First sweater - shaping questions

[REVS]

Hi everyone,

I'm planning to knit my first "sweater", actually Lionbrand's Barcelona Bolero:
http://cache.lionbrand.com/patterns/...tml?noImages=0
Since it's my first, I'm doing a bunch of planning and obsessing first... :thinking:

Looking through the pattern, there are the obligatory neck, sleeve etc shapings....
My questions are:

1) Do you increase/decrease at the beginning or end or the row, or does it not matter?
In this pattern all RS rows are knit only (broken rib pattern), so I thought that would be easy rows to do all the shaping on.

2) Where do you do the increase/decrease, one stitch in from the end or at the very last stitch?
I am planning to use Amy's MIR/MIL for increases (is that a good choice?) and those need to be worked in between stitches, so I'm thinking they will go one stitch in from the end.
For decreases I want to use k2tog/ssk. Those could go right at the end, but should they? Or should they go one in from the end like the increases?

3) At some point I have to cast onto the running project for the sleeves. Is a back loop CO at the end of a RS row appropriate for that? Then I could incorporate those sts into the broken rib on the WS row (this is for the left front).
When I do the right front, I will need to do this at the end of the WS (p3, k2) row. Can I still just do back loop CO or will that disrupt the pattern?
Does all this not matter because I will seam the sleeves up anyways?

4) Has anyone else done this pattern? How did it come out? What yarn did you use? Any other tips for me?

I hope this all makes sense?!?
Thanks so much everyone, I'm a little nervous...


Ruth