Cold Comfort

It's been a long time coming but after rescuing my yarn from those naughty pixies Viveka is finally finished. I fell in love with the pattern (Knitty - Fall 06) from the moment I saw it.

The knitty gritty - worked in Woolcraft Aran 75% acrylic/25% wool in cream with lime, brown and orange flecks. It took 600g (the leftovers from my Starsky) so cost £6 (about $12) to make. I used scraps of brown DK (doubled) for the contrast and worked 2 rows fewer than stated in the pattern. I worked it in the round to the neck decreasing at the sides as I went to give the body a bit of shape, I split for the neck and worked flat and then worked the back and fronts simultaneously. I added in an extra inch of length to the armscythe as it was a close fit and after a short break (bloody pixies) added the sleeves. Although I liked the crocheted neckline in the original pattern it was very low on me, especially given the extra length I added. It also felt a little unfinished so I picked up around the neck and added 2 inches of rib and cast off in the contrast yarn.

I really wanted to use stash yarn for this. I'm not as brave as Wendy and co in declaring no more yarn for 9 months, but I am trying to use up what I've got where possible. I love it, it's the perfect 'comfort' jumper - something you can pull on on a cold day and snuggle up in, or walk the dog in. It's not the neatest knitting I've ever done as I decided to experiment with combination knitting partway through, couldn't get the hang of it and switched back to English so it's a a bit untidy, but in the words of Catherine Tate - Am I bothered? I can see this becoming a firm favourite.