Sideways Aran Wrap, Vogue Knitting Fall 2008

How sweet it is to have my first pattern published in Vogue Knitting magazine!  I'm certainly keeping good company, with my #30 Aran wrap alongside Mary Lynn Patrick's #29 cabled jacket in VK's "English Garden" story.  A pause while I say "Aahh," and bask in the moment I've been waiting for since I first learned my design was accepted, more than nine months ago (photo at left courtesy of Soho Publishing).  Ah, yes.  Dare I admit a few thorny details which are marring my rosy day?  First, the prickliest:  the text on the photo page states, "...the sleeves are worked separately and sewn in."  Um, NO THEY'RE NOT!  At first I thought the editors had radically altered my Original Pattern, but no, the pattern still calls for the sleeve stitches to be picked up around the armhole and then worked down to the cuff.  Maybe this is my inner neurotic designer speaking, but that seems like a fairly important bit of information regarding the sweater construction.  It's also a fun way to work the sleeve (secondo me) and nicely maintains the continuity of the cables across the back and down the sleeve.  Another cool thing about the design is that the front edge (which is really the top edge) cable is reversible, meaning it can be folded back and still looks like, well, the right side instead of the wrong side of the fabric--something which is not mentioned.  And finally, I guess I never really noticed this before, but with only one photo of each design, it's not possible to get a good idea of how it looks from various angles, which I think is a problem for anything with an unusual construction or special detailing on the back or the sleeves.  After considering this, I thought to myself, "At least knitters can look at the schematic and get a better idea of the construction,"-- but again, no, there is no schematic for my design.  So, if you look carefully at the 2nd photo, at least it gives a good idea of the construction:  you work the upper part side to side, binding off stitches and then casting on again to form the armholes; pick up stitches around the armholes and knit down to the cuff for the sleeves; and then pick up stitches along the lower edge and knit down to form the wide vertical ribbed hem.  Simple?  Maybe not.  Fun?  Yes.  (But be warned, it is the size of a lap blanket, and quite heavy if worked in the suggested alpaca yarn.) And now, please indulge me as I post a few morephotos; the top of my son's head managed to find its way into the last one.