Sometimes, when you're feeling a bit de-motivated and apathetic towards your knitting a beautiful yarn will turn up on your doorstep and you just have to make something with it no matter what.

So it was when I ordered 10 balls of Sirdar Balmoral arrived in my pigeon hole. One squeeze of a ball and I knew I had to find a pattern to suit it. I scoured Ravelry with no success but a rummage through my bookshelf turned up Kim Hargreaves pattern "Heather" in Rowan's book "A Season's Tale". I was taking a bit of a chance because the pattern is for an aran weight yarn and Balmoral is a DK but, knitting on the needles specified for the yarn has turned out a fantastic sweater that fits beautifully and has a great cuddle factor. I modified the pattern to knit the bulk of the body in the round but, apart from adding extra stitches to the funnel neck to make a more comfortable fit I didn't have to make any other adjustments to the pattern and the instructions were very easy to follow.

Being a member of Ravelry has made me forget that I have a vast stash of patterns on my bookshelf. I learned to knit with Rowan's pattern books and, having re-discovered them, I'm now embarking on another one from the luscious Rowan No44.