The Lace Leaf Beast Is Complete!

My soon-to-be Master Knitter sister, Stephanie, had the brilliant idea to have a little knit club where we all do the same project--you know, meet at someone's house, have some food and wine, and knit... we met once, right after we got the yarn. Even though I had feelings of abandonment, I have to admit that this project boosted my self-esteem in regards to reading a pattern... I feel literate now! YAY!
I'm not completely happy with the way the sleeves meet the shoulders, so I'm not showing that yet... I'm hoping the pictures I took were freaks of nature that just happened to accentuate everything I was unhappy with. Until then here's some pictures of the sleeve details and collar.

I can't tell if I'm more excited that I actually finished a project--or if its that I finished this one.

What do you think of it? Do you think the button is too plain? (By the way, you should probably know that I'm completely obsessed with brown sweaters--although this one is not my ideal brown, it was the closest color in the yarn I found.)