Cozy Sweater: itch to Stitch Irena Knit Top

霜が降りた草原に朝日が射し、馬のはく白い息がキラキラ輝く、イギリス田舎暮らしで最も美しい季節がやってきました。くそ寒いけど、美しいです。（朝は美しいんだけど、夕方暗くなるのが早すぎるのは難点）

そんな寒さ対策のため、ニットの裁縫が続きます。
今回は、Itch to StitchというとこのIrenaというカットソーの型紙を使用。
オケツまで隠れるいい長さで（でも次に作るときはもうちょっと短くしようかな）、首の後ろもカバー率が高く、表面がけば立つようにブラッシングされてるニットで触り心地も非常にいいセーターができました。
（でもどうも次の赴任地はまた砂漠っぽい。来月引っ越しだというのにまだ行き先未定）

While I'm not a big fan of cold weather, the scenery in this rural part of England gets strikingly beautiful in winter: frost on the ground shining in the morning light. Horses run around exhaling hot breath in the air. Living in this part of the country was the best decision we made when we moved to England.

It is cold though. Well, some days are more autumn appropriate, but some days are definitely winter cold. When I went to the Knitting & Stitching Show last month, I focused on getting sweater knits for the winter.

This is a charcoal grey merle jersey with unknown content that I bought at the Textile Centre booth. The right side is brushed so it feels soooo soft.

The pattern is Itch to Stitch Irena Knit Top. I cut a straight size 2 with no alterations. The front cross-over neck band was a tiny bit fiddly to sew at the bottom, which is expected when you have to snip in the corner. What was difficult for me was that the thread gets buried in the knit fabric and the dark grey thread was just so difficult to see. So there is a tiny pucker at one of the corners.

Things I like about this pattern other than the design feature of the neck: long cuff, wide hem band, bodice length, and high back neck. Basically, very good coverage, perfect for cold weather, anti-draft. While I like the length of the bodice, though, it is a smidge too long, so I will probably shorten by 1" or so next time. I also need to size up to 4, and need to consider doing the sway back.

Overall, I really like the design: simple sweater but more than a V-neck sweater. This will be a staple pattern in the future. ...But it appears I may be moving to the desert again... We are moving next month and still don't have a destination!