Excited!

I'm really excited about this KAL - it's the first time I've joined in and knitted along in quite a while - just wasn't too thrilled about the other patterns, but something about this Tree Jacket really intrigues me.

I decided I wanted a bit of a different look - for some reason couldn't get the idea out of my mind that this pattern would look good in a variegated/handpainted yarn in deep, deep colors. This past weekend, at Stitches East, I found the perfect yarn - some yummy Brooks Farm Solana in gorgeous Fall colors.

Above is a picture of my progress as of the neck. I took the time to wind the rest of the yarn last night, and got a bit farther with the knitting this evening at my son's soccer practice. I'm about halfway through the increases for the armholes - using the suggested raglan increase that Stefanie Japel uses all over her Fitted Knits book. I thought that would be best since I'm changing the pattern just slightly to accommodate the variegated yarn by keeping the stockinette stitch throughout, rather than doing garter stitch after the cowl/turtleneck. Thanks, Robin, for encouraging me to try this - it looks great so far!