Seven Months in the Making

I began Central Park Hoodie back in February with expectations that it would be finished and worn during the winter of 07. Silly me! Parts of this sweater were knit three times as I first discovered that the size I had selected was too small and then that I was twisting my stitches. Interest lagged when I could work on a small quick project and get some instant gratification so I watched many others complete beautiful sweaters while mine sat on my dining room table waiting for my attention. I'm not sure what finally motivated me to pick up those stitches, knit the buttonband and complete the final seaming but I'm so glad I did. Youngest DD told me that I would be so happy when it was finished and she was right.

Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky, Knitscene Fall 200

Size: 44

Yarn: 12.5 skeins Classic Elite Skye Tweed Scottish Mist

Needles: Addi Turbo Size 6 and 8

Modifications: Shortened ribbing on the sleeves and I'm glad I did as I'm still folding them up.

Finding A Balance

I'm still trying to find a balance between blogging, Ravelry, and actual knitting so there is content when I do blog. At this point my stash is all inventoried on Ravelry. The obsessive photographing of every skein is now complete until I buy again. Most of my projects have been documented and the knitting needle inventory is still on the "to do list". I won't be photographing them!


Daughter #2 created a patio knitting kit for my birthday gift - a sun hat which I wear faithfully (one basal cell carcinoma on my face is enough ) and a small tote bag which is perfect for my smaller projects. Both items are reversible and both have my favorite colors. Isn't she the clever one?





I've not written about Central Park Hoodie for some time because I'm tired of making excuses. I'm happy to report now that progress has occured. The body and sleeves are complete and blocked. The shoulder seams are complete and the hood is done. I stalled for a short time waiting on the smaller needle Addi Turbos but I'm poised for action now. Button bands, hood and sleeve seaming, and buttons are all I need to do. I've been able to try the sweater on and I'm thrilled with the fit so far. Crossing my fingers that the sleeves fit as well since some folks had difficulty with them being too tight.




I've completed one Victorian Lace Sock and I'm pleased with the work although I do have some small mistakes in the eyelets between the mini-melons. This project has been a stretch for me with the complicated lace pattern and the short row toe shaping. Plus I did a 3 needles bind off for the first time. Sock #2 is in progress and I'm hoping to finish this week. The silk yarn is very soft but somewhat splitty which has added to the challenge.

Air Conditioning is a Wonderful Thing

We've been having a heat wave in my part of the world. Yesterday temperatures were in the mid 90's and after DH and I walked into our village for Canal Days we happily returned to our air conditioned home where I've been doing a lot of knitting on my 100% wool sweater. The body is reknit and ready for blocking and the sleeves are progressing nicely. I decided to shorten the cuff by an inch since the original design has extra long sleeves extending down over the hand. I'm more inclined to roll up my sleeves than to pull them down over my hands plus it makes one less inch to knit.

I'm making progress on the Starry Glitter Alpaca Scarf as well. This one too is difficult to photograph.

The Lion Brand Magic Stripe Bright Spring socks have been neglected but not forgotten. I'm trying to limit works in progress to no more than three - 1 sweater, 1 scarf, 1 sock but am already thinking ahead to the next socks. I'm ready for the big time and plan to cast on with the Colinette Jitterbug making the basic sock on the label.

Not This Week

Despite my best efforts the CPH body is not quite complete. I've been oh so close several times and today I thought it was finished but just discovered that the right front is one cable repeat longer than the left front. I'm taking a break. This particular knitting project is too involved to complement the rest of my life right now. Maybe tomorrow after work I'll be ready to reknit the remaining few inches and maybe I'll return to this project when the semester ends in two weeks. In my drive to meet my knitting goals I've killed the joy of the process and I'm making silly, dare I say stupid, mistakes.
My most recent EBay bargain was three skeins of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Chunky in a color Debbie Bliss calls Lime

and DH calls Puke Green. Perfect for knitting up the Simply Soft Cashmerino Dulaan Hat.
Tonight, after the laundry, cleaning and grocery shopping are done, I fully intend to plop myself in front of the TV to watch my Netflix West Wing Season 7 episodes. I'll be knitting hats until further notice.

Snow Day

Some towns in my area received as much as 22 inches of snow yesterday, but we saw lots of wet gloppy snow/rain which fell most of the day and evening with little accumulation of snow but lots of standing water. DH went to work but I got to stay home. When I stepped into my back yard to take this picture I could see and hear Canada geese on their northward migration. They are more optimistic about spring than I. Our local weather man seemed to delight in calling this a crocus crushing storm but I fear for my daffodils.

Lots of knitting occurred and I am now at 12 inches of sweater body....2.5 inches more until the armholes.

The Lull Before the Storm

We're waiting for a major winter spring storm attack. The National Weather Service is forecasting a weather event for our area with the possibility of 6-10 inches of wet snow by Monday 6pm. In addition, we should expect consistent wind of 20-25 mph with gusts higher. East and southeast of Rochester (where I work) may get as much as 12-18 inches of snow by storm end. The possibility of a no-work day is tantalizing and I'm neglecting my usual weekend chores which I will probably regret.

I've been devoting considerable time to CPH and have 9 inches of the body complete. The 40" Addi Turbos arrived on Friday and I'm very pleased with them. I'm also glad I decided to reknit because I can see a clear difference in the quality of my work from old to new. The old cables were "fuzzy". These are crisp and well defined.





I've been contemplating my NYC train knitting project and have finally decided to make Lion Brand Magic Stripe Basic Socks with my Lion Brand Magic Stripes Brown/Blue pattern yarn. I've had this yarn for a long time and I want to do some more sock practice before I use the better, more expensive yarns.

Here We Go Again

I'm off and running again on the Central Park Hoodie. Work is particularly demanding right now with advising appointments with my students to discuss pre-registration for the fall semester but I'm squeezing in some knitting time every day. Today's picture reflects my knitting status as of yesterday morning with almost all of the ribbing complete and a second ball of yarn just added. DH gave me a set of Denise needles for Christmas and I've enjoyed having any size needle available when I needed it. But, I'm getting frustrated pushing this tweed yarn over the join so I've ordered 40" size 8 Addi Turbos to complete this sweater. I've never tried them before and am anxious to see if they are as fast as the claims. (You knew there would be shopping involved somewhere, didn't you!) I'm tempted to cast on for a small project as well but so far have stayed focused. Next week DH and I are taking the train to NYC for the weekend and I'm thinking I will want a smaller project for the trip so may break my resolution at that point.

A Break from Blogging

Although I've not been blogging for a variety of reasons, I have been knitting. The back and left front of CPH are complete and I'm approximately 10 inches into the right front. I've been thinking ahead and have ordered Celtic buttons so I'll have them when I need to make the buttonholes.


I've also completed the heel flap on the Opal sock and am ready to turn the heel but no pictures of that item today.

Beads from Fire Mountain Gems arrived and DH has asssembled two more sets of stitch markers. I love the frogs! If I use the frog stitch markers I shouldn't have to do any frogging, right?

Last weekend I visited Spirit Works and purchased the Jo Sharp Gathering book which has a couple of sweaters I like and also one skein of Jo Sharp Silkroad DK Aran Tweed in the Granary colorway for a trial knit to see if I like this yarn well enough to commit to a sweater.

Central Park Hoodie Part Two

Today was a lovely day for knitting. Snow day with classes cancelled at my workplace so I could stay indoors and knit away on the back of my Central Park Hoodie. I made significant progress, starting the bindoff for the sleeve and progressing beyond to the neck. I had hoped to complete the back today. But,when I noticed that I had placed a cable two rows too early I decided to call it a day, frogged back to the mistake and got my stitches back on the needles. When I first began the sweater and completed the ribbing I decided that I was making the sweater too large so went down a size. Today I decided perhaps I should check the back against some of my sweaters that I frequently wear and love. To my surprise most of them are wider than I thought. Alas, my CPH is too small. Tonight I will frog and tomorrow I will begin again. Will it knit more quickly the second time? We'll see. I keep reminding myself that this is my first sweater and a learning experience so I have indeed learned something about sizing.