Something New

No, the blanket isn't done.
But after the slipper failure I decided to quit hooking for a while and pick up my knitting needles. You know, brush the cobwebs off...
Thing is, I went out and bought myself an Easter dress (yeah, because I'm 10) and I want a nice shrug/ mini sweater to wear with it.

So I hit up Big Lots again (It's the only store within walking distance of myself- I go there a lot) for some worsted weight acrylic.

I dug around on Ravelry for a pattern but didn't really find anything I like. I was quite set on this sweater, but
1) there is no gauge given
2) it is only in a size 36/38
3) it is knit in pieces and then sewn up
4) no schematic

So I made myself a swatch and found that if I followed the directions as written the garment would be almost 10 inches too big for me. So I decided I might as well re-vamp the whole thing: knit it all in one piece to minimize seaming, employ the top-down in-the-round sleeve technique, and make it a V-neck.

So far it's going along swimmingly.

 And the back view:

I'm not sure how the V neck will turn out... Especially since I intend on doing the band separately and then sewing it on, just like in the pattern. If that fails, I think an applied I-cord will looks just fine. I still haven't decided how I plan on closing the sweater when none of my buttons match the yarn, the dress, or each other.
^_^
Here it is clasped shut with stitch markers. I needed to stretch it a bit, but hopefully the button/neckband will provide the necessary width.

So yeah! Not bad for 1 and a half days of knitting/designing!
I have high hopes it will be done by Easter. My hopes are so high that I'm taking a gardening break!