A piece of Aran knitting to start the blog off.

I completed this cardigan a year ago as a Christmas gift for my mum. It uses a variety of Aran stitches including cables and honeycomb stitch. It is the first time that I have incorporated a pocket into a piece of knitting.

I particularly enjoy Aran knitting as there is always an interesting pattern to absorb the attention, and progress is visible, unlike rows of plain stocking stitch. However, making mistakes/dropping stitches etc. can be a nightmare to correct. Who wants to pull out rows of knitting for a one-stitch cable that irritatingly twisted itself the wrong way? I tend to unpick just a column of a few stitches, then spend hours manipulating crochet hooks, needles whatever to reconstruct what should have been there before. Very trying!

But should we always aim for perfection? I'm happy to make/leave one mistake in a piece of knitting, just like a little signature that renders the item unique.

Incidentally, I didn't make the little teddy in the pocket. Those bursting with curiosity can look forward to a post about it in the future.