I knit the second sleeve INSIDE OUT. I was not drunk at the time, but this is the kind of thing that drives knitters to drink.

Progress

The body of the February Little Lady sweater is complete, so all that is left are two short sleeves and buttons. I've been complaining on Ravelry about my struggles with the math of the pattern, with one correction by the author so far. But I am still bugged by the stitch counts I ended up with at the end of the yoke. A few others have knit this pattern without complaint, so I fear the fault is with me. Despite drawing pictures, I just can't see where I went wrong; a spreadsheet is next. I'm also worried about my yarn choice, as the denim will shrink lengthwise; what will that do to the gull stitch?

The hunter orange hat is more than halfway done. I decided to do a hemmed version and wish I had read the part of the pattern (at the END) that suggests using a smaller needle for the inside part of the hemmed section before I had knit three inches of the thing. Instead, I increased the stitch count by four stitches after the turning row, then decreased three inches later when joining the two sections of the hem. The hat won't look perfect, but wabi sabi.

Not so monogomous

The February Little Lady sweater is coming along. I was right about the gull stitch being easier on my body, but I still can't do more than one pattern repeat at a time. My left shoulder is what complains the most.

As I approach the end of the body, I'm debating about the sleeves. The February Lady sweater I knit myself is rather bulky in the armpits, so I think I will start the sleeves on this sweater as capped using short rows, then add a couple of pattern repeats before cuffing them. That will work, right?

Meanwhile, since I can't knit for long on this project without pain, and I'm a bit tired of the counting required for the Easy as Pie blanket, I started a simple hat. This one will probably go into the hat bin in the closet, to be grabbed for hikes during hunting season. Even though hunting is not permitted in the nature areas I visit, one can never be too careful.

Think it's bright enough?

Detour

Me: You need a summer sweater.
Granddaughter: Gran'ma, will you make me one?

Hence, a detour from the Easy as Pie blanket. I found a pattern for the February Little Lady sweater, like the February Lady sweater I made myself and the February Baby sweaters I made granddaughter when she was wee. For some reason, I like the gull stitch. Also, no seaming.

For a moment, I contemplated taking granddaughter to a LYS to pick out some Spud & Chloe, but I didn't feel like going out and I didn't feel like spending money. So I decided to check the stash. The first bag I opened contained more than enough Den-M-Nit to proceed forthwith.

What I (keep forgetting that I) don't like is knitting with cotton. It has no elasticity. It makes my shoulders, wrists, and hands hurt. I hope when I get to the gull stitch, it will go a bit easier. And hopefully I will get this done in time to be useful this year.