A step towards more yarn

I told myself no more yarn purchasing until
1) I finish the blue sweater I just started,
2) I finish my left glove,
3) I finish my green bag, and
4) I figure out what I'm going to make with new yarn that I purchase.

So, I haven't done 1-3, but I spent many wee hours in the night working on 4. I decided I want to use this yarn in the 2/8 size because it's got a decent gauge (I would prefer 6 stitches to an inch, but I'll settle for 5.5), is cheap (cheaper than the other contenders Cascade 220 and Harrisville Designs Shetland), and it's made of merino and cashmere! Also I was inspired by the natural and dark red.

Ok, so hours with Photoshop yielded this:

That's the front, back and sleeve. The sleeve isn't shaped quite the way it will be at the top. I'm also not sure if I like the geometric edge pattern. I might change to allover swirlies. With 5.5 stitches/inch, that gives me a 34.5" chest and a 30" waist. I wonder if that's enough shaping.

The plan is to do it in the round and steek(!) the front opening, the armholes, and the neck shaping. Then pick up stitches for the armhole and knit it down because I hate seaming, I really do. In fact, I'm considering doing the blue sweater with shaped set in sleeves instead of raglan like originally planned, so I can get some practice with this technique.