Well, Oliver's first problem was that he was too short; pictured is his center back panel, with the bottom edge on the left. Since I left the top stitches for the neckband live (which makes for a more stretchy neck edge than if they're bound off), I could normally have just knit a little further, but by the time I reached an attractive stopping point--the end of the larger diamond--it would have been too long.
So I changed the repeat on the pattern chart so that it begins with the large diamond instead of the 
small one; the new chart is shown at left. If I stop at the top of the third large diamond, the back panel should be about an inch longer than before. Panels like this are another reason pattern directions should give length in rows!* If Debbie Bliss had done this in her pattern for the Cotton Aran Sweater I knit for my son, it would have been clear that a certain number of rows had to be worked for the pattern repeat to end as pictured in her book. And then I wouldn't have had to change the neckline from a crew to a V so the repeat ended at least semi-attractively.
Anyway. On this photo of Oliver's front, the entire border ribbing area is circled. The border rib doesn't stand out from the body of the sweater, which is as I intended; however, I don't like the way the border ribbing meets the mirror cable panel, which affects both the center back panel and the center front edge. I'm going to try a garter stitch border instead.
*So far the response to my rant has been less than enthusiastic; okay, so it's been nonexistent. That doesn't mean I'm going to give up. My next step? Letters to the individual members of the CYCA's Standards Committee. (It's not too late to jump on the bandwagon!)
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