My Second First Sweater

I've been jonesing to knit myself a sweater for a while and when I saw eight skeins of Bartlettyarns Fisherman 2-ply for $25 shipped on a Ravelry destash, I knew the time had finally come. I originally thought I would knit EZ's Aran Cardigan and set about knitting a swatch cap. Unfortunately, I misread her instructions and attempted to squeeze 5 stitches into one inch. Let me tell you, knitting cables with a true aran weight yarn on size 5 needles is no picnic. However, once I got straight with the gauge, I found that my cable patterns looked like crap. I thought to myself, "I can make this much nicer with Cascade" and promptly frogged.

After having knit several stockinette swatches with garter borders, I rather fell in love with the look. I laid in bed that night thinking, "Maybe I'll just knit a simple raglan sweater with garter borders. Oh, and I could even do a line of garter up the side for more interest." And then I realized what I was envisioning: Jared Flood's Cobblestone. Well then, aren't I a genius?

Next morning I cast on for a sleeve and was off to the races. The yarn is a bit stiff to work with, but I think I've gotten used to it. It definitely softens up after a good washing. The only troubles I've had so far are with the cable length on my circular needle (it's almost too short to knit the body comfortably) and knitting garter stitch in the round. It wasn't much of an issue with the sleeves, but switching from knit to purl and back at the end of the round on the body has created a weak spot where the fabric wants to fold. I'm hoping it will block out, but I'm planning to try the jogless garter stitch employed by Alice here for the yoke.

I'm now into the endless sea of stockinette that is the body of a man sized sweater. The garter panels at the side break things up enough to keep it interesting, but I don't really mind all the stockinette. I've been in the mood for something mindless for quite a while now.