Sweater Anxiety

I have sweater anxiety.  I know the pattern I want to knit (Girl Friday from Knitty, Fall 2009).  I have the yarn sitting in the office / disaster area (Paton's Classic Wool in Cognac Heather).  I just can't seem to pick up and cast on, though.  This would be my first sweater for myself, and I seem to be afraid of it.  I swatched the lace pattern a few months ago, and have no idea what needle size I used at the time, so that irritation with myself for not taking proper notes and wasting time is part of the finger-dragging, I think.  I also am afraid of my own ability to create something that actually fits me.

...I started the draft of this post a few days ago (Before Stitches West!) and that same night, I finally managed to haul out needles and wool and get a new swatch cast on.  Today I finished and blocked the swatch, so I'll take some final measurements (and hopefully edit this post to include a picture)  tomorrow.  It looks like the 9's I used today were a touch large, but I don't actually have size 8 tips in wood, so I'll spend some time negotiating with myself about the merits of doing a little extra math vs. ordering size 8 tips, having to wait for them to arrive, and then swatching again.

What do you think I'll decide?

Edited to add this picture of my swatch, now that it's been washed, blocked, and dried.  The color is a bit washed out in this photo, but the texture shows up pretty well.