Rhapsody in Brown - finished!

It's done! I finished Rhapsody in Brown this weekend. Seaming the sides was easy as pie. (Who knew that seaming reverse stockinette would be so easy?) I'm also about 10 minutes from finishing the Lorna's Laces socks, but alas, the camera is again joining its owner on a camping and hiking trip, so no pictures until tomorrow or Wednesday. (This time it's a work related camping and hiking trip. That's what you get for living and working in New Hampshire. ;)

Here it is on the person it was made for. Perfect fit! Seriously, it really it is as close to perfect as I could have imagined. The sleeves are the exact right length, and the body length looks great on him. For some reason, the collar looks loose and floppy in all the pics I took of him. It must be a trick of the camera, and/or his posture, because it looked just fine in person when he tried it on yesterday. I'm so proud of myself for making a sweater that fits him so well, and so happy for him that he has one he can wear. And it's actually a sweater he will wear, so this isn't a pipe dream, or anything. (Head cropped to protect the innocent.)

Mmm... cables...

Pattern source - Rhapsody in Tweed, Fall 2004 Interweave Knits

Yarn - Cascade Eco Wool, just over 3 skeins. I love this stuff!

general notes - Would have been just under 3 full skeins, I suspect, if my gauge were on. My row gauge was definitely tight, so I ended up adjusting the pattern to account for this. I had an additional pattern repeat on the body sections, and had to completely redesign the sleeve increases to get a satisfactory shape. I also did an extra cable crossing on the collar, to get it to a good length. I'm really happy I went with a solid color of yarn. I think it looks better than the tweed version in IK. I'm also happy I went with a slimmer fit. It suits A's body better than a baggy sack of a sweater would. Plus, that's what he requested, and he really likes how it feels on him.

What I'd do differently next time - Not much, really. I think I could have gotten away with making the neck even longer, but I'm happy with it as it is, too. I did make some judgment calls with how to continue the cabling pattern when doing the neck shaping on the front and back pieces. I stopped patterning a bit earlier than I needed to, in the fear that cables at the very top of those sections would make the shoulders too bumpy and bulky. I'm not sure if this was the right decision. It might have been, but it's something I'd consider again if I were to make the sweater again.

Now I have a whole bunch of yarn leftover. When I say I used just over 3 skeins, those are 3 amazingly huge skeins. That means I have most of a 4th amazingly huge skein leftover. A. definitely wants a hat to go with the sweater. I just have to decide how to pattern it. I may go with plain stockinette or ribbing, but may decide to use that small cable (the one running down the sides of the body and the arms) to make it match. I'm really sick of that cable, but I won't make the hat right away, so I'll probably be ready to do more of it in a few weeks. I might also make a scarf, but given how seldomly A. wears scarves, I might be better off making a few hats. (A couple for him, and one for me.) He likes hats.

Now for the weather to get colder, so he can wear it. It already feels like Autumn is coming. The mornings are getting chilly, and the leaves on the cherry tree are turning yellow. In a month or so, I bet it will be cool enough for him to wear it on one of our walks around Goose Pond. I made the sweater in a darker color specifically so he wouldn't be afraid of wearing it on walks like that. It can get a bit dusty. The perfect New Hampshire sweater. :-)