It has been a  busy month and there has not been much knitting. But luckily towards the end of the year everything is coming back to normal. We are moved in the new apartment and the amount of stuff still in boxes is getting smaller. The computers are running ( we were lucky not to lose power during the big power outage many people including me at work experienced). And after a week without connection our internet  has been transfered. My father is home from the hospital after a heart attack and although he still has to go through a surgery he is doing really well (I suspect the incredible amount of Christmas sweets my mom bakes has something to do with his quick recovery). 

I have not made any handknit Christmas gifts this year but I managed to finish one project, Durrow for Hubby.

Pattern: Durrow by Jodi Green
Yarn: Cascade 220, 7 skeins
Needles: Size 7.
Modifications: One more repeat of cable pattern on the sleeves, fold-over turtleneck from Cabled Yoke Sweater by Debbie Bliss




When I knit for other people I hardly ever ask them to choose a pattern. I might ask about details, whether they would like a pullover or a cardigan, turtleneck or V-neck or what colors they like but I leave searching for the right pattern for myself.  Hubby made it very easy for me this time when he said "I don`t care, I just want a sweater."  I have been wanting to make Durrow for a while and because I know he prefers basic smooth yarn rather than tweed  (which is "too knobby") I picked up Cascade 220 in a nice heathery gray shade and started.



Knitting the body and the sleeves was really easy and surprisingly fast. I especially enjoyed the cables. I made one more repeat of the cable pattern on the sleeves because I wanted the cables all the way onto  the shoulders, as close to the collar as possible. The real fun started when I was putting the individual pieces together. I wished I followed my instinct and joined the body and the sleeves at the armholes and continued from there, knitting the raglan decreases in the round rather than seaming them afterwards.



 I had  quite a bit of trouble with the collar. Of course it turned out to be too wide, as lots of people had noticed before. I complicated matters for myself by substituting instructions from a different pattern, Cable Yoke Sweater from Wish you were here by Debbie Bliss. I made the same type of collar before for my brother in law and  Hubby really liked it. It took a couple attempts, some ripping back to the seams to make the neckline on the front higher before it worked out. At the end, I am really glad I took the time to modify the pattern. The fold over turtleneck goes really well with the rest of the design. Hubby has been wearing it almost every day and I am happy that he has a warm sweater for the cold snowy months ahead.