Tuesday, April 10, 2007

Crown Point Hoodie

Crown Point in San Diego is one of B and my favorite places to hang out by the water. Our beaches are busy, but on most days (Fourth of July and the crew races as noteworthy exceptions), Mission Bay is quite and relatively unpopulated. This was why it was an obvious choice for some quality downtime yesterday. Little did I know that it would literally be a perfect place to take my Under the Hoodie FO photos! It's like my hoodie was made for that spot of San Diego. I didn't even realize what a good fit it was until I got home and loaded the photos onto the computer. My hoodie ended up being a perfect reflection of a little sky, a little grass and a little water all rolled into one! So, consequently, my "hoodie" is now my Crown Point Hoodie.

As stated in other posts, I made my Stitch 'n Bitch Under the Hoodie with Elsebeth Lavold Angora. The majority of which was acquired at a deep discount (75% off!). I then spent almost nearly as much tracking down and buying the random hanks needed to actually finish the knitting. But it was worth it. In the end, I used 1 hank of Purple (019) for the accent stripes, 5 1/2 hanks of Lime Green (014) and 7 1/2 hanks of Peacock Blue (006). I have enough coordinating leftovers for a child-sized something or other, so at least they will eventually get used. I planned the knitting so the different dye lots were hidden. The green in the arms was knit in one dye lot and the green stripe was with the other. As for the blue, almost the entire sweater was knit in one dye lot. However, when I was close to running out of the first dye lot half way through the hood, I started splicing the two dye lots together every few rows or so. This let me alternate skeins without having to carry up either side of the hood edge (which would have been very unsightly indeed). (Despite not being 100% wool yarn, Angora spliced brilliantly.)

The pattern itself was very well written and easy to follow. It would be a great knit for an adventurous beginner. There are some interesting constructions to make the pocket and the hood neck line, but nothing that you can't walk yourself through if you are just starting out.

The only alterations I made was to the length. I am l-o-n-g and this is a fairly cropped sweater. But, because it has zero waist shaping, it was easy to lengthen without having to recalculate anything. I decided the easiest places to add the length was in the stripes. To keep them relatively proportional, I doubled the width of the purple accent stripes and lengthened the center green stripe by about an inch. I also lengthened the arms of the sweater by adding the purple stripes which added about an inch to the sleeve length. The stripes were also originally added to help conserve the green yarn, but in the end (after realizing additional yarn was unavoidable), I decided I liked the stripes as a collegiate touch and left them in.

I was a bit concerned about the width of the sweater, specifically because it would create the rest of the arm of the drop shoulder. As I knit and tried it on, it seemed to only come to about 1/2 an inch beyond my actual shoulders, but then as soon as I seamed in the arms, they dropped. Just like they were supposed to! One must have faith I suppose.

I love the fit of the sweater, it is just the right length in the arms and body. Wide enough to be roomy, but still shapely enough not to look like a tent. I've already worn it about 4 times since I finished it last Wednesday night. It even accompanied me to Mammoth where I had originally planned to take the FO photos. I don't know about you, but I think this sweater wanted its photo shoot at Crown Point. It fits right in!

23 comments:

Mercedes said...

I love your hoodie. It's really cool. Also your photos make me miss SD. I use to run around Crown Point all the time. It's so pretty there.

knitzalot said...

It's a match made in heaven! It looks great! I'm glad all the work tracking down the yarn was worth it.

Mouse said...

Looks awesome! I'm pretty sure there is errata for the pocket of that hoodie.. because I recall that other people had problems with it.

Susie said...

How beautiful! Most excellent use of color.

I had it in mind to make myself something like this...looked at the Central Park Hoodie, the Wonderful Wallaby...but I think this looks like a classy adaptation of both. I'm going to go look in my S'n'B book for the pattern.

Well done.

mle said...

I love it!! You are right, Crown Point was the perfect place for the photos. I love the neckline how it splits apart like that.

Miriam said...

WOW! That's crazy! The purple almost looks like the spit of land there in the first picture too! Looks like an all around fabulous to have on hand sweater :D

The Stitchin' Sheep said...

That turned out really well. Are you trying to tempt me? I suspect it wouldn't end u[ a pretty on me, though.

jillian said...

That came out so well! And amazing how it matches Crown Point. Subliminal, do you think? It looks so comfy.

Anonymous said...

Yay, it looks great- and so comfy. You're going to get so much use out of that!

Unknown said...

That looks great, and you're right, it's perfect for Crown Point. I love the colors you used and the modifications you made. It's a fabulous fit and length for you. Great job!

Jennifer said...

It's lovely! I love how the colors complement each other. Fantastic job!

Anonymous said...

Very nice and you look so relaxed.

Theresa said...

That is absolutely perfect for Crown Point - I love it!

Anonymous said...

Perfect name! It looks fantastic!

Anonymous said...

That is soooo beautiful! When the picture came up I actually gasped! You did a fantastic job - it fits you perfectly!!!

Madge said...

Great hoodie! And sounds like you had a total zen moment with it - yarn knows what it wants to be and where it wants to go...and there you were, at the perfect locale, with it. Brilliant.

Kim said...

That really looks great, as well as your spot- Crown Point. Thanks for talking about your modifications, too.

Nasus said...

I love how your sweater matches the scenery!

Kara said...

oh, your hoodie turned out amazing. The colors are perfect complements.

And your photo shoot is great!

Anonymous said...

Looks comfy. I like the colors!

Anonymous said...

your sweater looks like *the* most comfortable sweater! Your FO photos are amazing, yes your sweater truly wanted to be photo shoot at Crown point. Amazing pictures, amazing sweater!

Anonymous said...

It turned out gorgeous as is the SD scenery! Isn't it grand to live in such a city?

mames said...

i love that sweater! it was the first sweater i knit for a woman, originally intended for myself but passed to my sis because humboldt is a lot cooler than l.a. i might have to ask to 'borrow't next fall, hmmmm.