New sweater... as yet un-designed

So, as I mentioned, I have started a new sweater.  This is my third (yes, THIRD) attempt to knit something with this yarn that will satisfy my very specific sweater-requirements.  Here is my list of criteria:

1. It must be flattering.  This is important.  It may be warm, it may be a nice colour, but if it makes me look like a school bus, I won't wear it.  Or rather, I WILL wear it, until I see a photo of myself wearing it, after which I will spend 2 days crying and swear off wearing said garment ever again.  So, it must not make me look like a school bus.  That leaves out anything too drapey, loose, shapeless, boatneck-y, short, boobsy (you know, busy around the boobie area - I don't need any additional attention in that particular vicinity), or otherwise weird.  Also, as I am short-waisted and have no neck, no turtlenecks are allowed (although for some strange reason, cowl-necks often work on me...go figure).
2. It must be a cardigan.  I am not a fan of pullovers, though I have recently found several patterns on Ravelry that are making me reconsider my stance on that particular issue.  Maybe the next one...
3. It has to be unique and interesting.   This is me, we're talking about.  I don't do "normal" or "average".  I wear bright orange pants, for Pete's sake.
4. It has to be a top-down raglan.  I have a limited amount of yarn.  It is an aran weight, superwash merino yarn in a colour I love and there is no more of it.  I bought approx. 1400 yards of it and once it's gone, it's gone.  That's why I'm doing a top-down sweater.  That way, if I start to run out, I can make the sleeves 3/4 and the world will keep turning.  If I do bottom-up, I have no way of knowing whether or not I'll have enough to finish.
5. It has to be seamless.  I am not big on sewing together sweater parts.  I'll do it if I have to, but I need this sweater in a practical way (I'm cold, dammit!) and if I have to seam it up, I will procrastinate and it will still be sitting in its bag next Christmas.  Speed is a factor here.

You can see why I'm on attempt #3, right?  The first attempt was the Minimalist Cardigan, which I finished (seaming and all) before coming to the conclusion that it made me look like a school bus (see note #1 above).  I should have read more of the comments on Ravelry - all the *ahem* "larger" ladies said the same thing.  I'm not very big (size 10), but I ain't tall (5'-2") and I am very (VERY) short-waisted (combine that with a couple of 34DD's and you'll know why that's an issue).  Tops are a little tricky for me to get right.  My second attempt was actually very nice, but not seamless and I got halfway done with the back panel when I decided that it just wasn't going to be right for this time around.

So, here's where I'm at:

 

 So far, so good.  Keep your fingers crossed.

In other knitting new, ever since I finished my new cowl, I was on the fence as to whether or not it was long enough.  It's a thick stitch pattern (cozy...yum), but that made it a bit stiff and it tended to let in a draft.  I loved it, but I thought it might benefit from a little souping up.  This is what I started with yesterday (those two balls were my leftovers):

 

This was taken the day I finished it:

And this is it, today (just short of twice as long):

 

 

BOOYAH, BABY!  I loves it.

Incidentally, do you have any idea how difficult it is to take a self-portrait in the mirror?  Dude, it's really not easy.  Also, how gross is my mirror?  Sorry about that.  I'd love to say that I've just been too busy to clean, but I somehow found several hours to knit yesterday, so that excuse won't float.

**Edited to add: I would love to post the pattern I am using for the sweater, but as I mentioned in my last post, I need someone to proof-read it before I do that and NO-ONE HAS STEPPED UP TO THE PLATE!  KNITTERS: you know who you are and most importantly, I know who you are.  I will start assigning homework if someone doesn't put their hand up and take one for the team pretty soon.**