A good start

So far, so good on the first Rusted Root. This early on, everything seems to be going fine. Not sure about my decision to go ahead with the puffed sleeves, but they're looking like they won't be too puffy and hopefully not a huge problem. I can't remember if I saw this on Ravelry or on one of the LJ knitting communities I watch, but puffed sleeves are not a chesty girl's best friend. They can end up looking something like this:

puffPUFFpuff

It makes me giggle, anyway.

So hopefully, I will not be regretting the choice to leave the sleeve puffs in. I should have a better idea of how they'll look in a few inches when I start feeling out where I want the arm holes to end and where exactly I'm going to drop the neckline to. That has to be my one complaint about the Gals patterns; they love these high necklines that are not flattering on me in the least. Following the lead of aruzin and good karma, I plan to drop the neckline a good 5"-6" before starting the lace panel. This should be more flattering on me. Aruzin went one step farther to quickly increase the bust when she joined in the round after taking the sleeves off and I plan to do the same. I'm thinking of adding just over 2" in stitches to the front of the sweater at that point. (In order to avoid the sleeves being way too big later on, when I pick up the stitches to knit, I'll likely k2tog through them.) Unlike the other two, I plan to be even more ambitious and add a horizontal bust dart as well. Sadly, if I don't, I'll have another incident like the Green Gable and be unable to lift my arms without showing my entire belly. I've started doing the math thanks to Big Girl Knits and it looks like I'll need 3.5" of HBD in order to make sure that doesn't happen again. I don't think it will be *too* complicated if I do not psych myself out about it first. I know some have avoided adding them to this pattern thanks to the lace panel, but I've done a lot of reading that says you can add them to any sort of a pattern without it being noticed. So I'll be daring and give it a try.

I'm enjoying Cotton Fleece much more this time around. For some reason, this color is a lot softer then the Rue and nice to the touch. The fabric it's producing is much more skin friendly. I'm not sure which of these two is what CF is supposed to feel like. If this batch is, I could see myself using it more in the future and often. I live in a hot climate and they have a ton of colors to choose from. I can see myself with skirts and spring/summer cardigans in it. If it's supposed to be more stiff and scratchy like my other batch, I'd never work with it again.

I'm starting to give thought to the other RR I'll work on down the road. I'm not sure if I'll leave the lace panel in, change in a different panel, or maybe substitute in a cable to it. If I like the shape, I'll likely use it to make a cardigan down the line.

I'm always looking into the future when it comes to projects. If I can ever knit them all, I'll start to have a "respectable" wardrobe.