I'm On A Roll (Yes...Another Finished Project)

Last year I started making the ubiquitous Central Park Hoodie for myself out of a shade of Tahki Donegal Tweed that nearly makes me weep with glee. At the time, I had high hopes of getting it done quickly but some other project caught my attention and I ended up putting the sweater in time out with both fronts, the back and both sleeves save half a sleeve cap done. During my latest fit of finishing things up, I decided that the hoodie should be completed too. Being a cardigan, I figure I can wear it now and then even if I don't have a hope in H-E-double hockey sticks of getting it done up.

It didn't take long to finish. It was a quick, easy knit and the only deviation I made from the pattern was to graft the seam in the centre of the hood and make both button bands in one big long piece (that was sort of soul sucking but worth it in the end). This afternoon I sewed the buttons on and so here it is, ready for its debut.

First the close up shot so you can appreciate all the wonder of this tweed (and the cables...and the expert job I did sewing in the sleeves...ha). As I was knitting I was occasionally struck by the thought that I would have liked it better if the tweedy flecks were red and orange and yellow and green rather than navy and turquoise and almost-white-blue but in the end, I see that would have been wrong. It's great just as it is:



Here's the back:



The grafting of the hood was the right choice. Thanks to my knitting buddy Kate who looked at me like I was out of my mind when I suggested maybe I'd just whip it closed with a three needle bind off. She's got a good head on her shoulders, that knitter.

Finally, what I know you all want to see anyway, the profile shot - me and the boy:



Wow. I don't feel as big as I look...most of the time. You can't see the buttons in any of these pictures but you aren't missing much. I intentionally chose something really close to the colour of the sweater so that they'd just fade into the background. I can only get the top three done up anyway.

One last thing. If you ever decide to make a Central Park Hoodie of your own and you seem to be getting gauge and the sweater looks teensy, tiny, made for a Barbie doll...soldier on. As soon as I gave this puppy a nice warm Eucalan bath it relaxed and bloomed and transformed into all sorts of lovely things. It measures out to be exactly what it was supposed to be. "Puppy" was an apt description there a couple of sentences ago. The second it hit the water, my entire house filled with the smell of wet dog. Ok, maybe it was wet sheep but the resemblance to dog is uncanny. Smells great now though.