What Day Is It?

I apologize for the silence on the blog these past several days. The holiday weekend combined with packing up the house combined with moving in with my parents proved to be the perfect storm that kept me away from blogging.

Will you forgive me if I show you pretty man-sweater pictures? Pretty please?

Pattern: Seamless Hybrid from Knitting without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann
Yarn: Cascade 220 Wool, color 8400, approximately 5.25 skeins
Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm) 32" Addi Turbo circs and dpns
Started/Completed: March 17/May 23
Recipient: The Mister

This sweater looks very much like the last version, which, if you know my husband's taste in knitting, is no surprise. Although I used the same numbers as last time, I made several key changes in version 2.0.

First, The Mister complained that the original was too short, so I added an inch and a half to the body and about a quarter inch to the sleeve length. I also opted for a simple 2x2 rib for the cuffs instead of knitted-in hem facings. You'll notice that the back of the neck is a little different as well; I wasn't completely satisfied with my grafting job on the long saddle the last time around, so this time I worked the two shoulder saddles to the same point and then worked a third saddle in between them. Finally, although the original fit The Mister just fine, I thought it would be a little more comfy on him if he had a little more room, so I worked in a little more ease by going up a needle size.

Although the timing wasn't ideal for finishing this sweater -- true to my prediction, the temps went into the 80s shortly after I bound off -- The Mister is still thrilled with it. In fact, it's a little chilly this evening, so he asked if it would be okay with me if he kept it on for a while. Then he suggested I make one for my father for the holidays this year. Does this mean there's more stockinette tubes in my future?