Magnum Opus

It has been some time, but I actually did finish the Fisherman's Sweater for my husband! I began this project back at the end of June, 2014. My goal had been to finish it in time for cold weather in November. Due to two moves and a lot of non-knitting snags, it took me longer than I'd hoped. I had hoped to finish it in time for Christmas, but I missed by a month. I was finished by early February, 2015. Just in time for Valentine's Day. It took me about 7 months to complete!

This has been one of my favorite projects (of course)! I love cables and this pattern has plenty of cable patterns. It actually combines about 5 different cable patterns into one sweater. My biggest fear throughout the entire  process was that it would end up too short and the sleeves wouldn't be the right length. Well, the sleeves were just fine. It did come out slightly short at the bottom. It is amazing what blocking can do!



I was also concerned with my ability to sew all the seams together. A seamstress, after all, I am not. Surprisingly, sewing the sleeves on and figuring out mattress stitch for the sides was not nearly as difficult as I'd feared. It also didn't take me as long to sew up as I had expected it would. I am fascinated with mattress stitch. It just disappears and the seam is invisible! Amazing!

So, on February 8, 2015, I completed my first winter sweater. It was knit with love for my husband, who is always hot, so I'm not sure if/when he'll even wear it! In any case, he has tried it on and to my utter amazement, it fits! I was most worried about the sleeves, but they turned out just fine. The bottom is a little short, but I was able to block it pretty easily and it "grew" another 4 inches. He was patient enough to pose for a picture while sweating to death in his sweater. He is a true fisherman, however, and it will likely come in handy on his November walleye fishing trips.

The question now is, what do I knit next?