So, I finished Kris’s sweater.  I finished it with time to spare before our 7th wedding anniversary.

All pretty in the close-up shots, right?  not so much in the modeled shots… so, you don’t get to see those until I figure out how to fix it… I guess you could say that I am disappointed.  Making the anniversary sweater is something I look forward to each year, and I want each one to be special and unique.  This one felt special while I was knitting it:  I liked the small linen-stitch detail and the wool was great to work with… but I guess I am not the biggest fan of the pattern. I felt that there were some details that the designer neglected to mention in the details and descriptions:

For one, the pattern never states that the pullover is elbow-length sleeves.  The photo in the magazine (Interweave Knits, Winter 2008) is slightly deceiving because the model has shirt cuffs rolled out of the pullover, giving the impression that the sweater’s sleeves are pulled up.  Once you look at the schematic, it is pretty clear that they are shorter sleeves (17 inches instead of the 21+ inches of an average man’s arms) but it would be nice if the pattern stated that somewhere, just in case people miss it or assume it is full-length… (I mean, it is not common to see short-sleeved men’s pullovers, so it is a fair assumption to make)  Since I did notice the sleeve issue early, I knit my sleeves longer – I had enough yarn, so this was not a problem for me, but if you don’t know…

Secondly, the neckline.  Since this pullover is knit from side to side, it is harder to envision the neckline as you are knitting because the garment is bunched up on the needles vertically.  I got gauge and followed the pattern, but I ended up with a very wide boatneck.  That was *before* I even blocked it. (Edited To Add:  One of the other knitters on Ravelry mentions a possible mistake in the pattern for the neckline increases/decreases…)  Once Kris tried it on, it looked like a woman’s boatneck top – and that is not what I was going for at all.  With all the seaming done and garment blocked to proportion, the neckline looks even bigger.  So, I am trying to figure out the best way to fix it.  There is some room on each side of the neckline where I could seam in 1-inch without puckering the neckline… but I am not sure that 1″ is enough to help the overall look.  Of course, I am willing to try it.  Picking up stitches around the neckline would not look right with the stitch pattern and the existing edges, so I think that is not really an option.

He could relegate this sweater to his camping trip/hiking sweater, but it would be nice for it to get a little bit of face time too.  The yarn is nice.  The stitch details are nice.  Hopefully with some little fixes, the fit will be better too.  I don’t want a failure sweater on my hands (especially not the first of the year – and for Kris!) and I even considered ripping it and just figuring out another use for the yarn.  Hmph. 

I am not trying to blame the designer for the issues with this pattern – I realize that there could have been some “user error” involved here too (i.e. *me*).  A few others have knit this sweater on Ravelry with relative ease, although others have noted the problems with the sleeve length and the neckline, so in that, I am definitely not alone… but theirs are also turning out to look better than mine!

I hope to come back with some good news (and a more positive attitude!) and nice photos to share after I do some more work on the pullover… stay tuned!

Off to a little later of a start this year… but Kris’s 2009 Anniversary sweater is officially CAST ON!  Now I just have to get it ready for him to wear by our seventh wedding anniversary date of January 5th!  (The good news is that I took off the week after Christmas, so I should get some extra time padded in there to make some progress!) 

I had a number of sweaters that I wanted to knit for him this year.  There have been a number of good looking mens’ patterns published in recent days, and I had some trouble choosing one.  Kris really liked them all, so he wasn’t offering too much insight… although he did tell me which yarn he wanted, which in turn, helped me decide on the pattern because of the weight and yardage of the yarn in the stash. 

It doesn’t look like much now, but I do hope that with some more time and effort it will resemble the Woven Bands Pullover from the Winter 2008 Interweave Knits magazine.  I am using some of the yarn that I bought at this past year’s Maryland Sheep and Wool Festival; it is from a mill in New York state called Finger Lakes Soft Wool.   I had a darker blue (you may recall my purchases back in May) so, I was a little surprised that Kris chose this light blue.  I am glad he did though, and it really shows off the linen stitch detail in the sleeve.  This pullover is knit from side-to-side starting with the sleeve.  It is my first time knitting any garment this way, so I hope it works out!

This is the third anniversary sweater that I am making for Kris, and the fifth sweater overall.  I love knitting for him… he even wears them to work and tells people that I made it, so that makes me feel good!  (especially since we work together and people will say “oooh, I saw Kris’s sweater!“)  If I really got on the ball, I could probably make two more sweaters for him this year so that he could have one for each year of our marriage! now wouldn’t that be fancy?

…and the new Jane Ellison Queensland Collection (Book 9) may be the best place to start!  there are some REALLY great mens’ patterns in there!  My favorite of all is “Beck” with the cable stitch and the zipper neck.  Other favorites:  “Ansley“, “Hank“, “Tom“… okay seriously, I just like them ALL. You have to just click on the link to see them. 

(I also picked up Color Style - a complete impulse buy! – and a few hanks of Ultra Alpaca -Pittsburgh Penguins colors! – just for good measure at A Tangled Skein…)