first sweater (kindof)

This sweater is the first thing I ever made other than a scarf!! It isn't as hard as a real sweater because there aren't any arms to attach, but it was a great lesson in shaping and patience too ... since I have been working on this since mid-March and haven't 100 percent finished it yet. All I have left is the neck and armhole finishing, but I don't know how to crochet (for the arms) and when I picked up stitches for the neck roll, the purls came out on the wrong side! So I have to rip out the neck and start over, but I hate doing that. Since I started in on the cutest baby jumper ever I haven't paid much attention to this pretty pink thing. Much to Wes' dismay, it has been sitting in a heap on one end of the couch for two weeks! I am planning to double up when I stop in to Anacapa Fine Yarns for help with the yarn-over button holes and learn how to single crochet at the same time, so I can finish up both of these in the next week or so.
I made this sweater for a "first garment" class at AFY taught by Lois. I loved the class and I learned so much about all the little processes of knitting that I had never paid attention to before. I learned a little about gauge, but still don't' get it (I think my gauge is messed up on the baby jumper, but luckily she is growing and it will fit her at some point in her life!). I am taking a workshop exclusively on gauge next weekend with instructor Barbara at AFY.
This sweater fits me great (thanks to Lois helping me with gauge!) - however, I think since I was anxious to finish it, I made it a little too short. Good thing my mom loved what she saw of this sweater before she and Dad left on their journey across America and good thing she is seven inches shorter than me! This sweater should be the perfect length for her ... if I ever finish it!
The pattern is from Classic Elite Yarns, in their Spring 2005 FARM Pattern book. I found it very easy to put together ... the hardest thing I had done before this was a couple of scarves with stripes!!
Photo courtesy of Classic Elite Yarns