Dawn's Dream

Shhhhhh - don't tell anyone, but it looks like I'm into my second sweater in a row that fits:
Love this Whiskey pattern, love the colors, lovelovelove stranded knitting. I could be finishing off the last bit of knitting on the body instead of writing about it before work, but honestly, the prospect of dealing with the profound number of ends and twists and tangles for a little bit of neck and shoulder is too much for me this morning. While as I said, I lovelovelove this sweater, it has helped me form some rules for stranded knitting from here on out:

1. No more back and forth fair isle. Period. This is the second Reynolds stranded pattern I've made that does this, and the PITA that is trying to carry two yarns on a purl side is officially off the list. I've heard that pattern makers don't think American knitters like to cut their work.
2. I must STEEK. Soon. Dying to take scissors to my knitting.
3. No runs of color more than five stitches long from now on! I'm sure there's a very efficient way to twist the colors over these runs - but I have developed my own method that is clumsy and oh-so-inelegant (especially going back and forth).
4. Did I say in the round only from now on? The lovely rhythm of stranded knitting is just blown to bits otherwise.

Even though the thought of those last 10-12 rows of shoulder/neck is too much at the moment, I can look forward all day to coming home to finish after work tonight - which means I can start the sleeves. Since sleeve island for me is just as bad as second sock island, I will do both cuffs in corrugated ribbing on two circs at the same time. At which point I'll finish one at a time - after some thought, I realized I would only be creating havoc and stress with eight balls of yarn going at the same time. (Clever me - BEFORE I started this time.)