Clearly, I am very easily entertained. My Basic Hoodie, as expected, is SO SIMPLE that knitting a plain sock might actually be more interesting. But a two-row lace pattern and raglan increases have been enough to spur me on through the entire yoke in about a week. It rather helps that my poor fingers are getting kind of calloused and sore from the tight knitting and second-rate yarn choice I made for the clockings, so this high-quality acrylic on US 8’s is like a balm in Gilead.

Top-down sweater patterns are pretty cool. I’ve heard tell of some people who actually never swatch, but just knit all sweaters top-down. Why, you ask? Because with a top-down sweater, you can actually try it on as you go. Observe:

With the yoke done, I can thread the whole thing onto a piece of scrap yarn so it can be spread out to its fullest extent.

Then, as demonstrated at this highly flattering angle, I can try it on. When you do top-down, you continue increasing for the yoke portion until it reaches down to your armpits, and then the technique for switching gears to do the body and sleeves is pretty standard, no matter what size you end up with.

That said, I am using a pattern. But I could not use a pattern if I wanted to! That’s the point! I think.