Finished Mae sweater

For my birthday this year, my parents and my Grandma Donna gave me some money to buy yarn, which is such a fun gift for me. And also, it was a timely gift, since my friend, Maeve and I decided it would be fun to do a mini Knit-A-Long (KAL), where we knit the same sweater pattern at the same time. Or rather she decided to knit a Mae sweater and I said, "Me too!" I went yarn shopping with my mom when I visited in September of last year, and came home with a sweater's quantity of smooshy-soft olive(ish) green yarn. I cast on shortly thereafter, but then set this project aside amid the whirl of Christmas gift knitting. In January, I picked it up again, and now it's the coziest, tunic-length sweater.

Since the yarn is superwash wool, and the sweater is knit at a fairly relaxed gauge, I knew that it would "grow" (lengthen) when I blocked the finished sweater, and it did. Prior to blocking, it fell to my hips, and after blocking, it's firmly in the tunic category, which is preferable, actually.

Details

For even more details, you can see my ravelry project page

Yarn: Plymouth Yarns Worsted Merino Superwash Solids

Pattern: Mae sweater by Andrea Mowry

Needles: US size 9 for the ribbing, size 10 for the main body fabric. Size 8 dpns for the sleeves, simply because I don't own size 9 dpns. I sized down from the pattern recommendations for needles, as is my usual for my loose tension.

Specifics/modifications: My gauge was different than the pattern specified (more stitches to the inch), since I didn't want the fabric to be too loosely woven. made the smallest size and sized down my needles, knowing that the pattern had 10" of built in ease, and anticipating that the yarn would grow. The pattern calls for worsted yarn, but the sample was knit in a heavier worsted/aran weight, and my yarn is a lighter worsted, so I didn't want my fabric to be too loosely knit. Also, I've noticed that even when I swatch, my gauge is slightly tighter when I knit in the round. Otherwise, I knit to the pattern to a T.

This was a fun knit! The textured stockinette is good Netflix/coffee shop knitting. I enjoyed the short rows, as they add both visual interest and they kept my interest as I was knitting. I still need to mix and match and play around with different outfit combinations, but I expect to wear this sweater a lot, and probably layer it for cooler weather, too.

Nicholas snapped a few pictures of it today for me :) A project feels truly done after the ends are woven in, it's blocked, dried, and I have some pictures.

Now onto swatching for the next sweater!

P.S.— I'm fair-complected at baseline, even in the summer, but my goodness, I'm sorry if I blinded you with my super pale winter skin. ;)