From left to right and top to bottom: 1. Red Redux, 2. Grey FLS, 3. St. James, 4. Noro , 5. Snorri, 6. Liesl, 7. Paprika, 8. Handspun Yoke Cardigan, 9. Forecast, 10. Sun Ray, 11. St. Theresa, 12. Dragonfly (click on mosaic for full-sized picture)

Twelve cardigans, pullovers and tops.

Red Redux (1) and Dragonfly (12) are variations upon the February Lady Sweater. I wear the former more than the latter due to yarn choices. New Lanark Aran is studier than Patons Jet, even if it is nowhere as soft. Red Redux also has full-length sleeves. The original February Lady Sweater (2) is also knitted from New Lanark Aran. This is a versatile, comfortable and well-fitting cardigan. I wore it constantly throughout 2008 and most of 2009 and it wears beautifully.

I do not wear St. James (3) all that often due to its short sleeves and the itchiness of the yarn. I do not wear Liesl (6) all that often either, but that is because winter moved in just as I had finished it. It is more versatile than St. James and makes for a great layering piece. Sun Ray (10) should be a great layering piece too, but the neckline is too high and the waist-shaping not quite right. I wish I had had enough yarn for sleeves as I think that would have worked better.

The Noro pullover (4) is destined for the frog pond. I was so proud of it when I had finished it but it does not fit me at all. The neck opening is too wide, the body's waist shaping hits me at the worst place possible, the sleeves are the wrong length and all the edgings poke out no matter what I do. I love the yarn, fortunately, and will reknit this into something usable. As it is, I've worn it three times. On the other hand, I have worn Snorri (5) practically every other day since I finished it. Perfect fit, really warm and I'm superhappy with it. I also wear my Forecast (9) a lot. While I am not sure about the buttons, I love the fit and the snug sleeves. The colour makes me really happy too.

The handspun garter yoke cardigan (8) is beautiful and never fails to get comments whenever I wear it. I just think it's a surprisingly difficult cardigan to wear. I don't like it buttoned up and I am not quite sure what to wear underneath. It has stretched a bit since I knit it (I blame the alpaca content of the commercial yarn) and it pills ever so slightly. Mainly I just look at it rather than wear it.

Paprika (7) is worn a lot by contrast .. but only at home. On weekends, I throw it on top of my jammies and lounge about in it. I rarely wear it outside the house, though. It's warm and snuggly, but there is something a little "not in public, darling" about it.

Finally, St. Theresa (11) is the worst knitted top in my wardrobe. It is lumpy, unshapely and adds several stones to my frame. The colour does not suit me - I have been thinking about re-purposing the yarn in a striped pullover or cardigan, but I just cannot face the thought right now. Not pleasant.

Lessons learned: I like casual cardigans in hard-wearing yarn (that doesn't sound like it's going to be fun to knit). And I need to convince myself to knit full-length sleeves because otherwise I will not wear whatever I'm knitting. Oh, and I like reds and greens..