Tilter Duster - First FO of 2009

When I first became pregnant and realized I would be my biggest in the winter, Norah Gaughan's Tilted Duster was one of the first projects I picked out. I loved that it could be a maternity sweater as well as a regular sweater. Plus with our mild San Diego winters, I knew I would have plenty of opportunities to wear an open wool sweater like this.

I ended up starting the sweater at the end of September, but made the majority of the progress since I've been on bedrest. This was also a perfect bedrest knit...at least for me...since I haven't been able to handle anything complicated at all. Because while it may look a little 'different' to knit, it is actually a very simple pattern and very straightforward.

(I swear my sweater isn't tripping on acid...I have no idea why my camera decided to do this, but since I was cheating (by standing up) while taking these photos in the first place...I unfortunately won't be retaking them.)

I knit the sweater on size 8 needles with less than 7 balls of Rowan Magpie in Boggy (690). The yarn was a good basic wool yarn. Although it tended to be a little splitty, which I wasn't expecting. However, it blooms nicely once washed, easy on the hands and blocked wonderfully.

The only thing I modified was the neck line. When I reviewed other finished sweaters in Ravelry, it seemed that most had trouble staying closed where the neck band overlapped in the center. First of all, I knit mine down a needle size (7). I also started my button holes at the one inch mark and only used three buttons. (There are actually two more buttons inside to hold the neck closed, but my modifications meant that the two lowest buttons would end up on top of each other. So, I eliminated the lower hidden button.) I also only knit 4 inches of the collar, since I didn't want mine too high up my neck. Finally, I added a hook and eye closure to the center of the front to help the neck meet nicely in the middle.

Finally, the only other complaint I read about in Ravelry was the tendency for the bottom of the stockinette sides to curl. I figured Norah Gaughan knows what she's doing, so I just made sure I bound off in the direction she recommended and hoped blocking would solve any issues. I wasn't overly concerned because I had already seen at this point how well the Magpie blocked out...and I was right. There is a slight 'tip' to the stockinette portion, but certainly no more than in the publication photos and definitely not enough to bother me.

So I guess bedrest does have its 'perks' ;-) I haven't knit so much in a long, long time! Its not exactly comfortable knitting given that I have to lay propped up and sideways, but because I'm not working on the keyboard all day long, I've been enjoying seeing some knitting progress. Also, as you can see in these photos, I am making good progress on baking this little baby boy of ours. He is currently at 35 weeks and I am off all my medications. I plan to continue to take the rest of my pregnancy easy so that this little guy will be born as close to his due date (February 12th) as possible! Thanks again for everyone's well-wishes. Your support has meant so much to me and my family!