Mondo Cable Pullover: Update

Back at the beginning of March, I started the Mondo Cable KAL with the Knitmore Girls over on Ravelry.com.

It's been a slow steady slog in creating this sweater, as my knitting time has drastically been reduced over the past several months. And, I've been helping to bring up the rear in the KAL. I know that the KAL is not a race, but it's often hard to see all the completed photos of everyone's sweater while still plugging away on my own.

3/10/10 -- I've 1-2 rows from joining the front of the pullover.
3/15/10 -- I've gotten past the 2nd cable cross of the pullover.
3/19/10 -- I've done the 3rd cable cross, and have tried on the fit. So far, so good
3/24/10 -- I've done the last & final cable cross, and have about 2 inches left before I start the ribbing. I'm actually really close to finishing up the first skein!
3/25/10 -- I wound the 2nd skein up into a ball in anticipation of finishing the first skein. (OMG that was a lot of yardage to wind! And my poor ball winder can't handle the yardage in a cake.)

I am a bit worried about the ribbing, as people have reported 'curling'. Gigi of the Knitmore Girls used the same size needle and went to a 4-2 rib and had no issues. But Bonne Marie posted this tidbit on her blog:

For those of you knitting along (wave to the Knitmore Girls KAL!!), you can see that the bottom of this sweater is pretty well-behaved. I used my steam iron and pressed the bottom from the wrong side. No rolling! If you are having that issue, try this AND also consider going up a needle size for your ribbing because your gauge might be too small in that area, if it flips. Also — bind off LOOSELY.

Top down sweaters need to have the same give at the bottom as a cast-on for a bottom-up sweater. So in the casting off, knitters need to be mindful of their tension in that area. Go up a needle size or two JUST to work the bind off. In this case, I used a #7 needle for the body, a #6 needle for the ribbing, and because I have that tight bind off problem, I went back up to the #7 when it was time to cast off the hem.

I really do love the pattern thus far. I was a bit worried about the size I had chosen, but it fits perfectly (thus far). I definitely will be making more of this sweater.