I’m getting a gauge of 18x28.5 for a 4in square on size 5 needles with this yarn…That may gain me a couple of inches in length and width - will watch closely as I go.

7th June - well all I can say is that I must be really enjoying this pattern. I am already about 90 yards in having stayed up until 3 AM (yup, reality be darned) 3AM knitting the collar and beginning the shoulder increases following an intense swatching session with the Debbie Bliss Donegal Luxury Tweed (which I am loving, by the way). The question is whether my brain is too fried to attempt work/housework today or whether I should instead give in and just knit more…

Bit weirded out by shoulder increases…they look lovely and even on the wrong (stockinette) side of the work but not so great on the right side…will keep going to the armholes and try on…they seem very tight and I don’t want the fabric/ increase are puckering :(

Seems to be going ok, have made it to the waist decreases and it appears about the right size. It’s a top down cardi so I took a top down photo ( ok at 11.30 pm in a dark room…sorry!)

8th July - one arm done, yay! That wasn’t so hard. I knit faster than I purl so I knitted it inside out - made no difference that I could discern. Omitted one set of arm decreases so it wouldn’t be too tight in the elbow area, and also made arm a tad longer than pattern suggests, 12”. It is stinkin’ hot (rare, UK hot weather!) but am absolutely ploughing ahead with this project so I’ll have something lovely to wear when it cools off again…the other 9 months+ of the year.

Blocking, minus pocket…have the buttons ready to go. Almost there!

Update - I wasn’t happy with the buttons or their position, and as it turned out, my swatch was exactly pocket size. Soo you can see the earlier pics on the dummy have different buttons - the ones on me are the finished setup. Overall I like this cardi a lot - the wool is sublime, I adore the colour, and I know I will wear it…on the down side, it could have been more fitted (I did swatch, block and measure as I went - The shoulder fit is great and somehow it got progressively more generous from the underarms down - I’ve ended up with a decidedly relaxed fit garment). However, although ‘fitted’ knits are all the rage, the reality is I will wear it over layers so I’ve probably made a much more wearable garment.

Updated update :) I was not wearing this cardi a much as I’d hoped and so I lent it to my Mum - it looks great on her & she wears it a lot so I’m glad to gift it to her.