SUMMARY
(In case you don’t care to read every detail about this sweater, and just want to know how I liked the pattern.)

Loved the pattern -- if you’re looking for a quick knit that still looks great and is well-constructed, I think you’ll be very happy. I only made two tiny mods:

1. Lengthened the sleeves, and left out the final decrease. (Also knit the sleeves on Magic Loop.)
2. Used three-needle bindoff for the hood.

After blocking and wearing, I do think the no-button style is what makes me think the armholes are a tad to big. With the hood and the weight of the yarn, it does tend to droop on my shoulders a bit. However, I also think that’s just the style, so I might just not worry about it. Two buttons/loops in the front might be on the agenda.

I already have plans for Elizabeth’s Wonder Years and Audrey’s First Day for my kids. And maybe (gasp!) her Touch of Grey cardigan for me!

DETAILED NOTES
1/15: Cast on for my very first adult-size sweater! Very excited. I think I’ve found a pattern that meets my criteria, which basically revolve around FAST. I am a small-project knitter for sure. But this is chunky yarn, and the garter-stitch yoke is appealing. (I am a very slow purler!) I like the basic, top-down construction, which I’ve done on lots of baby sweaters, but this has some nice details, like the hood and eyelet diamond pattern.

1/17: Granted, I’ve had a lot of knitting time on this long weekend, but this is going fast. I finished the yoke and put the sleeves on scrap yarn. But now that I’m purling rows, it’s slower. Also, minor disaster -- the cable pulled out of a my KnitPicks needles in the middle of the row. Not like it came unscrewed -- it pulled right out of the join to the needle. This was not good, and it took me a while to get everything back on the needles. Fortunately, the only really wonky part appears to be under one arm. But, ugh! Annoying. I tried it on, and it appears to fit. Yay!

1/18: How do people knit dozens of sweaters each year? I am bored already. :) Fortunately, it is moving right along. Thank goodness for the eyelet diamond pattern, which is keeping my interest. I just finished the first (of four) repeats of the 12-row pattern. I had to rip out rows 10 and 11 to reknit the end of row 9, so that was no fun. But I’m really loving the way it’s looking!

1/21: Just about 8 or 9 rows from finishing the body! This sweater is incredibly fast, though I really need to learn to purl continental-style, because the wrong-side rows take me FOREVER. Got to the ribbing and had one stitch too few. Hmmm … Panicked for a minute that I had dropped a stitch, but I didn’t see one. Finally realized that I had forgotten a YO in the very last row of the diamond eyelet pattern. Sad, but no way was I ripping back! No one will notice except me. Excited to start a sleeve after I finish the body -- they’re in the round, so hopefully I can fly through those!

1/26: Had to take a little break for a test-knitting project and another project for a class I’m teaching. But now I’m back, and about halfway through the first sleeve. Took me a few tries to get the right needle. The 16-inch circ called for the in the pattern was too long for the 58 stitches. I really wanted to avoid DPNs (too much turning when you’ve got the bulk of the sweater attached). So I finally settled on Magic Loop. Seems to be working well. This is definitely a disadvantage of top-down, seamless adult sweaters -- by the time you’ve finished the body, there’s a lot of bulk hanging off your needles. Worth it, though. :)

1/31: So close! I did not knit this in quite the same order as the pattern specified, so I am on the last sleeve, which is the final part. I hope to finish tonight. I even wove in all the ends already, so it will be truly finished and ready to block. I was worried about picking and knitting the front ribbed bands. I tend to bind off really tightly, and I was concerned that it would really affect the bands. But I went up a needle size and concentrated on binding off loosely, and it worked great! My first sleeve is a bit long -- it was coming out too short when I knit to the pattern, but I overcompensated a little too much. I’ve decided to stick with it, though, because I prefer longer sleeves, and if I fold back the ribbing, it’s perfect. I had to dip into the third skein of Eco Wool, which I was hoping not to do. But I’ll have lots left over for something else!

2/1/11: Finished! Well, the knitting anyway. It’s blocking now. (It takes considerably more time and space to properly block an adult sweater than, say, a pair of mittens!) Very, very excited. It’s possible that the armholes are just a tad too big, but I think it will be OK. I hope so. I’ll make the final call after blocking. Photos soon!