At the beginning of March I started on this cardigan. I had followed Kate Davies’ blog for a few years but never had the courage to start one of her projects – many of them looked to complicated for someone of my experience. I only plucked up the courage this year, and decided to cut my teeth on the Bláithín (Gaelic for ‘little flower’) cardigan.

From Kate’s blog posts I got an inkling that this cardigan was to be my most complex project ever, and after reading the pattern I knew I wasn’t too wrong. It basically combined all the techniques I’d learned in the last 3 years, plus many more. Knitting in-the-round, short rows, provisional cast-on for starters, followed by i-cord bind off, insert pockets, Fair Isle colourwork, and scariest of all, steeking. That’s when you cut your work in half to turn it from a jumper into a cardigan. Argh!

In the end, the cardigan took me almost 4 months to complete, with many trials and tribulations along the way. Luckily, it didn’t turn out too badly.

As a bonus, I’ll even get some use out of it this winter! Note to self: next project will definitely be a short one.