The Traveler sweater (crewneck), finished

As the new baby's arrival grow closer, I find that the "nesting" energy comes in waves. Unsurprisingly, I am most motivated to put the bulk of that energy towards finishing up knitting projects and Christmas shopping – not unimportant tasks, but perhaps not as practical as say, freezer meal prep.

Nonetheless, in a flurry of "I need to finish this," I finally completed the knitting, finishing, and blocking of my Traveler sweater (crewneck version), a pattern by Andrea Mowry. The yarn is a favorite of mine: Purl Soho Good Wool, and one that's been waiting in stash for a couple of years. It knits up and blocks beautifully, making a soft, yet sturdy fabric. I previously knit a Kerti sweater out of the same yarn, and it remains one of my most-worn sweaters to date. It's warm, but lightweight, and it perfect for layering without overheating.

With this sweater, I was hoping for a less cropped version, and I still wanted to maintain a bit of the oversized fit. I will say that there were various points in this project when I paused, because I really (still) can't be sure of the final fit of this sweater on a non-pregnant body, and because this fabric grew significantly with blocking, due to the stitch pattern. That said, I think I got the length and width I was hoping for, and it should be the cozy, just-a-bit-oversized neutral textured sweater I was wanting to create.

I'll share some photos of it now, and will plan to also add some photos of myself wearing it when baby DeVries is here (in my arms) and the fit of the sweater is different.

All in all, I am so pleased with the sweater, the yarn, and the process. I set a (self-imposed) deadline to finish the body of the sweater by the end of September, and to finish the entire sweater by the end of October, and that was just the motivation I needed – I met the deadlines (lots of car knitting to and from a recent visit to Minnesota helped) and the sweater is done!

Details

For more details, see my Ravelry project page.

Yarn: Purl Soho Good Wool that was part of a birthday gift from my family in 2022. This color (Driftwood Grey) was one of the contrast colors in my Kerti sweater, but I knew I had enough (just about 3.75 skeins) remaining for a full sweater. I wanted to be cautious about yardage, knowing I would add significant length to the sweater. I ended up using just about 3.5 skeins.

Size: 2 (42"), with significant length added (see below)

Pattern: The Traveler (crewneck version) by Andrea Mowry

Needles: US 5 for main sweater body. US 7 for sleeves (my small circumference knitting is always tighter), US 3 for neck and hem ribbing, and US 2 for prep rows for tubular BO and the actual BO.

Specifics/modifications:  Added 3" of length to the body (measured pre-blocking) and approximately 2" in length to the sleeves. I have a long torso, so adding length is typical for me, and in this case, I added additional length because I wanted a less cropped fit.

I will say that 2x2 ribbing with a tubular bind off is not my favorite, since the setup row where you have to rearrange your stitches is so fiddly (and in my experience, kind of sloppy looking). I would rather a 2x2 neckline with a folded collar, or a 1x1 neckband with an Italian or tubular bind off. That said, I am happy with the finishes on this sweater after I reknit the collar, it is just slightly less elastic because I went down so many needle sizes.

And now, I'm going to finish typing this so I can do some more knitting! I'll share some other recently completed projects soon, but it feels so good to have such a large project completed and ready to wear in time for winter.