Thanks to Fellow Knitting Bloggers.....

I have completed M's sweater! I had to consult with Julie from Zimmermania and Mindie . I got stuck in two places: when EZ states in the pattern that you multiple the width of the shoulder by your gauge, she never really says where one should measure so I measured from the end of one shoulder to the end of the next. I got scared when she said that 14 inches was average because I was coming up with 20 which was one half of his chest measurement. Enter Julie and Mindie who told me that I should be measuring where bra straps would hit, not the entire length of the shoulder. I then got 15 inches multipled by my gauge of 5, which told me to stop the chest decreases when I reached 75 stitches.

Things were going along swimmingly then until I had completed the saddle work on the shoulders and back (I'll a pic below) and once again needed help. The pattern then directs you to the neck shaping used in a previous pattern in the book telling you to do short rows until you've decreased by 12 stitches. I consulted with Mindie again because this meant I would be eating up saddle shoulder stitches and I wasn't sure what that would do to their shape; it didn't seem right but there was really no alternative. Mindie told that was the correct thing to do and to decrease until there were only 8 saddle stitches left, however that's what I was starting with because the previous step in the pattern had directed me to decrease by half (starting with 16). At this point, I decided I would just decrease until I had eaten up the rest of the shoulder stitches and then complete the ribbing for the neck.

After finishing my thought was to block it to even out the stitches but then I read about pressing. Since I wasn't trying to stretch it and the shaping was fine, I decided just evening out the stitches was all I needed. Pressing just involves turning the sweater inside out, and taking a hot iron and simply pressing it for a few minutes in one spot before moving it to the next on the sweater. It seemed to somewhat flatten out the stitches and soften the fabric as well ( I tried this on a swatch before doing it on the actual garment). You are not supposed to make the ironing motion because it can disrupt the fibers of the yarn, however, I got impatient trying to press such a large area that I did this in a hidden spot under the arm and I couldn't see the difference so I finished the rest by ironing it.

So it's finally finished; you may find yourself asking...what's next? Well, I'm glad you asked because two projects are already underway. I have started le Slouch Beret and the Bluebell Boatneck from Fitted Knits which I received as a gift this Christmas from my almost Father In Law. In addition, M's mother brought up the idea of a homemade Christmas next year, so I have purchased yarn to make this aran blanket in case that happens. If it doesn't, I can keep it or still give it to them. The yarn was almost going to be very costly ( you need 21 skeins, approx 3000 yards) but then I found some semi acrylic yarn on WEBS that was being closed out for $1/skein and it's machine washable which is the best part. I'll post a pic of the new yarn when it has arrived.

Time to get ready...placing our order for our wedding rings today.