My knitting is finally coming along in leaps and bounds which is a good thing because I need this pink cardigan in my wardrobe as soon as possible. My November horoscope says my wardrobe needs an overhaul which I would have to agree with, and not least in the knitwear department.

I’m allowing myself a further three weeks to get this project finished. I think that’s a realistic aim as I am 75% of the way through. As I predicted, the cable edging is very satisfying to knit and now that there is an end in sight the rows are flying by.

This yarn has proved to be a treat to work with, being very well-behaved and knitting up into a lovely fabric with plenty of elasticity. Part of the cable pattern involves twisting two stitches which, with a less forgiving yarn, can be hard work, but this Opal sock yarn makes it easy. There’s a time and place for all the different types of yarn, but I’d definitely choose this very basic sort again for a workhorse project such as this.

I finished the second sleeve yesterday morning and wound the wool to start the left front of the cardigan. The photo above was taken yesterday evening and by the time I went to bed I was about to start the armhole shaping, so that is stellar progress. I feel it vindicates my love of patterns which are knit in pieces and my choice to leave the easiest pieces to last. There’s nothing worse than being stuck in a project where you have the knitting equivalent of Becher’s Brook to jump just as you’re running out of enthusiasm.

Naturally, my mind is now turning to thoughts of which project to cast on when this one is complete. Another work top is tempting, but then so is the idea of casting on some of that special wool from the Knitting and Stitching Show. I’ve been thinking of a scarf, so this was one of the ideas I took with me last Saturday on a trip to my local yarn shop, Norfolk Yarn. I had a generous gift voucher to spend and plans to buy enough wool to complete some kind of top. One idea was to try Rowan’s Norwegian Wool which is produced in collaboration with the Norwegian textile artists Arne and Carlos. They have a drop-dead gorgeous bright mid-blue called Daphne which is very tempting. Another thought, and the one I ended up going for, was to try a wool from the Danish company BC Garn.

I chose a pale, dappled blue shade of Bio Shetland which is made in Turkey. This should be just right to knit up Erika Knight’s “Dora” top – an oversized, slouchy layering piece. I was happy to be able to pick up professionally printed copies of both this top and the “Betty” scarf pattern as apparently they are no longer being produced. In future patterns from this brand will have to be purchased as digital downloads through Ravelry. I may return and snap up a few other patterns which caught my eye as I sat ambling through the pattern books.

To round out the gift voucher, I added a bottle of Euclan wool wash to my collection of goodies. This is a luxury wash which you can use to soak your hand-knits and don’t need to rinse out. I’ve had samples before, but this is the first time I’ve bought a full bottle. All in all it was a fun morning out in the city with the sun shining, plenty of people about, and a good buzz in the air. After a morning spent perusing stationery, make-up and wool, it definitely went down in my journal as one of life’s good days.