Fisherman's Gansey

Just in time for the winter (it was a chilly -1C first thing this morning) I have finished knitting my Fisherman's Gansey.  I have loved knitting this pattern, very clear instructions with no mistakes, apart for the one I spotted as I was blocking (!) totally my fault I cabled left instead of right, or was that right instead of left 😱 No matter, this is intended as a warm, dog walking, gardening, fetching logs sort of sweater and I don't mind.

The pattern is the 'St Elmo's Fisherman Guernsey Pullover' by Marci Richardson for The Elegant Ewe, you can find it on Ravelry here:
https://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/st-elmos-fisherman-guernsey-pullover

I used almost exactly 6 skeins (1290 yds) of Berroco Ultra Alpaca a gorgeous blend of 50% wool and 50% Alpaca in colour 3201 'Winter White'

Can I just say for the record, how important it is to block garments made of natural fibres?
yes it smells a bit of...

But it makes a huge difference to the look of the finished article!

I let my sweater soak for about 15mins in the sink, in hand hot water, then gently spin it in the machine until damp; I give it a good shake and then carefully spread it out on a towel; using the schematic on the last page of the pattern I flatten and push and pull until the sweater is exactly the correct size; I then leave it alone for at least 24 hours until it is dry.  Blocking really helps to even out your stitches and you can manipulate the size a little too if your gauge was a bit off.