The Central Park Hoodie

The CPH is a pretty popular sweater. I know many have made it and many want to. Knitscene magazine calls it the pattern that made them "famous." Not sure if I've posted about it much or not, but a little over a week ago, I finally c/o the CPH I'm making pretty good progress on it and would probably be close to finished with the back had I actually DONE some knitting this week. As it was I only got 2 rows done at lunch one day, then a couple of inches done on Thursday evening.

I had more time planned, but this was definitely a weird week. Anyway, I'm happy with the progress and OMG... the yarn is YUM squared! It is so super soft while knitting, it's hard not to stop and pet it along the way! :) I think it is the major force behind getting it done... I really want to wear it! Plus, so far, the pattern is super easy to do. I've been to that point where it's become fairly mindless, I don't have to look at every stitch. That is probably why over 1600 people on Ravelry have made it. Besides the fact, it's totally cute.

I am using the Queensland Collection Rustic Tweed. It is a blend of Wool and Alpaca and looks like THIS:


It's not the cheapest yarn in the bin, but I fell in love when I saw it. And funny thing, the Merc had literally JUST put it on the shelf that day. Two days prior (maybe 3), I had stopped in there and chatted with Meagan. I picked up the Universal Tweed (I think) it was in a purple color and was really nice. I had her hold it for me because I wasn't sure on yardage. So that day I went in because I wondered if universal had anything in GREEN (my fave color) and they didn't. So I was going to stick with the purple, it was nice enough. But then... MAGIC... I went down like 2 more bins and there it was. It was fate, I reached out and grabbed it... and like I said, it was a bit of a higher price point, but there is also a more yardage PER skein than the universal. So I grabbed every skein on that shelf (8) and it was mine! I had some wound and off I went.

When I think about this sweater, I am reminded of something. There is more to this sweater than the price of yarn, the time and joy of making it... this yarn is a representation. I am reminded of a friend going through a tough time, she's making a comfort sweater and at first she worried it would remind her of some of the "bad" stuff, but she likened the sweater to a hug... and I get that, makes total sense. The CPH for me though is a different comfort. It will be a success story. My success story.

I have been working hard (on most days) to get fit and healthy. I've been working out and trying to make better food choices. I've established some goals and I've told my friends about these goals... so NOW, I really have to make these goals a reality. I am a little behind on the weight number goal for pounds lost so far, but I have also had some "lazy" days in the past 2 weeks. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, but I AM going to try harder this week!

That being said, let's get back to the sweater. I am making it 2 sizes too small, well smaller than I currently am. By the time it is finished, I hope to be two sizes smaller. I've already lost some inches because of my workouts. My arms are getting more toned. I can see and feel it. It's an exciting time and this sweater will REPRESENT! I hope to be done by Thanksgiving. I would love to take it on vacation with me. I think it will be the perfect, walk on the beach at night sweater! It also dawned on me, when I get to my goal size of being smaller than I am right now... I won't need as much yarn to make stuff for myself... so I can buy MORE yarn of differing varieties and sweaters won't cost nearly as much to make for myself. Now if that isn't another reason to lose weight and be fit... well, I don't know what is!