Wicked

I finally got around to taking some pics of my completed handspun Wicked sweater today ( Ravelry project details here). This is a project that's taken me over four years to complete - from my early notes about spinning the yarn, to finally casting off a few days ago. The yarn was spun from a blend I made on my old Barnett drum carder, using some caramel coloured CVM fleece (a gift from my friend Barbara), apricot angora bunny fibre and tussah silk. The drum carder’s cloth wasn’t really fine enough for the angora fibre, so it ended up being quite a neppy blend. The final yarn was a bit lumpy, but really soft and fuzzy, with a slight sheen from the silk.

It didn't actually take me four years to make - but I got so bored with blending and then spinning the same caramel coloured yarn that I kept abandoning it. Knitting took just a couple of months, mainly because the yarn was so delicious to knit with. It was incredibly light, and the more the yarn was handled, the more it fuzzed up. Knitting with it was like hugging bunny rabbits (I imagine, sadly I don't have any bunny rabbits to hand to compare it with).

Anyway, here are the pics, modelled by the very obliging Mavis (aka my dressmaker's dummy) who's the same size as me.

This is the front:



And here's the front again, this time showing the pocket. The pocket's very slightly wonky, so if it annoys me when I wear it,I may take out the top stitching at some time and reposition it.



And here's a closeup of the soft fuzziness of it:



Oh yes, and the pattern's 'Wicked' by Zephyr Style. It was knitted from the top down, which I'd not tried for a jumper before, but I enjoyed it so much that I now don't want to knit any other way. It's a great pattern, really easy to follow and adapt for custom fit. I altered the hemline so it was a bit longer than the pattern, and I finished the sleeves with moss stitch instead of cables as the cabling didn't show up too well with the fuzzy yarn. I also added a tiny bit of shaping to the hips, rather than knitting straight down from the waist.

I am now feeling bereft after working on this project for so long. I only have my Anna cardigan on the needles at the moment, it's weird not to have Wicked to cuddle up with and knit. But I'm sure that won't last for long - there are plenty of new project ideas jumping around in my head already!