Ladies and gentlemen, we have Waist!

My 1st sweater for myself, which most of you have seen all too often because I wear it as frequently as I possibly can, is a large comfy purple box that I can snuggle down into and, if needed, store a few extra bags of groceries without anyone noticing.

When I cast on for my new sweater, I thought a lot about my current struggle to get an actual waist back on my body (or: get my extra body off of my old waist) and how this would be an excellent opportunity to try out some craftily placed decreases and increases. I also thought a lot about the fact that when I bought this new batch of lovely yarn, I thought it was for a large felted tote, and therefore if it were to become a sweater I would need to make as little a sweater as possible. Close fitting = less yarn used = I don't have to make it a heavy woolen tube top. Sweet.

So, I did it: I did my 1st waist shaping, with much trolling of the Ravelry forums and EZ books to get all the important opinions before I began. And tonight, lo and behold, I realized:


It works! Obviously, I've only just begun the bottom ribbing (4x2) and I need to finish the sleeves (3/4 length), but now that I know my experiment is successful, I will race along that path.

Here's me with pride just beginning to dawn in my heart:

(And I'm not even sucking in!)