Creature Comforts Knit Up

It has given me fits!
But IT is finished.  IT being the Creature Comforts Cardigan that over 600 Ravelry knitters have also completed.
This is the picture of the cardigan as shown by the creator of Madelintosh yarns, because I can't do as good a job of capturing the sweater as did their professional photographers.
 Now here are a few of my pictures as the sweater progressed: See how the oak leaf and acorns are being knit?  Pretty cool!  This pattern goes down the back of the cardigan.
The Sweater minus the sleeve cuff finished, but Too Big!
 Now it has been wet again and blocked to the appropriate size and Momma is Happy Again :o)
and my notes as it was being knit:

Love this hand dyed yarn; it s t r e t c h e s when blocked; it originally came out as 47” wide x 36.5” high, although it was knitted to 30.5 inches high as indicated in pattern.
Since it was too large, I machine dried the “blanket” for five minutes in the dryer, pressed the seams and came out with dimensions of 42” x 29.5 ” (see picture). 

After the machine drying for five minutes it turned out too small! So NOW I am re-blocking it with a 32” length. 

The leaf and acorn close up is NOT the color of the yarn! My computer did that.
I pulled from two separate balls of yarn because of the hand dye effect and was afraid of pooling colors. Even doing so, I still have one complete skein of yarn untouched and two small sized balls of wound yarn left over. 

After reading others’ notes about the size of the arms, I made the armhole 11 inches around. It happened to work out that I picked up 60 stitches, which the pattern called for. I did use size 6 DPNs for the cuffs instead of the called for 7’s. The snugness is just right below the elbow. 

Other than trying to get the right length and width for my body, it was an enjoyable knit. I might do this pattern again, having learned the ins and outs of the wool and how much to stretch it when wet.

Linking up with Finished Objects Friday and Tami.