Christmas Cardi

Cast On December 11
Finished Knitting December 23

Yarn: Paton's Classic Merino Wool, 6 balls, Burgundy
Needles: US 5 & 7
Size: 44

Modifications: Body knit in one piece, center cable on back changed to 4x4 to account for mismatch in ribbing (see detailed blog post for more info), sleeves knit in the round, shoulders bound by 3-needle bind off, cable carried up and over the top of the hood, edging cables grafted at top of hood, edging knit continuously, closed by zipper :D
Whew!

Full details and lots more photos are on my Finished Objects Blog - definitely a fun knit!

Blocking question

I am still in the process of knitting my CPH. I knit the back in a size 36 according to the pattern and I felt comfortable with how it looked, sizewise. However, as I worked on the right front, I worried that it looked too narrow and added a few stitches to both the center and side seam. Now it looks better. But now I'm worried about the back. Would it be ok to block the back before I do the seaming and the front band? If I did that, I think I could see more clearly if it fit.

I finished ages ago...

...But neglected to get pictures until very, very recently. I actually finished the knitting last spring/summer when it was impossible to wear, so didn't bother putting in a zipper until this fall.



Lately though I've been wearing this almost every day! I love it. Here are the specifics:

Size: 52" -- I made my own modifications based on other sizes, although it's great to see larger sizes available through Knitting Daily! There's a thread for my mods on Ravelry.
Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed -- I want to say the color is "Grampian Purple"
Modifications: Besides size, I also did a zipper (obviously), short row shoulders (thanks to this KAL!), and made sure the sleeves were ample enough :)

I do wish I had made it a smidgen longer, but I hope it'll get longer when my baby bump gets smaller :)

Thanks for all the great advice and inspiration on this KAL!

Here we go a cable-ing...

I'm finished with the entire body and the hood...incidentally I've become a pro at dropping stitches to re-knit cables - due mostly in part to my fiddling with the pattern...I've been officially on Sleeve Island for 2 days now hoping to have this sweater done for xmas :D

Obsessed.

With the cool/cold weather I've found myself obsessed with knit coats - I had been resisting the dire urge to cast on some phenomenal amount of stitches to try to knit a knee length coat when the note from knitting daily appeared in my inbox. I was smitten. So smitten that I immediately purchased the pattern, detoured on the way home to 2 different shops to buy yarn (the first didn't have enough balls of the right dyelot to get the hoodie done) and cast on immediately.

I opted for the knit the body all in one piece option and was originally planning on making it "seamless" by grafting every possible stitch...after initial battles with the pattern (I failed to subtract the seam stitches, and for some reason I thought the Right Front and Left Front started with K2 vs P2 on the RS...no, I didn't rip it out - I made modifications :) ) In less than a week I've knit the entire body and the hood. Apparently I'm obsessed. I've been staying up til 2am knitting away (and sometimes tinking back several inches (only on one occasion) and doing things like unraveling cables and picking them all back up again (I've become amazingly proficient LOL) I wound up doing the 3 needle bindoff on the shoulders because grafting the cable was giving me a twitch...I'm proud to say I've figured out how to graft cables/ribbing for the hood though...I'm hoping to have this hoodie done for Christmas!

New to KAL introduces

Hi everyone! My name is Nessa and I joined the CPH KAL last week. Couple of days ago I started my first Central park hoodie and last night I finished the back piece. I love knitting it but I can't wait to finish the whole hoodie. :D My little sister also fell in love with it, but since she can't knit, I'm probably going to have to make her one, but I think that won't be a problem! :D
You can find me from Ravelry by the name kirsikka.
Here's a pic of the back piece. The yarn is Novita's 7 veljestä (a Finnish yarn, if anyone's wondering), color green, needles 5 mm/80 cm Inox bamboo.

My CPH - A Work in Progress

Hi I'm Chelle (ravelry: nosheep4chelle) and I'm knitting the Central Park Hoodie for NaKniSweMo. This will be my first completed sweater and I can't wait to finish it. I'm greatful to all that have contributed to this KAL blog because I got great tips before I had started my CPH. I knit the body till the armholes in one piece, also I'm knitting the sleeves in the round using magic loop (one at a time though.)

Specs so far:
Yarn: Cascade Pima Tencel
Colourway: Moss
Needles: Knitpicks Options in size 3.75mm(US 5) and 4.5mm(US7)
Completed so far: both front panels, back, and one sleeve
Thoughts: I think I'll use a stretchier yarn next time. I love how soft Pima Tencel is; however I'm worried about the drape and the fact that the yarn doesn't doesn't hold it's shape after a while of wear. For my next CPH because we all know that one is not enough I'm going to use Tatamy Tweed because I've heard it's a great non-animal fiber replacement for tweedy wool. I'm allergic to animal fibers.
I apologize for the poor quality photos these were taken by my cell phone camera because my digital camera is on a business trip in China with my partner.

KnitScene Copies at LYS

Our newest member, Lisa C, emailed me to let me know that FOUR copies of the Fall 2006 Knitscene magazine are available from her LYS. Permission was granted by the shop to post their contact info for those in need of the pattern. Thank you, Lisa!

The Sow's Ear
Verona, WI
www.knitandsip.com
608-848-2755

Hours:
Sunday 7am - 5pm CST
Monday starting at 6:30am (coffeeshop attached)

Getting a Copy of the Pattern

When I saw the posting of how the Fall 2006 KnitScene magazine was out of print I made a point to contact Interweave's Customer Service. I fell in love with the pattern and several of my knitting friends have this project in their list of To-Do's. I don't want them or any other knitter to miss out.

This is the email response I received:

~:: :: ~

Hi Kris, we offer photocopied reprints of patterns/articles from any magazine that is completely sold out. The cost of reprinting the pattern is $4.00, that includes the cost of printing, material & shipping. If you or someone you know would like to place an order for an individual photocopied pattern/article please contact customer service at 1.800.275.2193.

Thank you,
Chevette

~:: :: ~

want to knit it!

HI! I drool over your guy's CPH pics and want to knit one so badly! I finally decided to invest in the yarn and thought "duh, buy the pattern first"! Well it's not that simple since, as stated, that issue of Knitscene is sold out. Does anyone have the pattern they could share? I have no idea how that copy right thing works, I mean I don't plan to sell the pattern or any product made from it...
If you can help, please contact me jonahsbigfish (at) yahoo
Thank you! Kristin

EDIT: I found it!! Royalyarns.com! And ordered yarn (one month before Christmas, BAD) Berroco Ultra Alpaca. Good price tho, I think, for a project like this. Thanks Kristin

I LUFF MAGIC LOOP!

I'm well into my first trial of the Magic Loop method and ABSOLUTELY loving it!!

I learned the technique by watching the great video over at KnittingHelp.com - very informative, very free and very FANTASTIC!!

I'm so excited because i've been wanting to knit the Hoodii sleeves in the round, but didn't want to splash out for more DPNs. Plus then there's the worry that the DPNs will be a slightly different size (even though marked the same) than my knitpicks Circs I'm using for the rest of the Hoodie! So problem solved!! I can use the very same circular now! Wheee!! =D

In other news I've had a few things happen (Granpa in hospital I want to knit for) so I'm focusing on other projects for the moment and have had to put Hoodie to the side in my woven basket. It calls to me though sometimes, as I sit on the couch knitting feverishly away on Pa's socks or Gran's shawl - "knit meeee!! Finish up soon, so you can knit me agaaaiin!"

It won't be long Hoodii.. I promise :)

Greetings and hood question

Hey everyone, new to KAL and I have a question about continuing the cable from the fronts up into the hood. There's probably something I'm missing in the pattern because I haven't found anyone else with this problem, so I'd definitely appreciate some help. On the right front, my last row on the cable chart before moving the stitches to a holder was a RS row. But it appears that when you start the hood, you start with another RS row on the right front. If this is true, then my twist row will end up being on the WS, which doesn't quite seem right. What am I missing?

I'm not quite at the point of starting the hood (I'm working on the sleeves right now which seem endless) but I wanted to make sure I have my ducks in a row when I do get there.

Thanks in advance for any assistance, I'll be sure to post up pictures of my progress soon!

Finally, it is done!!!

Not bad for my very first sweater, huh?

My Cascade 220 Central Park Hoodie is finally complete. I finished it just in time to wear it in Rhinebeck this past weekend. It took forever for me to get the seaming right. Nonetheless, I absolutely love this sweater. So much, that I decided to make a second one.

I am making it using Aruacania Naturewool in a Fuschia-Amethyst color. I am loving the slight variation of the color in this yarn. I also picked up some buttons at Rhinebeck from Briar Rose Fibers. I am working this all in one piece, because I have come to realize that I certainly don't like seams. I intend to work the sleeves in the round as well. I am trying to have this finished by Thanksgiving. I refuse to let so many seasons pass between casting on and casting off.

Swimming in the Frog Pond

I only hit a minor bump in the road Saturday night. My brilliant plan to do both fronts at the same time seemed easy enough, only I should have read a little more carefully before I got started. I made it through the 4" of ribbing on Friday & decided to work on putting them onto the larger needle over the weekend. Well when I sat down Saturday evening to do the deed, I discoved a slight flaw. I had two left fronts. The ribbing begins opposite of one another (k2, p2 or p2, k2) & I hadn't forseen that. What to do? Yank one of those puppies off the needle to redo it, of course! I put one of the left fronts on the bigger needle & reknitted the right front ribbing. Wouldn't you know the very thing that takes hours the 1st time, flies in an hour the 2nd time around? That done, I was able to whip up to 13" on both fronts together on Sunday afternoon. So, the back's done & the fronts are halfway. It's all good. Learning from mistakes is half the fun anyway. BTW, the cables for the shoulders match up to the back without any finagling. Both the sizes I used for front & back have 14 side stitches before the cable. I didn't have to make any adjustments for the cables to match.

Finished

I finally finished my hoodie, and I love it! I started in February, after taking apart a failed "Tubey," and cast on with my yummy Debbie Bliss Cashmerino.


There are a few more pictures on Ravelry--I'm courtneyq.

I finally finished and was delighted to find it fits. It's snug, but fits. When I knit the fronts, they seemed more like suspenders than sweater sections, and I was terrified that I was knitting yet another sweater that wouldn't fit, but I took a friend's advice and blocked the front pieces before picking up stitches for the button band, so I could see if I needed to make a *really* wide button band. It turned out I didn't need to.

I did the short-row shaping for the shoulders--I think I did it right--and I like the effect. I didn't carry the cable up the back of the hood because I wasn't sure what to do with it. I did a few quick searches to see how others handled it, but didn't find anything right away. I like how it turned out.

If I were to do this again, and I very well might, I would try it in the round for ease, so that the ribbing comes out the same length (oops), and to avoid a seam on the sides, though they aren't that bad. I think having it in parts made it easier for me to set the sleeves in, a task that made me nervous. I might also do some minimal waist shaping (or, really, add room for my hips, perhaps by somehow loosening the rib a bit).

I mistakenly flipped the order of cables on the back, so flipped them on the sleeves as well. I kept making cables too small, so did a good amount of frogging, but it's a joy to knit, so not as miserable a frustration as I'd expect.

I have a feeling I'll be wearing this sweater *all the time.*

Thanks to everyone for sharing your solutions and advice and beautiful knitting as inspiration!

Hi

Hi, My names is Lyndsey-Jane (bagpuss on Ravelry) and I have just cast on for the CPH. Thanks for letting me join the KAL. I have knit a few sweaters/cardigans in the past but most recently they have all been top down raglans - so no seaming. I am also thinking about putting a zipper in. I am using Rowanspun Aran in Caviar. So far I have completed the ribbing and one repeat of the charts on the back and really like the look of it. I have come to a stand still as I have been using my 5mm straights as I don't have a 5mm circ needle but I have bad joints and am finding it too heavy to knit comfortably on the straights. I plan on ordering the circs over the weekend so should be back in action early next week. I will take photos over the weekend so show. Feel free to friend me on Ravelry is your are over there.

Couldn't Resist the CPH

I bought Moda Dea Silk 'n Wool in Sangria for my Central Park Hoodie rendition. (It's a dark color & very difficult to capture in a photo. Sorry about that.)
I am combing the smallest size Back with the next size up Front to get the measurement I want and the majority of the sizing on the front side. This will accomodate my smaller frame with my larger than average cup size. I got the idea from my years of sewing experience alongside sweater attempts that resulted in "baggy in all the wrong places" finished products. I have 8" pictured here on the Back View. I'll knit it up to the 14" in order for the Fronts & Back pieces to match.
I decided obviously not to knit-in-the-round. I felt that this yarn was pretty hefty & my wrists are already sore from the weight of my Puff Sleeved Cardi. This yarn has a pretty sheen (my current obsession) and is very soft, yet it holds stitches crisply. I think that this will be a fast knit for me as it is an easily memorized pattern & pretty mindless. I am knitting away here.

Central Park Hoodie

Finally, here it is. My Central Park Hoodie, easily my favorite knit. I've been wearing this all the time, it's so warm and toasty.

I knit this in Briggs and Little Heritage, the color is their Anniversary Twist. This Hoodie was very economical, $15.50. The yarn was 1.50 a skein when I bought 2 other Briggs and Little yarns, and the buttons were 5.50. The yarn is rough, definitely not for next to the skin, but so far there has been no signs at all of pilling, this is one hard wearing sweater. I don't prefer the rougher yarn, but it's great for a jacket.

Mods: I short rowed the shoulders and did a 3-needle bind off. This is such a great way to seam the shoulders, I will be using this from now on. Also, I carried the cable up the hood and grafted the hood together and I knitted the button band in one piece. I'm so glad for this knitalong where I was able to glean so much help.

My only complaint is that the hood is to small for my head, but that's not the patterns fault just my not realizing I have a bigger than average head and compensating for it.

There are a few more pictures on my blog if anyone's interested.

Finished! Thanks everyone!

My first adult sweater, I'm thrilled. It even fits! Thanks to everyone on Ravelry and the CPH KAL and my LYS who helped me.
Cascade 220 Smoke Heather, almost all of 7 skeins. I knit the size 40 pattern, following advise of everyone who said the pattern runs small. Almost could have done the next size up, I like a roomy, cozy sweater. I knit the body in one piece, eliminating side seams. I added length in the bottom ribbing and sleeve ribbing, since I have freakishly long arms and a long torso, also added length in the body itself and the sleeves. I did short row shaping to the shoulders and did three needle bindoff, instead of seaming. I grafted the hood instead of seaming. I added short row shaping on the button band in the body, to add width without making the hood too deep (thanks Lara for all your help and suggestions). I did a two stitch ICord bindoff, and incorporated button loops into it on the right side. I haven't picked buttons yet. I'm too excited to wait. Thank goodness cool weather is here!

Thanks!

Thanks for all the kind comments about my sweater.In my excitement at finally being finished I forgot two things. First, I did knit the body all in one piece. Second, there are additional pictures on my blog here.

Finished At Last

I joined this KAL in February and have been working on my sweater off and on since then with a long break over the summer. This week I finally finished it and am really pleased with my first sweater.

Yarn: Classic Elite Skye Tweed, Scottish Mist, 12.5 balls

Needles: Addi Turbo Size 6 and 8

Size: 44

Modifications: Shortened the ribbing on the sleeves but otherwise followed the pattern.

I've enjoyed seeing and reading about all the sweaters created by this group.

Almost there..coming down the home stretch

It has been a while since I posted, so I wanted to update everyone. I am trying to finish this before the trip to the New York State Sheep and Wool Festival at Rhinebeck, which is in 16 days.

Here is a work in progress of my buttonband done all in one piece. I joined 3 cables from the Boye Needlemaster kit to make this work

In order to pick up the stitches, I picked 3 then skipped 1. When I got to the center of the hood I picked up every stitch for about 8 stitches. I had to add 4 on each side to even out the ribbing. I picked up 328 stitches in total.

I also found a mistake on the left front portion.

I made one cable cross a few rows before where it should have been. However, I am going to keep it. I think it makes my sweater look very special, and noone will have the same thing. LOL!!! Funny I say that on a KAL forum.

Found It!

Thank you to Octopus Knits for providing me with the much-needed gauge info on the CPH. I'm happy to report that I found the magazine. Of course it was hiding someplace it never should have been.

Finally.

Time to CAST ON!

Stupid Gauge Question

OK, this is probably a very stupid question coming from the Administrator of this KAL, but... I seem to have misplaced my copy of Knitscene with the pattern in it. I already re-wrote and charted it in the round so I have the "pattern" but what I don't have is the gauge. I just knit a swatch and washed, blocked and measured it—about time, eh?—and have my gauge established, but I don't know what the target gauge is.

Can anyone tell me what the pattern's gauge recommendation is and also the biggest size and how many to cast on?

Thanks...

Signed,
Horribly Embarrassed

Tearing along, sort of

I've finished the body, done in one piece, had help from my wonderful LYS and all of the KAL people here for the short-row shoulders and three needle bind off for the shoulders, thanks everyone for your tips and hints and help. Between here and Ravelry, it's been wonderful for a sweater virgin. I've now picked up and got about 6" on the hood, I want to be able to Kitchener graft it, but can't quite visualize how that's going to be, since I'm carrying the cables up the hood. I also cast on for the sleeves, doing both at once on one circular, have about 4" of the cuff ribbing done. This is exciting, I'm enjoying the process, the learning (see shoulders above, plus cabling without a cable needle, woo hoo!) and I'm really looking forward to having the sweater done to wear. More pictures on my blog, at: http://catmum.blogspot.com

As promised - pics!

Ta da! I'm working on a sleeve now... ;o)

I hope to be done this weekend (I'm working on an HP cloak for my 5 yo and Wicked, too). I'm giddy, and this is awesome to knit!

Crisis averted!!

So I sat up late in the night and charted out the first RS row of the Hoodie pattern, from Right Front, through the Back, then the Left front...

AND IT WORKS!!!!

WHEEEEHEHEHEHEHHEHE!!!!

It matches up with my ribbing!

*does crazy happy party dancing*

I can now recommence The Knit!!!
Thanks so much for all the tips and support everyone :)

I love this cardigan!

Hi! I'm new to this KAL, but I'm oh-so-happy I found it. Of course, I had already started on the right front, when I read the notes about doing it all in one piece..ugh. However, since I plan on making more than one, I might just try that on the next one.

I'm making mine in the Malabrigo merino, in the Olive color - beeeutiful! But, of course, I want other colors, too. And after completing the back and left front, I eyed it and thought it looked kinda small (I'm making the third size). We'll see how blocking and the button bands will improve that, though.

This is also another sort of *celebriknit*, since it's my first time doing cables...yay!!! And they're coming out quite nicely, I dare say. I want to put cables on everything now...hehe. I'll be back with some progress pics, too!

HellooooOh My Goodness!

Unfortunately, my new fellow Hoodie Knitster friends this, my first post, has not it turns out ended up being the "Hurrah! this is awesome! I'm about to start the cables!!" opening post I had in mind..

I've been stalking the CPH for some time now, lurking here on the KAL blog, pattern at ready, bought the yarn back in January all the way from Webs (I'm an Australian knitter, so that meant planning and SHIPPING!) - a gift from my lovely mum actually! Suffice to say I've been DESPERATELY waiting for the moment to cast on! Well the moment arrived, I finished a lot of other projects I needed to do and then this month I cast on my 194 stitches for the 44" hoodie - which is 4 stitches less than the pattern quoted amount seeing as I'm knitting the three pieces in one and have left off those seam stitches.

Well I knit away at a great rate of knots, LOVING the knitted fabric, the tweedy goodness and the feeling of knitting my first jumper (translation - 'sweater'). Yesterday I reached the end of the ribbing - which is 6 inches seeing as I'm doing the body a little longer than normal.

SUCH excitement! The anticipation of being able to get cracking on the real pattern part of the jumper! So close! Just around the corner! "Can't start now, too sleepy, I'll have to wait 'til tomorrow."

Just as well I did. I've come across a bit of an obstacle.

I know.. an OBSTACLE! This is NOT what we want, fellow Hoodie Knitsters! I suppose it is a learning experience in disguise as an obstacle.. but I still have that sinking feeling in my stomach.

See, I've gone to start with the Right Front part of the pattern, on the RS and have decided that I will omit one stitch from the K18 on each Front, and omit 1 stitch from each of the two K18 sections on the Back - that way taking care of the 4 seam stitches. Simple, right?

Well! LITTLE did I know!!

It seems I may have b_ggered up utterly! *grim look* I think I may have needed to set up my ribbing differently. Instead of doing K2P2 all the way along, I may have needed to go K1P2K2P2 and continue on with normal 2x2 ribbing - but start with ONE KNIT/PURL STITCH! Oh no!! Have I totally come undone, Hoodie Knitsters! Will I have to frog SIX INCHES of 194 stitch wide fabric?!?! *slightly hysterical eye twitch*

Look at it!! How can I frog that?!

*calms down a little* alright.. I have a plan.. I'll calm down. Then I'll eat some chocolate. Then I'll get out the graph paper and a pencil. Eat more chocolate. Poor a glass of Gin'n'Tonic with lemon. Mark out the ribbing.. eat more chocolate...

Let's see it we can figure this puppy out!!

p.s. By the way I'm VERY excited to nbe part of the KAL and have thoroughly enjoyed following all your CPH's so far - thanks so much!

Launched!

After months of preparation and steeling myself, I've cast on. I've read some of the modifications pages that people have kindly posted, I'm knitting the body in one piece. Along the way, I've taught myself cabling without a cable needle, and I'm using a knotted looped string for a row counter. Since I'm a sweater virgin, I'm pretty darn excited. I'm almost ready to start reading obsessively about the armhole rows. I appreciate any help and suggestions along the way.
I'm using Cascade 220 Smoke Heather, and doing the size 40. I'm going to make it a little longer too, I like a long sweater.
c
http://catmum.blogspot.com

Cascade Ecological Wool?

I'm thinking of making yet another CPH, this time using Cascade Ecological Wool and would love to hear everyone's reactions... Is the yarn too heavy, too different in gauge, etc? I think I could knit the smaller size instructions and it would yield the proper size for me, but I'm not sure.

Thanks in advance for your opinions!

Finished!

I know I haven´t been participating

here on the blog too much

but I´ve been so busy knitting

I didn´t have time ;)

Anyway, here´s my CPH finished

and I can say it´s already a favourite!!

I wear it as soon as I can.

And then I´ve used a cheap

acrylicyarn to knit it in....

So now I´ll try and find some

nicer yarn and I´ll knit one more!!!

My CPH is done

I finished knitting the Central Park Hoodie last spring. Then it languished for months until I found buttons for it in August. So here it is, in all it's glory.



And the back.



I used Cascade 220 Heathers in Sea (colorway 4005), about 6 skeins. I'm really happy with it and I think I'll wear this quite a bit. I even got compliments on it at my knitting group this morning -- that feels so good!

Pattern Modifications: I did short rows and a three-needle bindoff on the shoulders, and I used kitchener stitch to seam the hood. Thank you all so much for your help with those suggestions. They worked out great and I learned a lot.

If I knit this again I'll do it all in one piece instead of two fronts and a back. That way I won't be off in my rows when stopping for the arm holes. Also, I'll make the arm holes smaller. They start a little low on me.

More details are on my blog.

Knitting Body In One Piece - Armhole Question

Hey all! I am about 11.5" into the 14" of knitting the body. Today I decided to look ahead and see what is up next when I get to the armholes. I noticed that for the Right Front directions it says to knit up to 14" ending working a Right Side Row. Now, for the Body and Left Front it says to knit up to 14" ending working a Wrong Side Row. How can this be? I thought maybe it was an error but found no correction. So my question is, how did anyone else handle this when they knitted the body in one piece? Any and all advice, guidance, would be much appreciated! Thanks!

New to this

Well I caved and joined the knitalong. I have been lurking and watching everyones beautiful CPH come out. I just couldn't join until I had the perfect yarn in the perfect color. I found it too. Cascade 200 colorway Ruby. I love love love the deepness of this red. I'm so excited to get started. So far I have decided to knit it all in one piece and I'm still thinking about the arms, if I want to do them in the round or not. I have swatched and decided that I like the fabric a little bit more firm than see through, which I feel that 17-18-or even 19 spi looks like to me. So I think that I'm going to cast on for the largest size and go down to about 5 spi. I hope that this make up for the small guage. Thoughts?

Hello, CPH KAL’ers. I’d like to introduce myself as the newest and 127th member. (If that's not right, here's hoping I do a better job counting my stitches!) In the shot above, I have some of my supplies assembled: Denise needles; Tahki Donegal Tweed in color 834, a Hobbit-worthy lichen green; and my thumbed copy of knitscene, which opens to page 70 every time. Look closely and you may be able to see the posted corrections pasted into place under “Left Front.” It’s not just my initials that are AR, folks! My goal is for this CPH to be worn this winter by my daughter on those long treks from dormitory to dining hall.

What I can’t show in the picture is the good advice and brilliant ideas you ALL have given me through this KAL and your blogs. You’ve gotten me this far, with needles ready to cast on for my first (human) sweater. So before even an inch of that wool is wrapped, I want to thank every one of you. To fellow blog-free Freda in particular, your post on the all-at-once approach to back and fronts is a gem.

With apologies for the verbification, I do feel the need to screed. I must give a few hyperlink shout-outs to some of the bloggers whose technique and creativity have gotten me to reinvent and reimagine my knitting, specifically as it will be employed in CPH production: the ladies of Crossroad Knits, particularly Liz, who introduced me to the astounding nona, who really deserves her bragging rights; to Cara of January One – I always wondered how to get rid of the purlish bumps that show up on the first knit row – because one of her links showed the way and because she’s just amazing; and to TECHknitting; Wendy; and Sara. Your tips are tops. That said, I feel much better. And yes, I’ve got gauge! I’ll be back when I have more knitting and fewer words to share, promise.

Finished Hood and Picked Out Buttons

I've picked my buttons. My dear, sweet husband drove me into Vancouver so I could check out this shop called Button, Button. It was so exciting, almost as fun as a yarn shop, with all the beautiful buttons surrounding me. I had to pick quick, cause the kids were with us, but, I'm very pleased with my new buttons. And I am going to find a reason to go back soon without my darling children and browse to my heart's content.




Also, here's another picture of the hood. I ripped back and added a shortrow to get the cable on the very front to line up and then I redid the grafting and am now much happier with how it looks. I will be blocking this soon, so be on the lookout for a finished object shortly.

Ready To Knit

I am joining the fun of getting ready to start my Central Park Hoodie! I just received my yarn order from Knit Picks today. I have chosen to use Wool of the Andes in colorway Cranberry. To me, this is a warm and fuzzy feeling color and I thought it would be perfect for this sweater. I have also decided that I am going to knit the body in one piece, like several others have done. I really dread seaming so I really like this idea. I will be doing my swatch this weekend and hopefully ready to start the body!

Some progress, finally!!!

I am finally making some progress on my Central Park Hoodie. I am up to the point where I am working on the hood. Here are some pictures of the shoulder seams. I crocheted it on the wrong side using the Single Crochet stitch.

Wow!!! What a neat seam for my first try. This is why it is very important to bind off loosely.
Now it is starting to actually look like a sweater.
Progress on the hood, about 4 inches.
I added the cable to the center of the hood. It looks better this way. Only 7 more inches to go!! Woohoo! You think maybe I can finish this before the week is done?
Although there were many distractions while knitting this sweater, I am all excited all over again, and I am still in love with the color.

Progress

Knit, knit, knit and we have a hood. I carried the cable up the hood, because it would drive me crazy just ending it at the neck. Knitting can really bring out the grouchy perfectionist inside. Or maybe I knit so I can let her hang free and not drive my family crazy with trying to keep all their ducks in a row.

Here's the top of the hood. I grafted the two sides together, but I'm not satisfied with how it looks. The cable on the hood where the two edges meet is very sloppy. I'm not sure if doing the three-needle bindoff as the pattern suggests would look better or if I just need to fiddle with things until I'm happy. Any ideas?

I want to figure this out, and get the edging started, I could have this finished for September if I keep plugging away.

too late for the tips!

I stumbled across this KAL yesterday and think it was a sign that it's time for me to pick up my Central Park Hoodie again! I worked on it last fall until Christmas knitting waylaid me and then again until it got too hot to consider knitting a long-sleeved cardigan in California. I edited the picture from knitscene to keep track of progress on my own blog, and have included it here. All I really have left is one sleeve, then the seaming and picking up stitches for the hood and button band (which I plan to make without buttons and holes). Seeing all the finished CPHs posted is making me anxious for mine (knit in pink-flecked brown tweed from Tahki Stacey Charles), so the KAL may be the motivation that gets me to wear this sweater THIS fall. Unfortunately, I have found all you lovely ladies too late in the game to take advantage of all the good advice on how to knit the body in one piece and short-row the shoulders. When I started this project last year I was not brave enough to try and figure it out on my own ... but now I am and might be a little cranky when it comes time to seam all the pieces I finished a year ago :)

D's CPH

After reading Lauren's post about knitting this body of the sweater in one piece, I thought this was an excellent idea - I also hate seaming.

I have made a few adjustments, eliminating a stitch at each edge for selvage, then adding an extra set of cables – which will be under the arms (where the seam should be).

I am knitting the hoodie in Medium size (40"), so I adjusted the pattern, so I have 10 stitches inbetween each set of cables.

CPH FO

Just in time for hot August, my CPH is done! I think it took me about 3 months.



I used ONline Cora. Mods: Short-row shoulder shaping and 3-needle bind off. More details on my blog!

Thanks for hosting this KAL, I've enjoyed knitting the hoodie as well as reading the suggestions and comments!

Sleeves

The Central Park Hoodie is seeing lots of consistent knitting. I can't wait to finish. I finished the fronts up last week, and have started the sleeves. I am not actually going to knit both sleeves at once, but I wanted to get the ribbing out of the way. This wool is not very pleasant to rib on 4mm needles. Much more comfortable to work on the larger needles.

And I am blocking the fronts and back right now. The yarn softened and bloomed just wonderfully. I was a bit worried the hoodie was going to be to snug, but now I think it will be just fine.

I really want to finish both sleeves by Sunday, and then I'll just have the hood and edging to go. It might even be finished by the end of the month.

Lisa's CPH

Knitters, may I present my Central Park Hoodie!




And yes, I know I am no good at taking pictures but I do try.

Yarn: Cascade 220 Heather in Lavender #2422, 7 1/2 skeins

Modifications: My gauge was a bit smaller than the pattern's so I knit a size 44" bust but it's closer to 40". I knit the body in one piece and the sleeves in one piece so I wouldn't have to seam them. Excellent! I also made the ribbing on the cuffs only 3" instead of 5" because it just seemed like too long of a cuff. The buttons are iridescent shell buttons and I would have preferred wooden ones but I just didn't find any that struck me. This hoodie is probably going to need a strip of ribbon behind the button holes to stabilize it but I haven't gotten that far and I might never. All in all, a lovely knit that went fairly quickly. This is my first finished adult sweater and I am rather pleased with it. :)

Now I'm ready to go to on my trip to Alaska!