No more Ripping.

I am sitting here this morning in Ripstick.  Ripstick is my take on Joji Locatelli's fantastic Lipstick sweater and it is finished but for buttons.

The sweater would have been completed much sooner but for some truly awful button holes on the first try at button bands.  While it was sitting for a spell, I came to realize that every time my pullover sweaters were clean I wore them rather than a cardigan.  I have caught myself thinking about how long my Icelandic Overblouse takes to dry to so I could wear it on a regular basis.  It isn't that I don't wear all the cardigans.  I do.  Tons and tons, but I really seem to appreciate the pullovers more.  

As I was pulling back to offending button band, I was thinking about how I was going to knit the button holes.  The buttons I found are not overly large, just a nice solid glorious red.  But I wanted to be sure that the buttonholes were crisp.  

And then I remembered about the pullovers and thought about how I would wear this sweater, and when, and realized I did not need buttonholes at all.  what  really wanted was something I could wear without buttons popping open all the time.  A second plain buttonband was knit and the final act of working with the yarn was to sew the button bands together as if they were buttoned.  All that remains of it is to sew the buttons on.

I am so pleased.  So very very pleased with the way this sweater turned out.  I would take a picture but it needs blocking and I need to be dressed.  

If I was to make it again, and I do think I will, I would do a few more short rows for the back to make the shirt tail hemline more obvious, and I would make the sleeves a few rows shorter.  My guess about the way to stay as close to the pattern as possible while making a well fitting sweater for my body seems to have worked out.  The fit is really, really nice, with ease and flow that makes this sweater so perfect for all body types.  

As much as I like the sweater pattern, I love the yarn.  It was a delight in every single way.  From the first moment I saw Rios at my LYS, I knew I wanted it.  And now?  I want it more.

There is always a moment when you try on a sweater for that first time, where you hold your breath because if it isn't right, you have spent a great number of hours making something blah.  There is also that moment when you stand, looking at it all for the first time and the first thing that comes to mind is 'I did that' and then you turn and say 'wow, I really did that'.  Self affirmation of the first order.

On to blocking but right now, I am just sitting here in the glow of a project done right.  I know, pictures or it didn't happen.