Still Working on CPH

I'm still cruising on CPH. I've finished the back a few days ago. I'm now working on the front left and very close to BO/decreasing the armhole.



I was chatting with my fellow knitting friend about not knitting the hoodie, but knitting a deep ribbed collar instead. She thought it would be a great idea..."would you really wear the hood?" Maybe not was my answer. So, I will be making a last minute knitting decision when I get there.

As I am knitting this CPH, my mind is filled with many knitting changes. Besides changing out the hoodie, I will need to match the ribbing depth of the collar with the front ribbing for the buttonholes/button loops. Yes, then there's the choice of knitting buttonholes or crocheting button loops. This all depends on how the CPH will fit once I do the all the seams and try it on. I love this process of knitting and making changes on the fly. It's an unknown, but I'm a fearless knitter.

BTW, don't be surprised if my CPH may soon be known as CPC (central park cardi). ;)

Starting Over...Size

I started working on my CPH (central park hoodie) a few days ago. This is as far as I got with it:



Yesterday, I CO another version. I decided to go up a size to a Medium (40"). I normally knit a 36" and that depends on the garment type as well as the type of yarn I will be using. On Ravelry, I read that CPH runs small. I noticed other knitters who were close to my size, were knitting one size up, even two. I decided to follow suit.

Now, normally I don't follow the majority. I'm an independent thinker. God gave me a brain to use to make my own decisions and to be a creative individual. That's who I am. BUT, when previous experience of others have resulted in the same or similar answers, I don't mind following along to get similar results.

So, with CPH I will knit one size larger. I also plan on making some other adjustments on the fly. I can do that, because I'm an independent thinker and I know how to make adjustments to get a better results for me. I can do this because it will be my own hand knit garment. Remember, I'm the creative individual creating a unique garment.

I'm still in the learning process of knitting. Just like I am in the sewing world even though I've been sewing for 4 years now. I never stop learning. It's an on-going process for me in anyone of my many hobbies.

I'm still learning about size in knitting and can be fooled by the individual pattern makers/designers. Have you noticed, that each knitting pattern is different and you may not get the same size results you anticipated from one pattern to the next? But in the end, 90% of you out there are happy that it fits? BTW, I'm one of those in the 90% category. :)

I know if I knit a few patterns from the same designer (e.g. Hélène Rush), I will get consistent results in size. When I start knitting patterns from different designers, I will get different results.

Have you ever seen a cardigan with buttons pulling across and distorting the front of the garment? That's a no-no.

Personally, I don't care to knit something tight or close fitting. I don't strive for that. I want my hand knit garments to drape over my body. I want my garments to look good on me. I want to be able to breathe while wearing them.

I'm not disappointed that my first 12 inches of CPH will have to be frogged. I'm not disappointed that I lost a few hours of knitting. I'm not mad at myself for making a bad choice. I don't like to complain, but rather move on.

What did I get out this experience? I got a chance to practice and memorize the cable pattern. How do you like my gigantic swatch?

Knitting When I Can

The sewing bug has bit me. A small enough bite that I must take advantage of the moment and see where it leads me. For the next few days and weeks, I need to find a balance between sewing and knitting. I know some of you have already accomplished this. I know it's not easy.

I'm thankful that I spent some time focusing on my knitting to-do-list for the remainder of the year. That will help. I have moved my most of my beautiful yarns out of my sewing room...yarns that I know I will not get to until next year. It will be hard not to give them their deservedly squeeze every now and then, but I need my sewing space. Thank goodness for Ravelry's stash organizer...a great resource to remind me of what I have. Now, if I can just remember where I put them. ;)

BTW...I'm testing out an application I found at the online Apple store for my iPod. I can load pictures of my yarn stash and keep a "portable" list with me. I can also keep a list of all my needles. I can upload pictures of my future projects as well as completed projects. I'm still testing this application as I want to see how much info it can really hold and is it really worth the price and how often do I use it. If I really like, I'll be back to post the name. ;)

I'm done knitting all my Alpine pieces. I'm now working on knitting the front left and right bands. After that, I will start the seaming process. I hope to work on the neckline by Friday.

I've been swatching my CPHoodie using the City Tweed HW yarn with my #8 and #9 needles. I'm right on target with #8s. Knitting with #9s would give me a bit more ease...about 2 inches overall. This is important for me as I'm figuring out what I will be wearing under this hoodie. The City Tweed HW yarn is not as thick as I first thought. Don't let the "HW" for heavy weight fool you. I may end up going with the #9s in order to wear long sleeve Ts under my hoodie. Will I run out of yarn? Probably not. I already measured my sleeve length and compared it to the line drawings. I will need to shorten my sleeves by 6 inches. What??? Yes. I will double check my measurements before I start knitting. :)

What's Almost on My Needles

I thought I would do another quick post today before the hectic week begins. I've been knitting some swatches from different yarns for another project called Alpine.


Alpine by Berroco


So far, this yarn is getting my attention and the swatch came out beautiful. I found this yarn in Barrington, IL over the summer. My DH picked out this color for me. Yes, he actually stepped into this cute yarn shop and took a seat and chatted with the owners.

Alpaca with a Twist - Highlander in Ochre


I've been playing around with my Ravelry queue and finally decided to stop moving my future projects up and down my priority list. I guess you could say I'm locked in with my list for the remainder of the year. Closing in behind Alpine is the Central Park Hoodie (CPH).

Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky for Interweave Knits

I did some stash diving (really deep) and couldn't come up with the 1200+ yards of yarn that I needed for this project. So, I took a trip over to KnitPicks.com and found this yarn:

Knit Picks City Tweed HW in Jacquard

Again, DH picked out this deep blue/green tweed color for me. For the life of me, I couldn't select one single color...because I loved them all. It appears that DH will be selecting future yarn colors for me. ;)

Looks like the CPH will keep me engrossed busy for the next few weeks. Of all the projects I've tackled so far, this will be the most challenging.

And yes, I'm in "tweed" mode.