Last week I finished an Annabel Cardigan from Quince & Co. It is the first actual item of clothing that I have made for myself, other than the typical winter accessories. I chose this pattern because it looked simple, practical, and only used 5 skeins of yarn, which still seemed like such an investment of time and money. What if I messed it up? What if it didn't fit? It is not perfect, but I am content with it being my first "big person" knitting project.
I should have paid better attention to the sizing information. I thought that the next size up sounded too big and I didn't want it to look dowdy. Lesson learned - when you're knitting a sweater, bigger is better. I stretched it out as much as I could, but it is still snug. I can wear it over a tight t-shirt or tank, but it is too tight in the arms to wear over a long sleeve shirt. Once I realized that though, I just couldn't bring myself to start over. Of course, I didn't knit a gauge swatch, I never have. The pattern called for 5 skeins, but I had a whole skein plus 1/3 of the fourth one left over, so maybe my gauge was off. The handmade wood buttons are from Anthony's Wood Shop on Etsy. I am thrilled with them and really like how they look on the sweater.
Please ignore the ill-fitting garment that the little babe is wearing. It was one of my no-pattern projects and I made the arm straps way too long. Luckily, I should have plenty of time to fix it - the temp was in the 80's with high humidity during our photo shoot. Definitely not bulky wool weather!