Samus woes

I've shared in the past that I have problems fitting sweaters. Usually the problem occurs around the bust line, since I happen to wear a D cup and am very short. But this time, the bodice seems to fit fine and the issue seems to be the sleeves.

Granted, this is a poor photograph because I have only finished the applied I-cord half-way around the body, so the front looks a little cock-eyed. But the sleeves! They are way too huge and bulgy. And the weight of them is pulling the shoulders seam way out of line.

So my options are: 1) wait until I finish the I-cord and then wash the whole sweater and try and re-block it in one piece, hoping the sleeves will shrink down because I was too aggressive in my blocking; or 2) remove the sleeves completely and wash and try to re-block to a smaller size; or 3) unravel the sleeves and re-knit to a smaller size; or 4) remove the sleeves, put I-cord around the armholes and make it a vest.

Because there is mohair in this yarn, I am afraid that if I wash the sweater and re-block the whole thing, I won't be able to unseam it. Mohair felts if you breath on it, so it's going to be a challenge to unseam it anyway.

Thus, I suspect that once the I-cord is done, I will be doing some significant sweater surgery. After all, this is a way too gorgeous pattern and yarn to sacrifice because the sleeves seem to have gained all the holiday weight I didn't. The challenge will be to see if the out of proportion sleeves are due to poor blocking or a gauge change from the bodice to the sleeves. And then I'll have to decide it I want a cardigan enough to fix the sleeves or if Samus is just destined to be a vest. Right now, with STR yarn in my stash, waiting for me to finish Samus to complete my New Years Resolution, a vest is sounding mighty attractive to me!

I even have another idea for the leftover sleeves . . .