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| Central Park Hoodie - Interweave Knits |
I have liked this classic pattern for quite some time, but I resisted it because I don't like to jump on bandwagons if I can possibly help it. Then I remembered that some things become popular for a reason. A case in point is my Noro Scarf, which I still adore, and has been knit by 8449 people (so far).
These "bandwagon" patterns become popular for a reason. They are good patterns, with a great design, that work for many different people. The Central Park Hoodie is this type of pattern. On Ravelry there are 3921 projects for this pattern, which was published in 2006 (before I started knitting!).
I became more inclined to knit this pattern when I saw Mooncalf's version and A Girl in Winter's version. I've also seen this pattern on the thousands of project pages on Ravelry and this hoodie suits all shapes and sizes, in fact it is sized to a 60" bust. The final decision to add this pattern to my queue was the discount offered by Interweave Knits, who publish this pattern. The pattern was reduced by a significant amount and I purchased it immediately on seeing that offer.
Now, I have not only taken a pattern from my queue to start knitting, I have used yarn from my stash too!
This huge cone of yarn was bought on eBay for the princely sum of £9.99. It is a kilo of aran weight yarn by Forsell, which is 90% Wool, 10% Silk. The added silk makes the yarn tweedy which I think is a good look for this jacket. I am so pleased to be finally using this yarn, which I bought in 2009, as it takes up a large amount of space in my stash box!
I did a proper blocking of my swatch, as this yarn is slightly oiled to be usable for machine knitting. The yarn softened well and plumped up too. I think though the fabric is stiff now, when it is blocked, the jacket will be robust but not scratchy.
In the space of 6 hours, since casting on, I have managed all this:
The cables are really crisp which I'm enjoying so much, and I am cabling without a needle. It helps that the cables are pretty simple too. As I am using my KnitCounter app, I can churn through the rows without really worrying about when to cable. The KnitCounter beeps at me whenever I'm about to start a row that needs a cable twist on it. This has turned out to be the perfect sick knitting, easy, with enough interest to prevent my brain falling out of my ears.
As there is a huge cone of yarn attached to this project, I will only be knitting this garment at home. It may take a while to finish this jacket, so expect to find this project a familiar sight on WIP Wednesdays. (As usual click on the button below to look at other lovely projects).
I had forgotten the lure of knitting without having to measure and count all the time!
