Sunday, February 24, 2008

Thank You

My family and I thank you from the bottom of out hearts for your sympathy over the loss of our beloved Molly. Although we miss her terribly, we are comforted that she was with us on vacation, playing with the kids and wrestling with her sister until the day before she died. She had a full and wonderful life with our family, and we will never forget her.

My knitting mojo was seriously messed up during our vacation. Despite my oath to finish Death by Cables, I...uh...neglected to take it with me, and instead cast on for Juliet. And that was the last successful bit of knitting I accomplished. I ripped back four times trying to get the sizing right, and remembered all over again why I have so much bulky weight yarn sitting untouched in the stash. It hurts my wrists. Not as much as falling on them 300 times trying to learn to snowboard, but still, enough to keep me from enjoying the process. I finally gave up on Juliet and, since I had no other yarn with me, cast the same yarn on for a top-down pullover. I knitted on it faithfully all the way home (while I wasn't silently praying and keeping the car on the icy mountain road by sheer force of will) and finished almost the entire body, only to conclude that it may be the ugliest piece of knitting I've ever produced. Ever. It must be the Knitting Goddess's punishment for breaking my oath about Death by Cables. I am duly chastened, and will finish that project before casting on for anything else.

I did, however, finish my CPH on the drive up, before the wrath of the KG doomed my Juliet to ignominious failure. It turned out well--really well, even--and probably deserves a post of its own, but I'm tired and a little down and there is a mountain of laundry waiting to be done and the boys need haircuts before school tomorrow, so here it is:


Pattern: Central Park Hoodie, from the Fall 2006 Knitscene

Size: 36"

Yarn: 5 1/2 skeins of Malabrigo worsted in the Vaa colorway

Needles: Size 8 Knitpicks Options

Buttons: My own, made of polymer clay
Modifications: Very few. I lengthened the body by two inches (and should have added one more inch). I left the sleeves the length called for in the pattern. I probably could have made them half an inch longer. I grafted the hood together instead of seaming it.

Notes: This design wears smaller than it appears from the pattern. By this, I mean that it fits much snugger than you might expect from the measurements. I have a 34 inch bust, and normally a 36 would fit with relaxed ease, but this design is an overall leaner fit than I consider normal, with thinner arms and a clingy nature. I am happy with the fit, but if you're between sizes, I would definitely recommend sizing up rather than down.

18 comments:

sophanne said...

CPH looks great- glad you made it home safely.

Olga said...

Looking good!

Dr. Steph said...

The sweater is beautiful and you look gorgeous in it.

I'm so sorry about Molly.

Anonymous said...

Beautiful sweater. You could be a knitwear model, girl, why aren't you on the cover of Interweave Knits or the like? Lovely.

Kim said...

Gorgeous! Thanks for the tips on CPH sizing too.

Melissa Morgan-Oakes said...

Love the CPH!!

Senja said...

Pretty CPH! I love the yarn color, must be why I am knitting a sweater in the same yarn:) Awesome buttons too.

...Sarah said...

I like it a lot and it looks really great on you. Before I started reading you I never consider modifying a pattern to fit better. I always find sweater patterns look too short and that really bugs me.

Angelika said...

The hoodie looks great on you. I can't deside wether you have great taste in patterns or if maybe you make everything you put on look good.

Anonymous said...

Those Knitting Goddesses are a fickle bunch. Glad you are home.
Your hoodie looks great. I'm still rooting for Death by Cables!!

Stitchy Witch said...

CPH looks really nice on you! I love the color, and I think it looks like it fits perfectly!

The A.D.D. Knitter said...

Vaa is my absolute favorite--nice work!

Anonymous said...

Wow, that looks really nice. It's a great pattern, I'll agree with everyone who's rhapsodized about it!

- MJ

Romi said...

That looks fabulous on you!

Bea said...

Wow, this is the prettiest CPH I've seen for sure, that colorway of Malabrigo is perfect!

Karen said...

CPH looks great on you. Another fabulous sweater from your needles!

Khalila said...

I love that Malabrigo, your sweater looks great! I'm about halfway done with mine and am a little concerned about the sizing now that I've read about yours. I modified it a little bit by putting a couple extra stitches in the sides so we'll see how it comes out. I was exactly in the middle of the sizing and probably made the wrong choice to go down instead of up...oh well, my sister is smaller than I am so maybe it was destined for her.

Faith said...

Oh my goodness it's perfect! So so great, and it looks beautiful on you. Well done lady!