Who Said Anything About Cashmere?

Somewhere between avoiding the black, stockinette, sportweight, cashmere crew neck and working out how I want to design my Transitions sweater when my Silky Merino arrives, I discovered that this had spontaneously generated on my needles:

The yarn reminds me so much of the colors of fall leaves--I mean, as far as I remember; it's been more than a decade since I've seen any in person--that I just have to call this one Autumn Leaves. The yarn is bulky merino from www.handpaintedyarn.com, which, as I understand it, is the actual source of Malabrigo yarn.

You can order their yarns directly, but not the famous worsted weight singles that everyone calls Mmmalabrigo. That is only available through retailers at twice the price. This bulky weight is a ten-ply and appears to be machine-spun, but it is still hand dyed and just as soft as Malabrigo, only much, much cheaper. (Being a multi-ply, I expect it will also wear much better.) I have also bought their dk weight and their laceweight--wonderful, all. This particular colorway does not exist. It was listed under "odds and ends" about two years ago, and I've never seen it before or since. I bought all they had at the time, so it may in fact be one of a kind. To keep things interesting, I chose a pattern for which I might almost have enough yarn.

This is the pattern. I have modified it (of course). Mine is longer, has a bit of waist shaping, uses a different stitch pattern for the body, and will probably have a somewhat higher neckline. That depends in large part on whether I have enough yarn to do what I want. It's definitely going to be close, but I have an ace in the hole. Anyone remember this?

This is the cap I knitted for my son last year when he was instructed to "dress like a 19th century immigrant" for school. Same yarn. If necessary, it will become the ribbing for this sweater.

I have the back, both fronts, and part of a sleeve done. Ahhh, bulky weight! It'll be a few days before I get it done, but I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out. And then I'll be, um, casting on the cashmere.