Vintage Deer Sweater

My maternal grandmother just celebrated her 82nd birthday, and doesn't knit any longer.
Years ago, she knit a reindeer sweater for each of her children, herself, and a few close family members. I have one made for someone else, which is too small for me and so my teenage daughter wears it. It was also apparently washed in warm water, and the colors bled.

My aunt just sent me her last reindeer sweater in progress and the yarn with it. I have always wanted one for myself, and was hoping to finish this one for me. I have been waiting very impatiently for it to arrive! The back, fronts, and half-way up the sleeves are done. Most of the colorwork is done already! I was hoping to complete it for myself, but there are a couple of problems. There isn't enough wool in natural with it to finish the sleeves and knit the collar. Brown and green, there is plenty of. It is also narrow and short, as it was being knit smaller than the graphed pattern, which would be way too small for my entering middle-aged, perimenopausal body. I wonder if she was replacing the one that was ruined; she was a tiny woman.

So now I am in search of wool, either in the needed brand, or a substitution, so I can finish her sweater. I've posted on the ISO group on Ravelry, and have had no positive responses yet. I dragged the family yarn crawling to the major chain craft stores in town with a sample in tow, and could find nothing that matches the weight and color of the wool. I've searched online, and on eBay. Nothing yet, but I'm keeping my hopes up.


7/15/12: Ordered three skeins of Cadena in natural from KnitPicks, we'll see if it's a close enough match. The notes say it has a yellow undertone, as does the original wool. Really hard to match years-old wool! Crossing fingers....

7/16/12: Also bid on four skeins of vintage Mary Maxim pure virgin wool, worsted weight, on ebay today. If I win it, and if it matches the color better than the Cadena, I could hold two or three strands together and finish this thing! Or use the Cadena for the collar, and the worsted to extend the side panels. If not, I'll have four skeins of natural and four skeins of burgundy wool to make something lasting with. :)