Hey! Thanks all - it is so nice to have feedback from fellow knitters
shlowzikins: This yarn is thick and thin and I love the way it turned out - you do see through in spots but I think it makes an interesting fabric. The buttons are a pain to sew on but worth it. I think Stefanie has the right idea with the shell buttons though because they aren't heavy (although more expensive). Mine definitely work but could have been a bit lighter in weight.
octagonfudge: On the contrary, I think if you have yarn in your stash that "calls out" for a certain pattern then it is destiny. Either that or I'm crazy too!
Making the sleeves longer is easy peasy because you have to go back to that point to add ribbing anyway - why not just keep knitting until you like the length? I used magic loop and knit the sleeves in the round but if you don't mind seaming you could knit the arms flat and seam the arms later.
nushybum: Check out Stefanie's patterns - I
think they are ALL top down raglans in one piece with fantastic different details (and thankfully for me) all of math worked out. I doubt I will ever make a sweater with four or five pieces to all be seamed together now that I have done this. Wendy of knitandtonic fame (
http://knitandtonic.typepad.com/knitandtonic/ ) is doing great things this way lately also - check out her fabulous striped number in Aurora 4. And if any of you haven't heard of Barbara Walker's
Knitting from the Top I highly recommend it for wrapping your mind around the concept. She doesn't have patterns but tons of helpful info.
vanessaj: Quick and finish so we can see the end result!
I just have to say again how grateful I am to Stefanie for her fantastic patterns - I refer to them all of the time and like I said before, as soon as I get the extra $, I'll be doing her newest bulky mini cardy (with a modified long bell sleeve because I just can't help it!)
