It's finished!!!!!!!

So first off please excuse the messiness in the background- too much knitting, not enough cleaning! Second off please excuse the lack of pants- I'm only fighting one battle at a time in regards to clothing my almost 3 yr old. Third off please excuse the insane number of pictures but I am so excited to finally have finished this sweater! And guess what- It fits PERFECTLY! It's not a great sweater for layering over many other items b/c it fits pretty close but it will be perfect for the summer over a bathing suit or t-shirt when he gets cold. The sleeves are a bit snug so I would make them wider if I made this sweater again. Xander has skinny arms so it isn't a big deal for him but even with his skinniness this wouldn't fit well over a long sleeve shirt b/c the sleeves are so narrow. Then again it is a lightweight cotton sweater so it isn't really designed to be worn with long sleeves. I like the narrow sleeves to a point because then they don't drag in his food at dinner but you could only wear this as a shirt or over a short sleeved shirt. The yarn is so soft that Xander is wearing it as a shirt right now and loving it. He said, "I like that!" He also likes the dump truck buttons! In fact I tried to get him to try it on before I sewed the buttons on and he was not having any of it but as soon as I whipped at the truck buttons boy did his tune change! It's amazing how 3 buttons can totally change a sweater's wearability factor for a 3 yr old! And mommy likes the fact that she got those buttons on a whim (with no project in mind) from the dollar bin at the yarn shop and they are perfect for this sweater.

So I made some other alterations to make this fit Xander better- the sleeves are a good 2 in longer than the pattern called for and I increased the length also by at least 2 inches but adding several extras rows of pattern. I also added 4 rows of garter stitch at the left shoulder on the back side to give me more room to place the buttons and to make more of an overlapping panel. I had to do that darn buttonhole row probably 4 times before I got it right and then I ripped it out again to make the front longer after ripping about about half the back. The joys though of making it yourself! I used Knitpicks Comfy worsted, which is just the softest stuff ever, in celestial and the color is simply amazing on Xander. I knew it was going to be a great color for him and really bring out the blue in his eyes but it looks just awesome. I almost went with a darker, more muted blue and I am so glad that I didn't because the celestial is perfect. I knit the whole thing with almost exactly 3 skeins. If I hadn't gone ahead and made it a bit bigger I would have been able to make ti out of three but I am glad I hate the extra because I still have plenty for the hat and maybe even enough for a hat for James too. Overall, despite more frogging and re-knitting that I would like to discuss, I am really pleased with how this turned out. Now onto the hat...