Wonder of Wonders - It's Finished!!
After months of on-again-off-again knitting, my Finn Sheep wool Aran sweater is finally finished!! (Finnish Landrace sheep - rare breed wool yarn from Wild Geese Fibers of course!) I finished the collar and cast off. It looks like a crumpled frumpy pile... not exactly the stuff knitting dreams are made of... after all those hours and oh, how much I loved the yarn, to thinking it was rather stiff and inelastic and just how much would I really enjoy wearing this...
(sorry the pic is so yellow - the flash ones were totally washed out)
As I always do, I hand washed it in warm water and Eucalan... and went from trepidation to jubilation in about 5 seconds!!! The wash water also went from clear to grey in about 15 seconds!! LOL!! It took 4 rinses for it to run clear but all that natural grime just proves it has had minimal processing. Ideal, really, which is why it went from stiff and crimpy to a plush bloom and all my uneven stitches relaxed into a cushy softness!! I admit, I giggled!! And danced - just a little.... then I carefully pressed as much water from it as possible. I'm not too keen on putting feltable woolens into the spin cycle of my front loader, I'm always concerned they'll get beaten a bit too much. I'm more of a roll-it-in-a-towel-and-walk-on-it kind of gal! And it took 2 full size bath towels to dry it to my satisfaction. Then off to a drying rack for blocking... and the seemingly long wait before it was fully dry and I could wear it...
I twisted the sleeves a bit to show you the wandering cables.
I love this diamond cable panel with it's alternating fill of ribbing and garter stitch which makes horizontal lines for one diamond and vertical lines for the next! A bit fiddly to do but it sure kept me on my toes!!
And of course, the simple lace hem which I also did on the sleeve cuffs. I heave a great sigh of relief and admire - really admire - my finished sweater. It was worth every moment! and actually, I haven't put it on yet but only because it's really hard to look at something while you're wearing it! LOL!! I think it will keep me company on my desk for a little bit yet - I'm still enjoying the visual feast! Cheers until next time!
(sorry the pic is so yellow - the flash ones were totally washed out)
As I always do, I hand washed it in warm water and Eucalan... and went from trepidation to jubilation in about 5 seconds!!! The wash water also went from clear to grey in about 15 seconds!! LOL!! It took 4 rinses for it to run clear but all that natural grime just proves it has had minimal processing. Ideal, really, which is why it went from stiff and crimpy to a plush bloom and all my uneven stitches relaxed into a cushy softness!! I admit, I giggled!! And danced - just a little.... then I carefully pressed as much water from it as possible. I'm not too keen on putting feltable woolens into the spin cycle of my front loader, I'm always concerned they'll get beaten a bit too much. I'm more of a roll-it-in-a-towel-and-walk-on-it kind of gal! And it took 2 full size bath towels to dry it to my satisfaction. Then off to a drying rack for blocking... and the seemingly long wait before it was fully dry and I could wear it...
I twisted the sleeves a bit to show you the wandering cables.
I love this diamond cable panel with it's alternating fill of ribbing and garter stitch which makes horizontal lines for one diamond and vertical lines for the next! A bit fiddly to do but it sure kept me on my toes!!
And of course, the simple lace hem which I also did on the sleeve cuffs. I heave a great sigh of relief and admire - really admire - my finished sweater. It was worth every moment! and actually, I haven't put it on yet but only because it's really hard to look at something while you're wearing it! LOL!! I think it will keep me company on my desk for a little bit yet - I'm still enjoying the visual feast! Cheers until next time!
That is absolutely beautiful!! It really was worth all the time and effort! Bravo!
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Gee thanks! (blush! blush!) I am pretty proud of it!
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Oh, that's so beautiful! Well done!
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I read you all the time on Busyknitting Knitlist .I love your sweater,Beautiful work. I used to have that kind of patiences but no more.LOl
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Well, I was "watching" as you knit this, and I thought it was going to be lovely. I was wrong, it is beyond lovely! the design is so balanced, and that lacey hem is just the perfect touch that takes it on out there to be that sweater that we all aim for, the one where we would change nothing if we could knit again. Congrats!!
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Congratulations! It looks great.
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I just want to thank you all SO much for your kind compliments! It means SO much to me! (blush! blush!)
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