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Best. Sweater. Ever.

Materials: 13 balls Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed in Jewel, ordered from Australia. (Note: I have about 3 full balls left over.)

Time: Intermittently throughout summer.

Cost: $115.00 including air mail, and worth every penny.

I never wear my Cowly sweater -- it just doesn't fit right -- so I decided that the next sweater that I spent my time and money on would have a well-written, detailed pattern and look good. And because Rogue is an incredibly detailed, hand-holding, easy-to-follow pattern that looks good on pretty much everybody, I decided to put my trust in it.

I also decided to go all-out on the yarn, because I loves me some deep purple colors and the Jo Sharp was in just that. Despite its being a high-end yarn ordered from overseas, it didn't actually cost much more than your average sweater knit from middle-of-the-road yarn shop yarn; moreover, I have enough left over to make myself a nice scarf. But the Silkroad Aran Tweed is soft enough to wear with a t-shirt underneath and not itch at all, and it has a nice drape to it. It and the Peace Fleece used to make my Rogue #2 are complete opposites, but both styles work for this pattern. I also made the smallest 35.5" size in both cases, with room to spare. I swatched pretty carefully, but I'm not too good at counting, so I don't mind them being large enough to layer.

One secret that I found out while making it: cabling is really not that tough. I even memorized the chart symbols pretty quickly. One thing that I did find helpful, though is this page showing how to make a double increase. This article about grafting is also invaluable -- I was very scared of the Kitchener stitch, because I'd heard so many horror stories, but guess what? If you can seam something, then you can graft, too. One tip that I found very handy that isn't included in the article is that when you need to graft purlwise--which you will, if you want the top of the hood to look seamless--then you simply reverse the direction that you put the needle through the stitch. In other words, you can knit-purl-purl-knit your way happily along, but whenever you get to a purl stitch at a point where you'd normally insert your needle purlwise, insert it knitwise. If you get to a purl stitch at a place where you'd normally insert your needle knitwise, do it purlwise. And if you mess up, it's ok, because you can very easily rip out your work and do it over.

I totally dig the finished product -- it's exactly what I was hoping it would be like, except for maybe the tendency to visibly attract cat hair like a magnet. I've been spoiled by the yarn, unfortunately, so I see myself working with it in the future. I've also most definitely been spoiled by the pattern, so I'll be picking and choosing my projects oh-so-carefully in the future... or at least wait until Jenna comes out with her next thing.