I am ignoring the fact that we are in the midst of a heatwave, with blue skies, sunshine and temperatures of 28 degrees. I was just getting into the swing of Autumn, looking forward to getting out my cosy knits, and Mother Nature pulls a fast one. But, lovely as it is, I won't be fooled by this late season trickery. Before you know it we'll be reaching for the woolens and debating whether to switch the heating on. And when this happens I will be prepared. Oh yes.

Vaila is a Twist Collective pattern from a couple of years ago, designed by Gudrun Johnston. Since her Audrey cardigan is one of the best-written patterns I have ever used (and one of the few I have made twice) and her recent Levenwick has people all a-flutter, I think it's a fair guess this one will be a joy to make as well.

I have a complete mental block against knitting jumpers in pieces at the moment. Partly because I know I get fed-up and petulant whilst knitting them and lose interest; partly because I like being able to get a sense of how it's going to fit while I'm knitting along and partly because I simply don't like seaming. But thankfully this is knit in the round from the bottom up.

I love that, whilst the shape is fairly close-fitting and flattering, the body is long over the hips, and the sleeves easily reach your hands. Put together with a generous polo neck (or turtle neck, for those using American English) it's just the thing for keeping toasty warm this winter. The pretty lace panels add some interest without being too demanding and at this gauge I imagine it flies off the needles.

The sample is knit in Malabrigo Worsted, which is incredibly soft and cosy and comes in dozens of delicious colours to brighten up a grey morning, however I'm not sure it wears very well? Either way, a worsted yarn in this kind of jumper should be fairly easy to substitute if necessary. You can buy the pattern and see more pictures on the Twist Collective website:

http://www.twistcollective.com/collection/index.php/component/content/article/60-winter-2008-patterns/130-vaila-by-gudrun-johnston