Adventures in Steeking--Part 2

As promised, here is the continuation of Barb's steeking adventure. You will recall that she had steeked the armholes, completed the 3-needle bind off for the shoulders and picked up stitches for the collar in our last visit.

She came back to the shop on Saturday and presented us with the finished collar. It looks beautiful, although a little wonky what with the neckline shaping not cut out.
So she obligingly removed the offending piece.

Having finished off the neckline, the almost final step is to steek the front and make the sweater into a cardigan.
Once the sweater has become a cardigan, it is easy to sneak a peek into the interior of the sweater. Philosopher's Wool kits use a delightful technique whereby you carry the main colour in one hand, the second colour in the second hand, and wrap the stitches very stitch. This makes a very firm and solid fabric where there is no danger that one will snag an unwary finger in the floats on the reverse side.
Indeed, the back side of the knit is almost as beautiful as the front side. Barb used a mattress stitch to attach the sleeves, and she pronounces the seam "perfect."

Of course, the million dollar question is this: Will the sweater fit the intended recipient?

The answer?
Yup. Barb reports that her mother is not normally a domonstrative person. So when she sat with the sweater in her lap all afternoon, petting it and admiring the colours, Barb interprets that to be akin to jumping with joy.

After all, we are!

PS. Barb's dad wants a sweater too. After having said "never again," this time Barb said "Next year!"