I did not make the 19 day cardigan – my mum did.  and the 19 days include the days she went to work and days she couldn’t knit; it’s just how many days it took from purchasing the wool!

The Copley cardigan is a pattern she has had for a while.  It’s one I borrowed 4 years ago when I decided that I wanted to take my knitting skills to the next level and actually make a garment which wasn’t made from a lace pattern or chunky wool.  It took me 2 months to make my yellow cardigan, but it’s one I have worn relentlessly since completing it!

We were talking about the yellow cardigan, and I mentioned that I was interested in making another colour version as it’s a design which is enjoyable to knit – not too complicated but with enough of a pattern to keep you going.  However, I joked that I still had to finish this short sleeved cropped cardigan I began shortly after the yellow cardigan, and that I began every new year declaring that this would be the year I finish it!

Within a week of this conversation, my mum found some red wool and decided to make the cardigan for me as a present.  she made mistakes and had to unravel it a few times, but manically worked on it in her free time between going to work and visiting relatives.  She was working to the deadline of when I popped in to visit her on the way back from visiting relatives.

She made the deadline, and I’m very chuffed that she went to all the effort to make it for me.  I’m always amazed at how she can go months without knitting, and then pick up the needles and knit at a rate as though she never stopped!  Even when she makes mistakes, she is not deterred.  She draws the stitched off the needle, unravels to the error, corrects, and continues.  It’s this perseverance which I really admire.  I always remember seeing her knit when I was young and I loved watching, and think this is why I wanted to learn in the first place.

So, wearing my new handmade cardigan, I unzipped my knitting bag crammed with unfinished projects, and pulled out the short sleeved cropped cardigan I began nearly 4 years ago.  It’s a pattern from Simply Knitting.  I had finished knitting all the main pieces last year, and had put it away again because I had to sew it up!  I grabbed a darning needle and began.

Despite having a busy week, I managed to get the neckband completed in the evenings.  The button band and button hole band were made at the weekend.  I quietened down my fears of what could go wrong and how long it could take and just enjoyed knitting it.

I bought the buttons reduced all those years ago when I first began the project, so unlike my yellow cardigan, the buttons all match this time.

Like the copley cardigan, this cropped cardigan has raglan shaped sleeves, which I like as a design feature.

It’s not exactly a knit for this season, but it will be ready for me to wear in the spring/summer!