I did get up early this morning and do 10 rows of the afghan and I feel rather good about that little bit of progress.
The cardigan that I have been working on is Plymouth pattern NO47 and is called the Baby Alpaca DK Leaf Panel Cardigan. I think it would be a nice project for someone learning how to do lace work as the lace is only on the two front pieces.
As I said in an earlier post I was cautious about recommending the pattern until I had at least done the back, one sleeve and started one front. The last two Plymouth patterns I have used both had mistakes in and unless you are an experienced knitter you probably would have given up on them. So far I have not encountered any problems at all so will keep you uptodate on my progress with the fronts.
The yarn I am using is not alapaca. In fact I decided to use a Louisa Harding yarn called Kashmir DK which is a mix of merino woolm microfibre and cashmere. While the yarn is pretty and it is recommended to be knit at 22 stitches to 4 inches, at that guage is sloppy and does not keep any structure in the pieces. Also when knitting with it the yarn catches very badly and I am finding little threads all over the garment. Wooden needles made that even worse so I am back to addi turbo metal needles again.
I spoke to a good friend Susan who had started using the yarn for a pattern by Patrica Roberts and she was so disappointed with the yarn that she passed it on to a donation bag. I have the pretty apricot colour #8 on the needles for this project, but sadly I have another 20 balls in white that I am now reluctant to use. Maybe a donation or perhaps a baby blanket or two for some needy families!!!!