(nqc) FO: Big Orange Sweater

attending recent fiber festival made my startitis flare up. the itch is bad. i'm pawing through my knitting library again. and lusting after a sweater kit from Mostly Merino that i first saw at Gore Place. I very nearly bought it at NHS&W, but decided on the new wheel instead. of course i have plenty of yarn already in my stash! AND 4 unfinished sweaters at home!! (the startitis care's not. it wants to rush of planning something new. grrrr)

my anti-startitis prescription? finish something! I was waiting to block the B. Orange pieces, but they are big and i don't know where to lay them all out. screw it. i seamed them up watching the toob over the last few nights. Tonight i will finish sewing in the ends and probably block it this weekend.

The second incentive to finish this particular sweater was the upcoming MAS&W in Cummington, Ma. I bought the orange fleece there last year. I mentioned that i was going to spin it and knit it for Darius, and we joked about whether it would get done over the coming winter. The vendor laughed, "Yeah right, if you have that done by this time next year i will be really impressed." a challenge was issued!! (i am not a competitive person by nature, but i do appreciate a good dare now and then.) Boy and I will be on the west coast visiting family and friends during the weekend of MAS&W this year, so i can't show it to her in person. But i know its done. and he likes it! (see the whack rabbit dance shot is proof!)

specs:
Fiber- washed and dyed merino fleece purchased from Winterbery Farm. i must mention (yet again) how much i loved this fiber! it was easy to work with and the spun yarn is light, soft, warm, and gorgeous. (i'm considering buying this year's fleece from the same sheep and making a sweater for myself!)
i bought about 1 lb of orange and 1 lb of yellow. I blended with random red roving to keep it 'overall orangey'. But i didn't blend completely because i wanted the random tweedy look. Started with handcarding, then bought a drum carder in the fall. Forgot to keep track of how many yards spun... think i used up 1.5 lbs. probably spun about 1500 yds of 2-ply, worsted weight yarn.
Pattern- Knit Great Basics by Vicki Square. My favorite book for making simple guy sweaters. Also a really great book for handspun yarn. The math is already worked out for the same size in a variety of yarn gauges. If your yarn changes as you knit, you can just switch needles and use the numbers from the next column over. no muss, no fuss. And it fits him perfectly!
Time- one year exactly from fleece to sweater.