August 28th 2007
Filed under General, Hats, Sweaters
Over the last week the weather in London has been very autumnal, it is not quite scarf and gloves weather – but we are getting there. As a quick project this I thought I would cast on some Fetching Gloves, I know last autumn these were all the rage in knitting blogland – but I am always late on the bandwagon (I still haven’t made any Monkey socks).
I had brought the Andean Silk with this project in mind, a quick check on Ravelry I found it is a popular yarn for these mitts, and I also discovered it is advised to going down a needle size.
As we had the three day weekend in the UK, why would I cast on one new project, when I could cast on two so I ordered the Gretel Beret from Ysolda, I am also making this in Andean Silk.
Of course, my knitting this weekend did include some work on the Central Park Hoodie, I have now finished the hood and all I need to do is the ribbed edging (what would be the button band without the buttons).
I am slightly concerned that all my knits are blue and feature cables – I have to admit I love the colour blue – but I think this might be a little excessive. 
August 24th 2007
Filed under General, Sweaters
About once every six months, Jason has to work night shift, thiis means we get to spend the evening together and once he has gone to work I get to stay awake until the early hours of the morning knitting. This week I have managed to complete both sleeves, for my Central Park Hoodie.
Last night, I worked on and finished the hood. As part of the pattern you have to place the stitches for the cable onto a stitch holder, then cast off the stitches for the neckline. All these stitches are then picked up and worked into the hood, Rather than cast the stitches on the neckline off – I worked then in short rows and added them to the stitch holder.
The pattern suggests using a three needle bind off on the hood, but I opted to graft the stitches, as I think it will sit better and also leave a flat seam, I started the grafting at the cable edge to make use the two cables matched up perfectly – it took quite a bit of effort to make sure it looked like a continous cable – but I am really pleased with the results.
August 22nd 2007
Filed under General, Sweaters
The body of my Central Park Hoodie as complete. I used the short-row technique for the neck decreases (which will be picked up and used for the hood), as well as on the shoulders – these were then grafted together.
I have even managed to cast on the sleeves; I am knitting them both at once. The yarn just glades over the needles – which brings me to my letter…
Dear Knit Picks,
Please can you start selling Wool of the Andes in the UK?
Thank you!
Dee
When it comes to knitting larger garments, I tend to use a lot of vintage patterns and which mainly use 4 ply cotton and tiny needles. One of the reason I was first attracted to knitting the Central Park Hoodie was the thicker yarn and needles, as well as the piece being so amazingly wearable. I knew I wanted to knit this piece in a chunky dark blue yarn however I never seemed to find anything that fitted the bill.
When I was offered the chance to be part of the Knit Picks trail, I knew I wanted to buy some Wool of the Andes – but was unsure what to make with it – originally I was think about purchasing a few balls to make a hat or some gloves, when looking through the colours, as soon as I saw the Arctic Pool Heather – I knew this was the yarn for my Central Park Hoodie.
I have to admit I have found it very hard to find wool I like, Rowan makes some wonderful wool blends (Felted Tweed or Kid Classic) and Debbie Bliss’ Cashmerino, is a dream to knit with. But I have not found plain wool in such a range of colours in the UK – and certainly not one as cheap as Wool of the Andes (I think it comes in at £1.25 a ball including taxes), so here is hoping that we can have more of this lovely yarn in the UK.
