Tecumseh sweater, finished

Just as the weather is changing and fall is beginning, I've finished knitting a colorwork sweater! This one has been a bit of a labor of love. And like any other big creative project, it has a bit of a backstory.

I cast on right before Christmas, in the midst of a lot of morning sickness. After a decent start, I set it aside in favor of some smaller projects, like Christmas socks and a cozy hat. I'm rather strict about my knitting projects. I either complete them in a rather timely manner, or I unravel them to free up head space. But in pregnancy, smaller projects felt more doable when I wasn't feeling well. And then, Nicholas got his new job and we moved and, and, and...life felt very full without the addition of a colorwork sweater in-progress. Rather unlike myself, I intentionally packed it away in a project bag in a box, knowing I wouldn't have the right mindset to work on it for some time, but not wanting to rip out what I had done so far.

Once we moved into our apartment and the nesting bug caught, I picked it up and knit on it like crazy in the two weeks leading up to Cooper's birthday, managing to finish the body of the sweater and pick up stitches for one sleeve. And then, I had Cooper, and in the midst of some postpartum anxiety and sleep deprivation, the thought of working on the sweater was just overwhelming, once again.

But here we are, Cooper is closer to four months than three, now. Our life looks very different, but in moments here and there, I find myself still able to satisfy the creative itch with a little knitting before bed, or having a sock project on the go, always ready for longer car rides. And I truly wanted to finish this sweater, more so to clear the headspace it occupied than for the desire to wear it. I knit on the sleeves rather quickly, wanting to maintain momentum, and this time, I was able to do so long enough to finish it. My mind feels less "full" having such a large project off the needles, but more than that, I have a finished sweater that I really love.

It grew in length with blocking, but I actually prefer it that way. I love the subtle "puff" of the sleeves, and how it's very different from anything else in my wardrobe. And the yarn, while soft to begin with, has softened even more with a washing. I had Katelyn take some photos of me wearing it on my birthday weekend, since photography and blogging about a big project are the last two steps to calling it done.

Details

For more details, see my ravelry project page

Yarn: Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK in the colors mole, caviar, and carnelian

Size: S, but I made some modifications (see below)

Pattern: Tecumseh by Caitlin Hunter

Needles: US 4 and 5

Specifics/modifications: See my ravelry page for the most detail, but I raised the split for the arms to achieve a more "conventional" sweater shape, rather than more of the swoncho shape. I knit all the colorwork with a US 5, with the exception of the sleeves. I prefer to knit my sleeves with 12" circular needles and I don't own a US 5 circular needle that is 12", so I knit the entire sleeves, colorwork and all, on a US 4.

P.S.— It's my birthday today! I have about five blog post drafts swirling around in my head, including one about my birthday weekend. Hopefully they will make their way out of my brain into this space soon :)