I still need to weave in the ends and attach the buttons, but I think I can finally label this long-standing project as "complete."
About a year ago, I ordered myself to stop buying new yarn until I work through at least the larger part of the sizeable stash I amassed. This cardi answered the challenge, being made 100% from yarn I already had.
It's a top-down raglan I made following a pattern I found on Pinterest. I used a 4mm hook.
For the body, I used Leonardo yarn by Ice Yarns. It looks like they're out of the color I used, Ecru, but I'm including the link so you can see the specs. It's a single-ply DK weight yarn composed of 66% merino wool and 34% organic cotton, which makes it 100% biodegradable. The cotton addition also creates a slightly cooler and crisper yarn than 100% merino, which is perfect for a warm-climate area like ours.
You know I love sharing my experiences on working with different yarns, so here goes. The Leonardo is fairly soft; not as soft as Malabrigo yarns, but still feels nice and not scratchy/itchy. It has nice traction on the hook. It also has a slight halo, which makes for middling stitch definition and a real pain to unravel your work if you discover you made a mistake.
The border is made with 100% wool DK self-striping yarn I bought once on eBay, but I can't find the link/company right now.
I'm off to choose buttons for my cozy new cardi, store it until next winter, and move on to summer projects now.