FO: February Lady Sweater (aka The Honeymoon Sweater)

Pattern: February Lady Sweater by Pamela Wynne of FlintKnits

Yarn: Blue Moon Fiber Arts Luscious Single Silk in colorway Sapphire, almost 2 full skeins

Needles: Denise US 6

Notions: 3 pewter buttons from Stitching Memories

Began: April 23, 2009 ; Completed: May 10, 2009  (Ravelry project page here.)

Notes:  I was in the throes of wedding planning, with about 3 weeks to go, when I decided I absolutely had to have a hand-knitted cardigan to wear on our honeymoon.  I knew the evenings in Prague would be chilly, and that a store-bought cardigan wouldn’t do.  So, at the close of my semester and with 3 weeks until the wedding, I swatched as soon as I printed my last paper, and cast-on the following day.

I followed the pattern pretty much as written.  I did, however, go down a needle size as this yarn seemed it would stretch (as noted by BlueGarter in her version).   I ended up knitting the XXS size for my M sized body, and I’m glad I gambled: the fit is quite nice, I feel, and it keeps on stretching each time I wear it.  I did away with the underarm stitches altogether to combat the bunching that happens there in a few FOs on Ravelry, and I’m happy with the fit.  I ended up knitting the pattern to my regular preferred sweater length of 22 inches, and it stretched even more.  I sort of like this length, though, as I’m short and short-waisted and this makes me feel a bit longer in the torso than I am.

I ended up liking the color of the yarn, which was initially a disappointment.  The variegation doesn’t distract from the pattern too much as it’s rather subtle, and the result reminds me of a sweater that a mermaid would wear.  You know, if she were chilly under water.

The yarn is lovely to work with, and the shine works nicely with these particular colors, lending to the overall watery impression it gives me.  It does, however, pill like crazy.  I was prepared for this since it’s a single, and I’m okay with it, but be forewarned.

Overall this was a really pleasant knitting experience, and the pattern is well-written and very fun to knit.  I blocked it and picked up buttons right before my bridesmaids/mom arrived days before the wedding, and sewed on the buttons and packed it just in time.  (I love the buttons, by the way.  They’re so pretty!).  I wore the sweater happily the entire honeymoon long, and it’s reminded me just how much I love a good cardigan.  I feel this will get a ton of wear all summer, as well as during the fall.