Sleeves that is! This is a typical case of “the bloom being off the rose.” When I started the Aran Wrap, I was involved, engaged, enthused, etc. Now I am bored, resentful, unsure. This happens with almost every project, because knitting is too slow to finish anything while you are still interested. 
The construction is interesting, as we have already mentioned. There are a series of short rows to create a sleeve cap. Around 24 short rows! Over moss, garter, twisted sts, reverse stockinette. It is not pretty! My short rows look like crap, to be perfectly honest. The instructions are brief to non-existent, so you are pretty much on your own.
The length of my sleeves appears to be correct. The beauty of the top-down knitting of the sleeves is that I can add an inch or two if necessary once it is done. The center back section is SHORT! It comes down to my brastrap in back — in Angela’s blog pictures, it goes to her waist. Then you pick up and knit the peplum, which is 9.5 inches. Even with aggressive blocking, I do not see how that will ever come close to covering my bubble butt ample rear end (note to readers: my butt looks like the one in Sally’s picture with the planter, only I bring my own planter!). You can knit the peplum longer, but then the sides also get WAY longer. Thank goodness I a) bought a ton of yarn, and b) am almost 6 feet tall so the sides will not be dragging on the ground!
So the Aran Wrap is simmering ever so slowly on the back burner. My knitting is in a funk due to forces beyond my control (i.e., life) and fall is in the air. It is beautiful in Minnesota in the fall. We are right across the street from the Mississippi River and so I’ll share a picture of the park across the way once the leaves get really pretty. In the meantime, here is a picture of our giant crab apple tree. It is a variety that holds its fruit through the winter, and it is laden with apples right now.
PS in Response to Karen’s question about omitting the short rows in the sleeve: I think you could do the sleeves without the short rows. The underarm will be bulkier and you may need to lengthen the sleeve to make up for the additional pattern repeat in the sleeve cap. This also means adjusting the decreases. I thought about doing this myself but thought I was proficient enough with my short rows to manage it — au contraire, Over Confident One! BUT once the first sleeve was done, I figured I might as well continue on and the shoulders do fit me at the shoulder line without a drop, so it probably fits better with a cap for me. In any case, I could not face re-knitting the sleeve and having to knit THREE sleeves for this thing. That is what has kept me from finishing my tailored Mitered Cardigan (but let’s not dwell on the past!).
It’s beautiful!
I don’t know if you’ve seen the errata and additional information posted here:
http://ahknits.typepad.com/knititude/2008/08/errata-and-notes-for-aran-wrap-vogue-knitting-fall-2008.html
There are a lot of good photos of it there too.
Comment by weedwacker — October 4, 2008 @ 12:59 pm
Hello, this is Karen from Wausau, Wisconsin. I, too, am knitting the Aran Wrap Cardigan, and I have been grateful for your pictures an comments! The pictures especially have shown me that I am on the right track!! I am doing the larger size, as I see Susan is doing, too, and my first piece is just as short as yours. When I cast on I toyed with adding a few more inches of aran cable patterns to the lower side, decided to be a good girl and follow the pattern as is, and now I am sorry that I didn’t follow my first instincts. I have a question: I am about to start my first sleeve. Do you HAVE to do the short rows?? My sleeve holes sit about 2 inches below my actual shoulder bone, so I am thinking I can forego the sleeve caps and just knit straight sleeves (with the decreases, of course). Just looking for a second opinion!!
Comment by Karen Schneider — October 4, 2008 @ 1:10 pm
The weather sure has been distracting, hasn’t it? The sweater is looking great, and I sense a growth spurt coming on for it.
Comment by twinsetellen — October 4, 2008 @ 5:32 pm
Susan, I’ve seen your backside, it’s not as big as you think it is. I agree that a longer peplum will resemble a…er….a bustle perhaps?
Comment by Pam/2muchfun — October 4, 2008 @ 8:31 pm
Susan- I hate when you start to crap out so closely to the finish.
Just think of yourself wearing this beauty on your tall model’s body- we want to see the pics!
Comment by Lorraine — October 6, 2008 @ 11:39 am
Susan — In the fashion industry, the type of garment you are knitting is usually referred to as a cozy. Donna Karan has been making them for about 4 or 5 years now. They are usually done in lighter weight yarns like cashmere and without texture. Donna Karan sent a booklet with my girlfriend who has a store’s shipment that was photos of 12 ways to wear your cozy. From the photos I saw in the booklet, it does not appear that all 12 ways would work in a garment that wasn’t lightweight. All of the cozy garments I have ever seen are just below the waist in back. I have never seen a cozy that is long in back, I guess because that makes the sides even longer.
Hang in there, cause you are tall and they do look elegant and dramatic on a tall gal!
Comment by Ann — October 7, 2008 @ 8:38 am
If I were making this I would pick up another repeat (or 2!) of stitches across the back, thereby making room for my “back porch”. That way the pattern would not distort by pulling over the bum, and from the back I would look more like I had a waist, and less like a Christmas tree.
Comment by lilly — October 7, 2008 @ 12:15 pm
Beautiful work, truly. Sorry to hear about all the issues you are having though. That completely sucks.
After seeing yours, I was considering making one, but now, I am not so sure. I’m not that experienced, and would like to keep my hair 🙂
Comment by jennygirl — October 7, 2008 @ 3:31 pm
I wanted to thank you for pointing me towards The Yarnery and Borealis [in your blog]. At the end of September I took a road trip from Denver to Chicago to visit some friends and decided to visit St Paul on my way back. What a lovely place! And very nice people at the stores. It was drizzly but that seemed right somehow and made all the greenery pop. And I ate yummy food at Hell’s Kitchen in downtown Minneapolis. I’m so glad I finally visited.
Comment by Harper — October 7, 2008 @ 6:56 pm
Perhaps the weight of the peplum will lengthen the back length so you won’t have to make it as long as you think. It’s beautiful, btw.
Comment by Kelle — October 8, 2008 @ 1:25 pm