Raglan Victory!

I finally finished the $5-in-Paris sweater. It did not go without a fight, though. For starters, I have a very short torso so I had to stop two stripes before the pattern called for. Then there was that ribbing. I couldn't face the extra 4 inches, so I only knit 2 inches. It looks fine...except for the too-tight cast off. I guess I just built in weight loss incentive:) The final kicker was when I victoriously put on the sweater only to realize that the collar which went on VERY loosely was indeed too loose. How loose you ask? Well, in my shimmying victory dance, the darn thing fell right down to my waist. So I took a deep breath and went and sat on my mom's futon, sweater in hand. I was resolved. I would wear this sweater if I had to tweak every last part of it. And it appeared I would have to. But what to do about an errant collar? I thought and thought. Fold over two ribs and stitch them into place? That looked ridiculous. Cast on and add another row or two of tighter ribbing? Maybe but that seemed less than optimal. Then it hit me. What about an adjustable strand running through the knit stitches under the ribbing? Threading my needles, I was hopeful. After I wove it through every other rib, leaving the two ends free on my right shoulder, I tried on the sweater again. I pulled the strands together and tied them in a bow, stuffing them under the sleeve. Victory! The sweater was saved, and no one would be the wiser! Well except my faithful blog readers, that is. Finishing after sunset, the lighting's not so hot. In the glory of morning, I will take a photo of me in my conquest and post it here. My first sweater with "sleeves". Yay!