So, I am pretty happy with the way this sweater turned out despite it's rough beginning. It's already in heavy rotation, under the Carhartts in the morning (and yes, in the coop Karin), over my pajamas (like in the picture) on the way to the grocery store, etc. It's a comfy, simple, easy care knit. That works for me right now.
I ended up modifying this a great deal from the original pattern. At first glance they look the same but they are quite different. You can find my mods on Ravelry along with some more photos too. Basically I just had to modify the raglan increases to get the correct proportions. I was worried I might lose the great boat neck collar which drew me to the sweater in the first place by doing that but I didn't. Really, I do love this sweater and I can actually see myself knitting another. It's like your favorite t-shirt in cozy sweater form. Who wouldn't want that?
