Front & Center

This week, I started and finished the front center section of my Redford Sweater. It's the same as the front for about 4/5 of this piece, then things get interesting.

A small triangular reverse stockinette section near the neck adds a little flair, and now that I think of it, will go nicely with the reverse stockinette side-panels that I'll be tackling next. I had to do this section twice, though. I was almost done, and realized the purled M1 stitches were leaving gaping holes. I think it was from a combination of not watching my gauge and from all the tugging I was doing to try and purl through the back loop for one of the increases. Purling through the back loop is a bear on the best of days, but on small yarn and rounded needles, I found I had to use a crochet hook to get anything done. Suffice it to say, the second attempt came off much more satisfactorily. It almost looks like you're looking at the inside of the back through the neck hole, doesn't it?

So now I have the two largest pieces finished and haven't quite got through the third of six hanks required for this project. This front piece seems to be a tad shorter than the back, even though I'm fairly sure they have the same number of rows. I'm hoping that blocking will take care of that.

This week, we bought tickets to go visit my brother's family in Germany over the Christmas holiday, with a short visit to Amsterdam on the way. Exciting! I'm planning on packing this, so I'd better get back at it.