Fairisle jumper for Mick

 This was meant to be a copy of a jumper I knitted for Mick back in the early 90s and that he loved. 

 

It did not quite work out how we imagined it. There is not actual pattern for this. 

I will proabbly have to try again in fact. Not just ow though because I only just finished this. I reckon probably its been about a year knitting this. Thats partly down to the large size but also the fact I just went off knitting a while ago so only did the odd row or two here and there and kept stpping and puttig it away again. The baby pixie hat I made a few weeks ago got me back into knitting so I am finishing as many of my "works in progress" as possible.

Its far too big - he has "grown" over the last 30 years so I estimated the number of stitches we would need for this too fit, but even then this is huge. That might be ok in the snow though and expecially over his very thick and big hoody cowl tops for dog walking. That will be a bonus in the next few months. 

 

This is the jumper with a hoody cowl underneath. So yes its rather too big on its own.

The background is Aldi acrylic mixed with mohair and all sorts of odd yarns left from other projects ( some which go back to the early 2000's).

This time  I added mitts which he likes so that can stay for version two. They will likely be useful when holding a dog lead. One of our dogs has become very reactive since we had lockdown and he just takes a dislike to some dogs out of the blue so you do have to keep a good hold o his lead if that happens. Wearing gloves can make his harder so mitts are the best answer. Its weird though because the same dog can be nice as pie to other dogs he meets and there does not seem to be a reason for the different reactions.

Mick really should have worn his glasses for these. It was first thing today and he had not yet got up properly when I got him to model this for me. He is squinting at me taking these because he doesn't see well without his glasses! Still these are about the jumper not my lovely partner!

I think the main issue with this is its made from too much acrylic which tends to be harder and have more brighter primary types of colours rather than real wools and mohair yarns which tend more towards muted and subtle or richer colours. Since we both avoid animal products I tend to only use free ( as in gifted) or second hand ( thrifted) yarns that possibly may come from animals. Mick is very strictly vegan so I do try to avoid all animal products for him. However when it comes to the planet and recycling this issue becomes far more complicated and we both think we should be as sustainable as we can be and that includes recycling of all existing products including those with animal origins. I know many who do not agree on this point. One close friend even sold his leather jacket and bought a vegan one but he made some money from that sale so I cannot see how that is better. But we are all individuals and all have our own personal views and ethics so who am I to make judgements?

I personally see nothing wrong with recycling of animal products though respect to those who completely avoid. One of my issues with this is you find some nice yarn in a charity/ thrift shop but you have no label on it so you have really got no idea of the fibre content. So should I then not buy it and use it? 

Or a friend has a clearout and gives me loads of half balls of assorted yarns which again go back years and we do not know what they are made from. I cannot see anything wrong with this kind of recycling.

Anyway I find that the older "wool" type of yarns have more muted colours even when they are red or bright blue whereas the acrylics tend to be more plastic and over bright and kind of"cleanly" bright. Thats why this jumper came out like it has. The original was all from upcycled yarn that was probably wool or wool mixes. This thing with acrylic versus natural fibres is I think a bit like the oil paint versus acrylic paints thing as well. Though this comment will probably only make sense to a painter! 

Oils are or tend to be more complex and richer colours and acrylics no matter how hard you (or anyway me) mixes them they remain a kind of artificial brighter or cleaner colour even when they are darker or more muted rather than primary colours. Oils are just "richer" and have a different kind of hue to them.

Anyway thats why this jumper came out a litte too bright I think so my aim is to make another - it took me ages because its a big jumper, so might be a year before I can show you the next version of this. Hopefully I will also get the sizing right next time. 

Still I suppose on a plus note with the huge rises we have in energy prices (in the UK at least) if we end up unable to turn  the heating on this winter at least Mick will be warm in this jumper. 

In the meantime I am attempting to finish a few more of my works in progress while I am still in the mood to knit.

Have a great weekend

Bracken