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Long time coming, long time wearing.

Materials: About 5 skeins Araucania Nature Wool Shade #25 (100% wool). Size 6 needles. Pattern: Knitty's Mariah, in the 33" size posted to Mariah-Along.

Time: Six months, including two or three of dormancy.

Cost: $50 for 8 skeins of yarn, but I had 900 yards or so left over.

Mariah was a looong time in coming for me. First I had to wait for the yarn to ship (see below), then I spent a lot of time trying to figure out the 33" instructions posted to the Yahoo! group (see above), then I overlooked a line in the instructions and forgot to make increases along the arms. Then I left it, pinned and blocking, on a chair in our front hall for so long that my upstairs neighbor politely inquired about whether it was some kind of voodoo garment. So, obviously, I'm thrilled to finally be finished.

I wouldn't have thought to use Araucania Nature Wool for this project if I hadn't seen the glowing reviews posted at wiseNeedle. They're right; this is a wonderful value for the cost (I think that I only used $30 of yarn for the whole sweater). Great colors (though there's a lot of variation in my batch, which might not make it ideal for all projects), soft, durable, and comes in 220-yard skeins for $7-$8. The only thing not to love is that it's difficult to find. I ordered mine from an online-vendor-who-shall-not-be-named, as the main page said that it was in stock but I got progressive "oops, this is backordered!" notices for three months. It's worth searching out from other sources, however.

Mariah's a great everyday sweater for me -- the yarn is soft but solid enough for me to not worry about it pilling away into nothing, and it's casual without being too sloppy. The one adjustment that I made to the pattern was to start the hood right at the top of the sides instead of binding off for a square neckline, and it seems to have turned out OK.

That is fabulous - love the pattern, love the colour, love the long sleeves. love the kitten t-shirt! Awesome.

Wow this is gorgeous! Wandered over to your site from a peace fleece google image search. Now I cannot leave... so many good knits to ogle!