Windin' n' Swatchin'

Yeah, I was gonna make up a little rap in the vein of the Beastie Boys' "Rhymin' and Stealin'", but you know something? I cannot rap fo' shit and I won't subject my readers to such nonsense.

But I will tell you what I did today!

I finally used my swift:

As you probably recall, I purchased it from Patternworks about a month ago. I can't believe I held out on using it as long as I did. Even more amazing is that I have waited so long to do anything with this yarn:

I'm sure somebody reading this blog is turning green with envy. I bought this yarn last July, and am just using it now. That's how bad my sickness is -- I have so much yarn that I forget I have some of it! July! Geez! (In my defense, I didn't receive said yarn until last September, because the original shipment got lost in the mail from Uruguay, and a replacement order had to be re-shipped.)

I not only wound the yarn, but I swatched it:

Gorgeous, isn't she? Wanna know where she came from? Do I dare divulge my eBay supplier of soft-as-a-kitten handpainted merino wool? No, it's not Malabrigo, or at least it's not labeled as such. It feels just like Malabrigo, though, and is from the same country, but seems to be slightly thinner or less lofty than Malabrigo.

I got this yarn from Handpainted Wool. With the shipping costs, it's about as much as Malabrigo is at the LYSs around here ($12/skein). It feels really soft next to my skin, and I think I'd really like to wear it. Shit, I'd like to EAT this stuff with a spoon like a cream puff.

I'm hoping to make Tempting II from Knitty with this. However, as always happens with me because I so often don't use the recommend yarn, there is a problem. I did the math, and am about 56 yards short with this yarn (my gauge came out fine, at least in the width. The length is off, but the sweater is measured by inches and not rows). I'm trying to figure out what to do. Should I buy another skein of the hot pink and black Handpainted Wool, and hope that the different dye lot isn't obvious? Should I buy a skein of plain black Handpainted Wool yarn (they've got it), doing the bodice in the variegated yarn and the neckline in plain black? Should I see if something from my stash would make a good sub (I was thinking my Debbie Bliss cotton angora could work, if I make gauge with it) and do the neckline with that? Should I just find something else to make with this yarn? But I really want a pink-a-black variegated Tempting II sweater!!!! WAAAAAAHHHH!!!!

Give me your thoughts, knitters!