FO: Flutter-Sleeve Cardigan + Happy 30th Birthday to Me!

Sewing is still my favorite craft activity by far, but knitting wins hands down in the "activities appropriate for extremely tired pregnant ladies who need to keep their swollen ankles up on pillows all the time" department.

This one's from the UFO pile--I started knitting it in June 2008, but had to put it down in September 2008 when it was 90% complete due to repetitive stress issues in my wrists. A few months ago I dug it out and started working on finishing it bit by bit, an hour or two a week. I patiently knit up the button bands, seamed the shoulders, wove in the ends... and last night, I attached the buttons.

Of course, it's not actually a maternity sweater, so it should fit quite a bit better when I don't have a 37-weeks-pregnant belly!

• Pattern: Pam Allen's Flutter Sleeve Cardigan from the Spring 2008 issue of Interweave Knits. The flutter sleeves are knit as one with the body pieces. It's mostly stockinette, with a seed stitch border and ribbing at the waist to create shaping.
• Sizing: I like negative ease, so I made the smallest size--36" finished bust. I had a 38" bust at the time (it's 42" at the moment--thanks pregnancy hormones!) I didn't do any horizontal FBA action, but I did add vertical length over the front bust area with short rows--at least 1.5" if I recall.
• Yarn/Needles/Notions: I used 4.5 balls of Classic Elite Classic Silk Yarn (cotton/silk/nylon blend) in a teal color (color# 6949) with circular needles size 2.5, 4 and 5. The buttons are from M&J. Although this yarn is wonderfully soft, I think I'm through with cotton and/or silk blends--they just don't have enough give for my liking. I'll stick to wool and alpaca in future.
• Modifications: Besides adding short rows, I omitted the cuff/tab detail at the sleeve ends, and just did some more seed stitch.
• Here's a link to all the details on Ravelry (I've made it public so you can see it even if you're not a member).

I'm worried that I placed the buttons too low and overdid the short row FBA. I'll wait until the pregnant belly is mostly gone to be sure, but I have a suspicion that there needs to be a third button to fix the gaposis I've got going on over the bust--not that I have a clue as to how to add a buttonhole on a finished knit object!

Button detail:

Closer-in front view:

Back view:

Does it need a third button? Hmmm...

Side view:

Flat views:

Oh, in case you're wondering what's with the new backdrop--that's Cartoonist Baby's room/my parents's room (my mom is going to stay with us to take care of Cartoonist Baby when I go back to work) in progress.

Masheka painted it a beautiful shade of (low-VOC) "Sweet Butter" yellow, and we're working on adding art to the walls and setting up furniture, etc. Cartoonist Baby is going to sleep in a cosleeper next to our bed for at least 4 or 5 months, so we still have some time to get it all together. Here's a picture of one corner so far:

The rocking chair is the same chair my mom rocked me in when I was a baby--she just refinished and recovered it. The crib is IKEA's Gulliver crib in a wood finish (don't worry--we know there should be no stuffed animals or quilts in a crib when the baby is sleeping in it, they're just on display for now.) My amazing mom sewed the quilt and the Mei Tai style baby carriers hanging on the door.

Finally... I turned 30 today. I thought it would feel like a bigger deal than it did, but I'm way more focused on another upcoming birth day!

P.S. Cartoonist Baby is getting another cardigan too, as I mentioned before, Elizabeth Zimmerman's February Baby Sweater on Two Needles from Knitter's Almanac, made with some yarn I kettle-dyed a few years back. But I'm going slow to be careful with my wrists: