I have probably mentioned before in these pages that I like to iron. Of all the household chores, this is the one and only chore that I find unobjectionable. Oh, except for laundry, which has as it's best feature the fact that you mostly don't do it, machines do it. The thing I like about ironing is that you can do it while doing something else, like watching TV. Most chores are painfully boring while requiring your full attention, a combination I find staggeringly unappealing.
As a knitter, ironing has another thing to recommend it. It actually alters the dimensions of some (alas, not all) garments. A fact that saved me on this project. Notice the button, which closes properly (at least in the top photo), indicating that the sweater is the correct size. Well, before I took the steam iron to it, I tried it on and was dismayed to find that although I am not especially pear-shaped, I was, well, kind of pear shaped. The sweater was just too snug, causing all kinds of unattractive pulling and gaping.
Saved! It fits. And the weather has cooled down considerably, so that I will be able to wear it once or twice before summer. The pattern is "the lacy little number" from a Sublime pattern book, and it was a real plesure to knit. Simple, repetitive, very little shaping, let's just say I could read, watch TV or otherwise multi-task throughout much of the process.....so nice when that happens.
Details: I used Squoosh Fiberarts Merino Cashmere sock in Grey Powder, maybe about four skeins, on size three needles. The yarn is some of the nicest yarn I've ever knit with, and I will be looking for more projects for it. I knit the sweater about four inches longer than the pattern called for, obviously below the waist. It was a quick and pleasurable knit.
