Finished Project: Lucy's Fabel Sweater

Back in March, we planned on attending VK Live in Seattle and organized joint freight with our buddy Theresa of Ewe-Nited States of Fiber. Theresa dropped her bags of yarn off at our warehouse in preparation for shipment, which gave me the opportunity to pour over all of the lovely hand dyed colors. Knowing how well hand dyed yarn works with Perennial, I pulled out a skein of her Fingering Weight in dragonfruit to pair it with Perennial in raspberry. Not sure exactly what the skeins would become, I did know Lucy would love the combination! Pouring over patterns, I found the Fabel Sweater by Danish designer Vaskavullaknit. Ridiculous intarsia unicorn? Check. Gold embellishment? Check. Rainbow mane? Check. It is basically the garment of Lucy's dreams.

The only issue was the gauge: the pattern calls for 16 stitches to 4", while Perennial is best for garments at 28-30 stitches to 4". Holding the yarn doubled on US 5 needles produced a gauge of 20 stitches to 4". Still not a match, but it was closer, and the schematic in the pattern and measurements provided me with enough information to make the proper length and size adjustments. I also decided to hold the dragonfruit with Perennial in natural to lighten up the color so the unicorn would really pop. The project was a fun distraction over the last few months and I picked up whenever I needed a pop of color or something different on the needles. More and more as the weather got colder, Lucy asked me when she could wear her sweater, so I buckled down to finish it over the last few weeks. The embroidery and decorative elements on the design really make it shine. At Charlotte's suggestion, using the Ewe-Nited States of Fiber, a few shades of Perennial, and some Koigu I had, I opted to attach the colors of the mane in a rainbow effect. Lucy loves her sweater! Now, on to sort out an intarsia octopus just like it for Charlotte!