Phillipa... My nemesis

Ok nemesis is a bit over-dramatic, but I've had a bit of a time with this little madam. It was my first attempt at making a jumper with my increasingly confident knitting skills, and it went belly up.

You might remember my last attempt with this wool resulted in excess armpit fabric, which felt very strange. I hadn't even got as far as the sleeves.

When I got back from visiting family before Christmas I decided that I wanted to give it another go, I hate not finishing things (though some things may be subjected to an extended pause).

I put into practice some stuff I'd been reading up on about measuring stitches and gauge from swatches... So I swatched! I'm now a swatching convert! Then came the maths.... So much maths... I don't like maths.

I decided to scrap the increases and make a box shaped body, then continue with the pattern for the armholes/neckline/pattern.... And.....

TA DA!!!!

IT WORKED! I now have a wearable jumper, that I made with my own two needles and several balls of wool. I'm really pleased that the first jumper I set out to make is still my first completed jumper too.

The diagonal stripes are really easy to get the hang of (even though the pattern makes it sound really complicated) and was easy enough to trundle through during my essential Christmas tv viewing. I didn't make the mistake of using too small needles so the finished jumper isn't too thick and heavy (but by gum is it warm!!). And I'm even really proud of my stitching up.

I did some steam blocking once all the pieces were knitted up (I did skip treating the ripped wool properly so it was still very wibbly), and it was only at this point I noticed a glaring pattern mistake...

The stripes on the left of the buttons should be facing the same way as those to the right of the buttons... And we're just going to ignore that wonky bottom button. I think this is a fault that could be overlooked (also translated as but I'd finished it, don't make me rip it back again).

In all, it's not perfect, it's still a bit big on me, it's wonky in places, but it's mine and I love it!

 Also I know these photos make the colour look different in every picture, camera and artificial lighting issues there. The closest is just above on the left (dark bluish purple).