I want to knit a sweater

And I’ve decided which one.  :-D

See how purty?

My mom bought me this fabulous book, POWER CABLES by Lily M. Chin, which is all about knitting different kinds of cables.  And this sweater is one of its patterns.  See how pretty?  I haven’t made anything from the book yet, and I want to start with this one.

Honestly, though, I have trouble following directions.  Recipes, assignments at work, patterns, I always notice when they’re just not quite right, and adjust them.  Not right for me, of course, I couldn’t say if they’re right for everyone else.  (Some people like celery, can you imagine?)  This pattern only offers one size, and I’m concerned it’ll be too big for me.  So I’ve decided I’m going to alter the pattern.  That means a lot more work upfront, but I hope it’ll look better on me in the end.

Now, it’s meant to be an oversized sweater, and I’m ok with that.  It’s just that I want it to look like it’s oversized on *me*, not like a hand-me-down oversized sweater.  Furthermore, knitted things have a tendency to stretch, so if it starts out too big, it runs the risk of getting only longer and baggier.  I think it’ll be the right size around my hips, but I want it to be a little more shapely, and I think I’d like to make it a little narrower in the shoulders.  So, I’m thinking of putting in darts on the side-seams, to decrease through the waist and then increase again in the chest.

I’ve never made a sweater before.  I’ve been knitting for over half my life, and I’ve wanted to make something like a sweater for years.  But sweaters are a lot of work.  It’s daunting.  And worse, I have just two options.  Design my own so it will fit right, which is a lot of work for a first-time sweater-knitter.  Or follow someone else’s pattern, which wasn’t designed for me and won’t fit me properly.  Or option 3: follow someone else’s pattern, but modify it to fit me better.  I’m hoping option three will turn out best.