What to make, what to make, what to make

So I have got A LOT of chunky/bulky weight yarn in my stash. Beautiful, soft boucles in various colors, some thick acrylics and a few odds and ends. I've been searching like crazy for just the right patterns and frankly it's making me a little crazy because I can't find just the right pattern. I want a sweater type garment. Something with a little flare and definitely no turtle or high neck! My neck is only two inches long and anything high necked makes me look funny. So since I can't find what I want even though I'm not entirely sure what it is I'm looking for, I'm going to design my own.

First off. I want to use my bulky yarn. I can't call it chunky because that leads to my darling brother making jokes about alpaca soup as I found out the hard way. :) But since I don't want the sweater to be overly thick I'm going to use a big hook.  Probably M or bigger. With a half double crochet stitch that should make even bulky yarn lacy.

Second, I want an asymmetrical hem. So out comes the scrap paper. 

There. That's the hem I want. 

Now the bodice.... Hmmm.... Something not to heavy. Time to pull out my crochet bible. 

500 different stitch patterns. It's wonderful, isn't it?

So let's try something fairly open.... This one.

Third, make a swatch. This will tell me how many stitches and rows in a four by four swatch.

Now the fun part. Pull out my horribly colored dressmaker's mannequin and take some measurements.

With all this information I'm ready to start. I know right? All this work before I even start?! Custom design isn't easy.  Calculator, paper, pencil. Time to do some math.

Tune in next time to see how all this works out. I haven't a clue so it could be amusing.