In the Navy

I think I may have married a saint. The Mister humored me by modeling a wool sweater in 70+ degree heat. I think he deserves to get a sweater next, don't you? (And yes, that is a squirrel trap in the background. We haven't caught any more since Sunday, but they've managed to get in and steal the peanut butter sandwiches without getting trapped.)

Pattern: Seamless Raglan from Knitting without Tears by Elizabeth Zimmermann, 40" chest
Yarn: Cascade 220 (100% wool), color 8393, five skeins*
Needles: US 6 (4.0 mm) 32" and 24" Addi Turbo circs and dpns
Started/Completed: September 13/October 10
Recipient: my father, for his birthday

There's not much commentary I can give on this sweater; like all EZ designs, it's simple and straightforward and results in a completely wearable garment. I stuck with a simple 2x2 rib for the hem, cuffs, and collar and blocked firmly so that they wouldn't hug the body too tightly. My father in particular is not fond of collars that are too close to the neck -- he used to talk about the sweaters my aunt made him years ago, sweaters that had collars so tight that he couldn't get them past his ears when he tried to put them on! -- so I made a real effort to keep the collar loose. It's maybe a little too loose, but I preferred to err on that side than risk it being too tight.

The Mister especially liked the raglan shaping, so he'll likely be getting one of these in the future. I happen to like the look of the Seamless Hybrid a little better, but this is a lot less finicky to knit. With a little shaping, I think this would do very nicely as a woman's sweater, too; it certainly doesn't have the look of football player shoulder pads that saddle shoulder sweaters can create.

(The Mister really just wanted you to look at the sweater and not him in this photo. Well, that and he was also pretending to be shy.)

*One note on the yarn usage: I had to break into my sixth skein of yarn to finish the collar, but after I wove in my beginning ends and snipped off the tails, I think the excess was probably equal to the amount I used in that last skein. I spit spliced every time I joined a new skein, so I really maximized my yarn use. Plus, did I mention that my dad kind of has long arms? Those extra couple of inches on each sleeve would certainly be enough to finish a sweater for a similarly sized man, such as my husband.