The Curse is Lifted. Possibly.

I am trying to overcome this paranoid feeling about this sweater. Sure, I had to rip it out far more times than is reasonable for what is actually a pretty basic sweater. Sure, by the time I finished the damn thing I was thinking very dark thoughts about it every time I picked it up. But that doesn’t mean the finished sweater is cursed, right? Right?

Fortunately, it’s ridiculously fucking hot right now, and there’s no way in hell I’ll be wearing this sweater any time soon, so I’m hoping that by the time it’s actually wool sweater weather I’ll be over my suspicious feelings towards the sweater. After all, it is quite a nice sweater. Despite my concerns about fit, it fits really well. (I kept reading that it ran small, so I was a little paranoid.) The sleeves are a bit excessively long – someone please remind me to stop lengthening my sleeves. Yes, I have long arms, but they are in proportion to the rest of me, so if I knit the right size I should be fine. All of my sweaters have too-long sleeves. I really ought to knock that off. But other than that, I’m pretty happy with how it turned out, curse aside.

The photos aren’t really a good representation of the colour – I need to sit down and fiddle with the camera and try to get a photo that actually shows the colour. It’s a really bright, vivid, kelly green. Very spring-y. Good thing I finished it in the dead middle of summer. Go me!

The photo shoot for this was pretty brutal, even in the shade. Jamie was full of heat induced sloth and didn’t even get out of his lawn chair to take the photos. (The bastard was sitting in the yard reading Harry Potter and drinking lemonade when I got home from work. Have I mentioned that I HATE living with two teachers in the summer time? Lazy bastards. I am full of raging jealousy pretty much all the time.)

Anyway, here it is!

The sleeves rolled up look is probably a more accurate representation of how I will wear this sweater 90% of the time. I hardly ever leave long sleeved things down around my wrists, whether they are sweaters or shirts or whatever.

Oh, and the cables up the hood? It totally worked. Woohoo!

Raaaaah! It is finished! Finally!

Specs: The Central Park Hoodie from KnitScene, as seen on many blogs.
Yarn is Cascade 220 in a green colourway that I forget the number of. I had a cone of it (that I got in a swap – thanks, Trillian!), and I have no idea how much of I used, because I just wound off reasonably sized balls and used them quite randomly, so I have half-balls of leftovers all over the place and a chunk still left on the cone.
Needles: Size fives for the ribbing on the body, size sixes for the ribbing on the sleeves (don’t ask – part of the curse!), and size eights for the body itself. I mostly used my Denise needles, but I did some of the ribbing on my Addi Lace needles.
I knit the largest size and used one needle size larger than I needed to get gauge, since I’d read so much about the sweater running small. I’m happy with how it fits. The button band is a bit gapey, but that’s not due to fit, it’s just due to blocking, so I’m going to re-block the button band at some point. (Maybe.)

This is my fifth sweater of the year. I’m not quite keeping up with the sweater a month thing, but I’m not doing too badly! Certainly better than I was expecting. I am not knitting a sweater at the moment, although I reeeeeally need to get going on another baby sweater for a rather impending baby. I’m not convinced I’m going to make it to twelve, but I am knitting sweaters for myself, and that’s what I wanted.

Next up? General knitting-wise, the Mystery Stole is taking up most of my knitting time at the moment, with forays into Rachel’s neglected Cure socks when I can’t concentrate on my knitting enough to knit lace. (ie at all the parties I went to last weekend.) I do need to whip out another baby sweater, and start another blanket.

But my next sweater? Oh my god, I can’t wait for this one. I’m going to knit the Natalie Coat from Big Girl Knits in beautiful, beautiful Blue Sky Alpaca Cotton. (It’s cotton, not alpaca – the company is called Blue Sky Alpacas.) I have been wanting that yarn for soooo long, and when I saw it on sale I could no longer resist. I have it in the absolutely delicious Tomato colourway, and it is the nicest yarn ever. I can’t wait to knit this pattern – I love the pattern and the yarn, and I think the combination is going to be kick-ass.

Hopefully this one won’t be cursed.