Sexy Sweater

I try to knit a thing or two for Ryan each year - you know, because he is so supportive of my passion for knitting and because he is always so eager to tell everyone when he's wearing (or I'm wearing) something I've made and because it is truely wonderful to be able to literally wrap him in love. With the push to crank out sweaters for myself that I could wear while pregnant, and after, and then my excitement to stockpile knitting for Baby Bee, I wanted to be sure Ryan wasn't overlooked this year. And, because I'm not sure how much knitting I'll get done after Bee arrives, I wanted this year's project to be really special.

The pattern I found is the Shawl-Collared Cardigan from Erika Knight's Men's Knits. Btw, this fabulous book is stuffed full of patterns that a man would actually wear. So, I fell pretty hard for this sweater, and after telling Ryan how incredibly sexy I thought the sweater to be, he (surprise!) agreed that it would be a very good idea for me to knit one for him. One huge bonus for me was that the bulky yarn used would make it a very quick knit.

So, the yarn is Brown Sheep Burly Spun. It's absolutely gorgeous. The pattern called for Rowan Big Wool, but I liked the color selection for the Burly Spun better. After Ryan and the sweater got caught in a downpour not once, but twice, though, I wonder if the plied Big Wool wouldn't have been a better choice, after all. The sweater is designed with a fair bit of ease, as it is meant to be layered as a jacket, but all of that rain caused it to grow a bit - even with reshaping. Oh, well. Live and learn, right? I still think it's gorgeous, and Ryan loves it.

I'll mention that I sewed in the zipper by hand, rather than use the machine. It was tedious work, but I was afraid to put that chunky fabric through my machine. Also, I feel that hand-sewing helps guard against that horribly uncomfortable wavy-zipper thing that so often happens when pairing zippers with knitwear.

Ok, that's all I've got for you today. I'll be back next week with pictures from our three(!) baby showers. Hopefully I'll also have had the opportunity to finish & photograph a few more of the baby knits I worked on while I was sick, as well as some of the sewing I've been doing. Oh, and for those who are counting, I'm now 37 weeks along. That means Bee is now considered full-term, though hopefully she chooses to wait until the 40 week mark before she makes her entrance into the world! I'll do my best to keep you posted on all of the projects keeping us busy as we make our final preparations...