This sweater is killing me

So I got this great Rowan book called "Studio." It's just a few cool patterns, no photo on the cover. An interesting approach for a knitting book. I guess the Rowan brand is strong enough to carry it, though, because I shelled out $16 bucks for it and so did my friend Lisa. Seriously, there are six patterns in the whole book.

I decided to do the Patti pattern, a really cute pleated, swingy jacket. I saw the knitted sample at Hilltop Yarn and I HAD TO HAVE IT. I bought some cheapish yarn at the Tricoter sale, and off I went. The first step is to cast on 229 stitches for the back. Oy. That's a lot when you're casting on to size 3 needles. So I cast on, counted, counted again, and began. Six rows of garter stitch, switch to size 5s, begin this ingenious slip stitch pattern that forms the pleats, and so on. About half-way through the back (and about four months of stopping and starting on this project) I thought it was looking kind of wide. Oh well, I thought, I'll cast off a bunch when the pleats are done and I'll be fine.

Not so.

I took the thing in to Tricoter and it turned out I had sixty extra stitches. That's about 7.5 inches too wide, which is a lot. The pleats were supposed to start under my shoulder blades but they started almost under my arms.

Alas.

I ripped out the whole back and started a front. I want to do the sweater, so I'll keep plugging along. I'm thinking you'll see it finished in winter 2008.