Favorite Things Friday

Dear Mom,
A Finished Project, that turns out well and fits perfectly has to be a Favorite Thing, right?

this photo is true to color- the one above is too red

I've had Chickadee in my knitting queue for awhile. I suspect this one won't be the last. I've been investigating various fair isle patterns to replace the birds. Like BEES.
This sweater is knit from the top down. And there is subtle shaping between bust and hips. Because it is a top down sweater, it was easy to be sure that the shaping happened exactly where it needed to happen for my body. (As it turned out, I needed to make no changes to the pattern here.) I did shorten the sleeves a smudge. And I omitted a contrasting color- choosing to make those rings the same color as my birds rather than come up with a third contrasting color.
I tried and failed on 2 or 3 different button designs, decided to go purchase plain old black buttons, and then the lazy, cheapskate inside me decided to try one more shrinky dink button design rather than get in the car, drive to the fabric store and spend the money on buttons. I am glad I did, because I like the way these turned out. Once again, I sort of cheated, and traced over some fabric I purchased with this sweater in mind.

"They" say we are in for a bitterly cold, possibly early, winter. If this is the case, my Black Bird Sweater will be more than a favorite thing.
Love,
Kim