My Refined Aran Jacket

I started working on this sweater back in the late summer. It was bumped many times for projects with deadlines, gifts, and so on. Finally it's finished, and with plenty of "cold" weather left this winter.

Pattern: Refined Aran Jacket, from Interweave Knits Winter 2007. No modifications.

Yarn: Miss Babs Yummy Superwash Sport 3 Ply, in "Denim" colorway, 6 skeins. I picked it up at Stitches West last year. I really love this merino, it has a great look when it's all knitted up. The slight variegation came out nice, adding interest while still looking dignified.

The pattern was pretty challenging in the way that it was written, and one really has to read the whole thing through before getting started. There's lots going on at once, between forming the collar, shaping the waist, inserting the pockets, shaping the arm... and one section will start before the last one finishes. I had to take lots of notes to make sure my fronts matched up right. That being said, I'm very pleased with how it turned out, although I think I need to take some further measures to get the collar to stay folded over the way it's supposed to be. Blocking alone doesn't seem to have cut it.