First raglan… first fitted … first top-down.
Choose the pattern due to the glowing reccomendations as a “first fitted”-pattern. :) And it helps that it’s nice too.
Read through the pattern and found a lot of good advice regarding fitting and HBDs. Read through earlier projects as well. See that I have to pay attention to the neckline as some finds it to deep.
It seems like I’m a 37 except for bust (39) and waist (35). Will knit a 37 (zero ease), but add HBDs and perhaps add some increases for the waist.I believe I also have to add length. I may regret this sizing or the needle choice due to the slik content of the yarn - a swatch never grow as much as a garnment.

April, 27th: Cast on
This has to be the first time I got gauge at first try. I knit my swatch back and forth for about 2-3 inches before joining it in the round in order to check that my gauge stay even. Well, I’m actually missing 2 rows on 4”, but I think that it’ll be ok after blocking.

April, 28th: Necline
Cast on for the neck and started knitting to “Hunger Games”. I like this cast on. No “missing 2 inches of the long tail” and not too tight first row either.

May, 3rd: In the round
Joined the work together in the round using the tip from wonnimania’s project: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/wonnimania/elphaba-pullover and cast on one stitch less than called for with backwards loop and in next round using the built-up slack to create the last stitch. Worked like a charm and looks good!

May, 4th: Shoulders off
Separated the sleeve shoulders off to waste yarn strands. Cast on the underarm stitches the same way as the neckline - backward loop bar one stitch, and creating the missing stitch the next round with the superfluous yarn.

May, 5th: Alternating skeins
Alternating skeins. I’m not sure it’s necessary with this colorway. but I’m doing it anyway (learning by doing), using helpful hints from DropStsNotBombs: http://www.ravelry.com/projects/DropStsNotBombs/elphaba-p....

May, 8th: The dreaded HBDs
Calculation:
Front, 1” outside each nipple: 5” = 58 stitches.
Sides - I’ll end the last HBD aprox. 1” from each side = 7 stitches.
So I’ll have (116 -58 - (2x7))/2 = 22 stitches for making HBDs on each side of the front.

I’ll need something like 2”-3” of added material - more on determining how much to add: http://tessknits.com/1841/short-row-bust-darts. In my gauge 22 rows seem to be a nice number - 11 sets which in turn will add up to knitting two more stitches for each row compared to the latest W&T.
http://www.stitchedtogether.co.uk/2010/02/short-row-shapi...

Well, that’s the theory, anyway.
And this is the short row method I use, “yarn over” - which to me is a lot easier than the “wrap and turn”.
http://cocoknits.com/resources/tutorials/short-rows/

May, 10th: “Where is my waist, anyway?”
Waist(ed) shaping:
It seems to my measurements that my waist starts below the bust and continues as a straigth tube down to the widening of my hips. And is a size smaller than size 37. So I decided to try doing the waist decreases over more rounds. I’ll try:

Right decrease round, 3 rounds in stst.
Left decrease round, 3 rounds in stst.

Repeat that to a total of 3 times. Which should yild 208 stitches after a total of 24 rounds. Then try on to determine how many rounds in stst that is needed before the hip shaping.

Knit 12 rounds of stst.

May, 13th: Hip shaping
I’ve now 208 stitches instead of 216 stitches due to the additional waist decrease I did. Since a size 37 is needed for zero ease on my hips I’ll do an extra increase as well. I will then have 240 stitches as required. That will also add 8 rounds to the length provided I do all the (3) plain rounds after the last increase, which I believe will be just right.

It seems like I’ll have to introduce the third skein before I finish the lace…

May, 15th: Lace
Alternating skeins in the lace border. Don’t like it but the rest of the second skein is not enough for the lace border.
Placed markers for each pattern repeat. Need those because I always seem to forget the purl stiches.

May, 22th: Sleeves
Bound off the lace hem today. Time to do the sleeves.

June, 1st:
Bond off the first sleeve.

June, 3rd: Neckline trim
Picked up the neckline trim stiches. About 14 stitches less than called for - subsracted from neck and the sides of the neckline. After 2 rounds of purling I bound off in stich, substituting the rigth needle for one 0.5mm larger in order to get an even and nice bind-off. Very happy with the fit of this neckline.

June, 8th:
Bond off the second sleeve.

Note to self & useful tips
Saved half of first skein in order to knit the finishing of the neck and the top of each of the sleeves in same color. Used this to alternate with the new skein on the sleeves. Alternated the end of the first half of the first skein with next skein on the body as well.
If I’d saved 60% of the skein for the sleves I could have finished both the sleeves without alternating. Next time I knit a project in similar construction I’ll knit the sleeves and the neckline trim right after joining the work in the round before completing the body.

Conclusion:
The more relaxed stitch made the fabric stretch a bit more than anticipated, so the sweater is 10 cm/4” to long, and a tad wide around the high bust, but it’ll stay that way. (Gauge after wash came out as 30st/29-32 rows and varied a bit through the project.) I’m lousy at frogging back after finishing a garnment… And the lace at the left sleeve is way more relaxed than the one on the rigth. But I’ll still use it and love it.
If I’ll knit this once more with the same yarn I’d knit size 35 instead.
Maybe a nicer block (a steaming and just a blocking of the lace, not of the whole) would have been a better choice.
The good thing about the relaxed fit is that it makes the blocking of the lace “tags” much easier.

The pictures are taken after several “wears” so the lace tags is not as sharp as they should be.

Edit:
Can’t believe that I’m already contemplating knitting this once more!

Yarn:
I love it! It’s so soft and nice. And I can wear it next to my skin without itching. Since it’s 70/30 merino/silk it grows a little, but not unexpectedly much…

Used 2.42 skeins/1057.5 yards, (242 grams/967 meters) of yarn.