FO: Judy's Sweater

Yesterday, I was very pleased to deliver this sweater, requested by and knit for a woman who works in the office at school. She was so happy to get it, and it fits her perfectly!

Pattern: You probably recognize the February Lady Sweater (Rav link). I still have another of these lined up to be knit for N, and I'm looking forward to using this pattern one more time. It seems to just fly by, once you reach the lace section. And those garter stitch borders are so satisfying to knit up! The total knitting time on this one was about 3 weeks, including finals week (which I think made me knit more, not less, seeing as how it was a stressful time!).
Yarn: Loops and Threads Impeccable Worsted in Topaz, an acrylic I picked up at Michaels. Judy requested the sweater by easy care, and this should be able to just go right in the wash. I used about 3.75 skeins at 268 yards each.
Needles: US8 circular and dpns

Mods/Specs: Unlike my cardigan, this one has buttons. I was also able to deal with Judy's concerns about fit (she wanted it to widen out under the bust to accommodate larger hips) by improvising some simple garter stitch panels underneath the sleeves. I chose garter stitch over fiddling with the lace pattern because I wasn't sure I could gracefully add in stitches without disturbing the geometric look of the gull lace.  The garter stitch seems to work well, and it matches so nicely with all the other border sections of the sweater. I just did pairs of increases along the edges of the garter panel as I worked down the body of the cardigan until the circumference matched the desired measurements. Voila! A fine fit!

Verdict: The best part of the whole thing is that Judy seems very happy with the sweater. I'm looking forward to stopping by the office and seeing her wearing it!

There are a couple more closeups on my Ravelry project page, if you'd like to check it out. More knitting coming up next...