New Territory

In this knitting universe I've reached a new territory. Last night I delved in and began exploring. This is the first sweater I've knitted in the round from the hemline. The only previous sweater I've knitted in the round was done from the neck down. The jury is out on which directions are less confusing. They've both been a bit of a puzzle.

Last night I put the gusset stitches on holders and put the front of the sweater on two holders. Now I need to work the back of the sweater to and fro on straight needles for a while. This was the point at which I discovered my mistake last time, and I'm so please to say I didn't repeat the error. This time, the transition to working the charts back and forth rather than in the round was smooth.There is a weighty, unweildy drag on the needles that I'm not accustomed to. That comes with 700-some odd yards of yarn trailing underneath.

The puzzle I mentioned above comes from my inexperience. I just cannot see yet how this is all going to come together to create shoulders, sleeves and all. The completed picture on the pattern does not help. But I'll keep plugging away, using lifelines liberally, and double-checking what I'm about to do when it is time to start a new paragraph in the instructions.

Am I the only one who needs to make little labels like this to keep things straight when I'm working?