*EDITED TO ADD A “MODEL” PICTURE*
(Yes, I crumble under peer pressure very easily)

Couldn’t wait for this day, could you? (To tell you the truth, I couldn’t wait for this day either!) =D I will do my best to show lots of pictures for your visual enjoyment. Because you KNOW you want to see them! (I can’t wait to show them to you either!)

Ta-da!! (Click image for a close-up)

Model picture, as requested:

Close-up of stripes:

Close-up of ribbing:

Some seaming snapshots - the first two are the front and back being seamed via mattress stitch. Invisible and nice huh? I love the mattress stitch!

The raglan side before seaming:

Alright, now for the knitty gritty…

Pattern: Stitch ‘n Bitch “Peppermint Twist Sweater”, by Becky Delgado
Yarn: Rowan Cotton Glace, 7 skeins Bubbles (#724), 2 skeins Glee (#799), 2 skeins Passion (#805); Phildar Sunset, 1 skein Indien; YLI Candlelight metallic yarn, 1 spool Deep Pink (#024)
Needle: US #3 circular needle
Size: Medium (36″ bust)

Pattern Notes:

Pattern: An easy knit! Although it was all stockinette (which, to a lace-loving knitter myself, could be hugely boring), but switching colors and seeing it knit up as I go made it lots of fun. I also discovered that I love knitting with smaller needles. I briefly thought about knitting this up in the round (to avoid the seaming) but decided against it. I ended up weaving what seemed like a million little ends.

Yarn:
And speaking of weaving all the little ends - I have something to say about the yarn. I used all the recommended yarn, and then some. The pattern calls for only ONE skein of the dark purple (Passion, #805), but I realized that towards the end, I ran out fast. I had to purchase another skein to finish. And I also heard that I was not the only one who needed to get an extra skein. I also ended up with more than enough of the main color (Bubbles). I think I could have purchased 6 skeins, rather than the recommended 7, and still have been good for a medium size.

As for the Phildar Sunset, yes, it is a metallic type of yarn. It’s gauge is smaller than the Cotton Glace, and so I doubled it up with some metallic yarn/thread I had on hand (the Candlelight). And when I weaved in the ends for these yarns, I used some fabric glue to secure the ends. They are slippery and I can see how the ends can just slip right out.

Gauge/Size:
I couldn’t make gauge with the recommended size 2 needle. So I went with size 3 and it worked out great. Except for the sleeves. Either my arms are much skinnier than everyone else’s (which I seriously doubt), or it would have been better for me to knit up a smaller size for my sleeves, as they were sort of wide and baggy for me. It also didn’t cross my mind until AFTER I tried on the finished sweater that my shoulders are naturally wider than the average person, so a raglan-style top would NOT be flattering for my shoulders (raglan is good for making your shoulders look wider, if you have smaller shoulders). I did not know this, until I put on this sweater. That’s why I’m not posting a picture of myself wearing it. Just trust me, with the shoulders I have, it’s not flattering. So I wet-blocked it and instead of air drying flat, I ran it through the delicate cycle of my dryer. It slightly shrunk - just enough so it would fit a tad better. In retrospect, I think I probably knit a size too big for me (I should have done a small rather than a medium). This sweater is better as a more fitted sweater than a loose one.

Seaming
Ok, did I mention how much I love the mattress stitch?? It makes seaming so much more enjoyable. I will say, however, that seaming the raglan parts were a big pain. The pattern calls for you to do the raglan decreasing by binding off one stitch at the beginning of each row, thus creating a stair-step line, rather than a smooth angled line (see the raglan side picture above). See it? I kind of wished I had just did some right/left-slanting decreases to make the edges more smoother to stitch. Nevertheless, I figured out how to do the mattress stitch even with the stair-step edges. Took me a long time to figure out where to insert my tapestry needle, but I figured it out and I’m happy with the results.

=)