2/14/14 I have ordered yarn in the Nightshade colorway; can’t wait for it to get here!

2/24/14 - The yarn has arrived and it is all I can do not to cast on straight from the skein. But I have read enough comments to know I really need to swatch first, plus I am thinking of adding some beads to the first couple of pattern repeats to go with the night theme, so I also need to make a trip to the bead store.

2/27/14 -swatching is good! I had to go up 2 needle sizes to get horizontal gauge. I ordered extra yarn intending to add 2 panels, but after swatching I decided to play safe and only add 1 extra. So I have cast on for 9 panels instead of 10. The yarn is lovely and a joy to work with.

3/2/14 - Row 9 and I am over halfway through the first skein, so I added the second at row 10. Having the first cable so close to the bottom row makes a ripple at the hem that I don’t like; if I ever make another, I will do a couple more rows of stockinette before I start the pattern. My postage scale is not going to be accurate enough for this project, I can tell, so I am going to have to run out and get something that weighs in smaller increments.

3/10/14 - Row 39 and I am just finishing the second skein, and halfway through the third (alternating rows per the instructions for Gradience yarn sets). The pattern requires careful attention; I have had to back up and fix cables that I mis-crossed (or just missed) three times already. Possibly I should have picked something simpler for my first cable project…

3/13/14- in an unaccustomed attack of good sense, I decided against beads. I am knitting every skein down to nothing as I am still fretting about the amount of yarn and the Unique Sheep website even suggests switching skeins in mid-row to maximize color mixing.

3/16/14 - Row 65. I started the fifth skein on row 58. After much angsting, consultations with carbonel and beadslut, measuring, and re-swatching, I have switched to size 7 needles on row 60 and will proceed from here assuming I will have enough yarn. It is going to be huge and cozy.

3/18/14 - Used up last of ball #4 in row 79. Will start ball 6 around row 82-83.

3/29/14 - coming up on the end of chart 1 and the end of skein 5…

3/30/14 - Finished skein 5 on row 103. Adding skein 7 on 106. I am REALLY glad I didn’t try for 10 panels; 9 will be just right for my taste, I think.

4/4/14 - Used the last of skein #6 on row 128. I have 60 grams of skein 7 left, which is almost certainly not enough, so I broke down and ordered more. Will do another 2 rows and then hibernate until the new yarn arrives.

5/10/14 - New yarn came; it is almost a perfect match for the final gradience skein and will work wonderfully. Now to finish this off!

5/15/14 - Six rows to bindoff. Because I did 9 panels, I added two rows to the body so I could do one more set of decreases to get the total neck stitches to the pattern-designated 84. The neck edge still seemed too large and stretchy to me, so I dropped to size 5 needles for the collar to firm it up; seems to have worked a treat.

5/16/14 - all done but weaving in ends and blocking. I had 73 grams of my extra 100-gram skein left. The horizontal gauge is still fine, but it comes down to my fingertips. 9 panels was just right; it will close in front without being too twirly.