Another Matching Outfit

I finished my CPH Monday evening. The temperature was 80 degrees upstairs in the study. I didn't even want to try it on; I certainly didn't take any pictures. I just wanted to get the pile of wool off my lap.

Today it's a cool, overcast day. A great day to wear the Hoodie on R's Spring Walk by the river. I received lots of compliments on the sweater (mostly because everyone else was shivering in shorts and t-shirts, but also because I ran around telling everyone "I made this, isn't it great?").




Pattern: Central Park Hoodie by Heather Lodinsky from Knit Scene, Fall 2006
Yarn: Maggi's Aran Tweed, color 03. I used 13 balls (50g, about 100 yds a ball)
Needles: US 5s and US 7s
Modifications: I was worried about the tightness on the arms as I knit the sleeves, so I increased every 8 rows, 6 times and then every 4 rows, 5 times. If this sweater hadn't been so chunky, the strange rate of increasing would have been bad, but it turns out to not be noticeable. I don't think the sleeves would have been too tight if I had followed the pattern. Not being on the slim side, I knit the 44" size and it seems to be just right. I have not blocked it yet, but I will. Maybe. After the weather warms up.

I joined the shoulder seams with a 3-needle bind-off, but didn't do short-row shaping for the back. I should have followed Liz's advice, but it was too late! I simple stuck the stitches on a holder instead of binding off. It worked out just fine. If I knit this again, I would do a 3-needle bind-off on the hood before the ribbed band and then knit the border all in one piece to avoid the join at the top of the hood. Lynda details this here.

No buttons. I may do clasps later. I may not. I kind of like it just open like this.

The yarn: I like wearing the yarn. I did not always enjoy knitting it. It breaks easily when seaming and at random inconvenient moments when knitting which I find very irritating. Its nubby habit is quite nice visually, but does not always allow for the best flow while knitting. I have 7 skeins left so I'll knit again with this yarn, but I need a break for now.

I love my CPH!

CPH Friday: Sniffling in Sleeveland

Allergies have hit our house. Can you see the pollen film on the wheelbarrow?


That's how my house looks now because I can't stand to have my windows closed when it's nice out. It's cold today, so I'm trying to mop and dust. Yuck. But the good news is that my garden is coming alive!


As are the sleeves for the CPH.

I planned on knitting them according to the pattern and dealing with tight sleeves, but I really didn't like how narrow they were coming along, so after about 6 increases every 8 rows, I bumped it up to every 4 rows and added an extra increase. My theory is that the more frequent increases will hit right around my elbow so it won't look too funny and that just adding 2 more stitches won't be a big deal with the armhole shaping.

We'll see if this holds true! I may be visiting the frog pond later ...

CPH Sunday

I just wanted to prove to y'all that I'm done, but I have been sick in bed all weekend. Too sick to buy buttons or even take a decent FO photo. Wah wah wah.

Later in the week, I promise. But let me assure you, this sweater is the perfect sick-weekend sweater.

CPH Friday

FO Alert from Mo

The Midlothian entry in the XRK CPH KAL is D.O.N.E.

I love this sweater, and I’ve been wearing it non-stop since I finished it on Tuesday. It was a very easy and quick knit, and I’m happy with the end result. I agree with other bloggers who have said this would be a great first sweater. Or a great sweater that you’ll actually wear.

Here are some details:
Pattern: Central Park Hoodie from Fall 2006 Knit Scene
Yarn: Tahki Donegal Tweed in wine, green and red (color 874)
Gauge: 17 st over 4 inches Needles: 8s and 6s. My new Knit Picks Options needle set came in handy for the buttonhole band.
Knit Flix (or movies watched during the making of this sweater): 49 Up, Ali Zaura: Prince of the Streets, Eron: the Smartest Guys in the Room; Flags of Our Fathers; The Devil and Daniel Johnston; Water and Quinceanera (my fav and, yes, I watch too much TV)

Photos courtesy of my kids who really just wanted to get to school!

CPH Friday

from Liz -- Notes on Ribbing Technique.

The Central Park Hoodie is the same as most sweaters in that it features a band of ribbing at the bottom edge of the sweater. Many knitters complain about the look of those loose knit stitches in their ribbing. One stitch is always looser, saggier, and looks distinctly bigger than its companions.

However, I recently discovered this bit of combined* wisdom from Nona and Priscilla Gibson-Roberts, and decided that the CPH was the perfect project to try it out.

Do take the time to read her whole post, but the basic explanation is that you get that loose knit stitch because a purl stitch uses more yarn than a knit stitch. The solution Nona offers is to purl using the same amount of yarn by wrapping the yarn clockwise rather than the usual counterclockwise manner.

Thus, when encountering a purl stitch directly after a knit stitch, wrap the yarn clockwise. On the following row, knit this stitch through the back loop to properly seat the stitches.

The difference is noticeable and really worth this little tweak. My ribbing has never looked so even, my knitting never looked so neat. It works beautifully on ribbing, and throughout the body of the sweater as well. I also never enjoyed ribbing quite so much as these little differences really break up the monotony of K2, P2.



For you CPH knitters, here's how to apply this bit of knowledge to your sweater:

Row 1 - * K2,P1 wrapping clockwise, P1, repeat from * to last two stitches, K2.
Row 2 - P2, * K1, K1tbl, P1 clockwise, P1, repeat from *to last 2 stitches, P1 clockwise, P1
Row 3 - * K1, Ktbl, P1 clockwise, P1, repeat from * to last 2 stitches, K1, Ktbl

Repeat rows 2 & 3 for 4".

I also applied this technique to the body of the sweater, so every time I encounter a purl stitch directly following a knit, I purl this stitch with the clockwise wrap, and then knit that stitch through the back loop.

My only concern is that my ribbing is so even that it seems a little tighter than it should be, and I am worried that it will pull in a little too severely. I am planning on blocking the back before proceeding and examining the results. I'll let you in on what I find next Friday!

* this is actually the basic foundation of combination knitting, which is famous for creating neat, even stitches without rowing out.

From Mo:

This old girl isn’t sure if her ribbing is sagging or not. I’m kind of oblivious to some details. I do use the continental method, so I’m not sure if that makes a difference or not.

Speaking of details, I’ve been won over by the wonder of stitch markers. I understand this is an everyday essential used by sensible detailed oriented knitters everywhere. Being that I’m neither, it never really crossed my mind. Plus, I generally refuse to keep notes in the margins or on sticky pads about those important details. You know, those things you think you’ll remember or will be able figure out by counting stitches or rows.

Now, I understand that stitch markers actually jive with my lazy ways. Mark it and forget it. For this project, they’ve been especially helpful with marking the 10-row cable pattern. One less thing one my mind.

Last night, I reached the sleeve caps, so I’m really trucking.

CPH Friday

Liz:

It's Central Park Hoodie Friday here at XRK, where we update you on all things CPH.

To distract you from my total lack of knitting (hence, no pics) on my CPH, I thought I would compile a list of useful links and inspiration for other CPH knitters.

Now, we know this isn't the official KAL, which you can find here. There are a ton of gorgeous finished sweaters to admire.

The pattern is printed in this issue of Knitscene Magazine.
And here is a link to the errata for the pattern.

Cara just finished hers this week, and I have been getting really excited about knitting mine after reading her adventures. Did you check out when she fixed her miscrossed cable?

Another fave of mine is Rachael's, hers in a variegated Araucania Nature Wool Chunky.

For a third, totally different look, here is Carrie's, in Cascade Sierra, which is the same yarn I used for Mr S's (still unfinished) DGE.

As for me, I am knitting my CPH using good old reliable Cascade 220 Heathers, in a purple color (#9341, garnet heather) that looks frighteningly similar to Mo's tweedy sweater. I had to go up to US9s to get stitch gauge and plan on recalculating (using Nona's Multiplier) a bit to account for a slight difference in row gauge.

Nona's also going to help me improve my ribbing. You know, as soon as I actually cast-on.

Ann:
I also have enjoyed perusing all the wonderful CPHs out there in blog-land. Cara's was the one that just did me in, this is a fabulous sweater!

I've been sitting on this great stash of Maggi's Aran Tweed for almost a year now -- purchased at a great price at a LYS's huge sale -- here's a shot I took of Tina scrounging for the good stuff down on the floor.
I was able to procure 20 skeins of this wonderful yarn and I'm so happy to finally knit a sweater with enough stash to actually finish the project without ordering more. (Wait one second while I knock on some wood ...)

I am about a half inch away from the shoulder shaping on the back and am thoroughly pleased with how it's coming along!