Finished Knit: The Central Oregon Hoodie

Here's a confession. I actually finished this cardigan months ago. I think it was somewhere in September or October and I'm finally just now posting some real pictures of it! It was nearly a year ago when I first blogged about starting the project. It didn't actually take me a year to finish it as it got set aside numerous times while life and other things got in the way.

So, for whatever reason I picked today when it never got above freezing and there is about 2.5 inches of snow outside to take pictures.. It was about 4F when I took these. I about froze in the 15 minutes it took to grab these shots! I'm becoming inspired to take more and better pictures of my finished projects as the days are getting longer and I have more chances to do photo shoots in natural light.

Many sewing bloggers have been posting about their goals for 2014. One goal I'd really like to work on is to make the time to take better photos. I have a decent camera, a tripod, and a remote and there simply is no excuse for not taking better photos. I always feel so self-conscious and silly doing my solo photo shoots. It also feels so narcissistic and vain, but I'm endeavoring to get over that feeling because when I see other bloggers photos I don't think of them as vain. It definitely is all in my head.

So here we go: on with some better pictures!










I did 2 swatches for this and ended up sizing down a needle to get gauge. I'm glad I did as I think it fits rather well.





I honestly love this cardigan and I wear it all the time. The yarn I chose is Tahki Yarns Donegal tweed in the colorway # 882 Goldenrod. I wanted something bright for the dark winter months and this fits the bill without being over the top. This yarn is also quite warm. Often times indoors I find it to be uncomfortably warm and I perspire a bit. It may be too warm for people who live in warmer climates ie. places where it routinely gets above freezing in the winter!





Getting all the knitting done on this truly took focus and perseverance. I did the sleeves simultaneously on one long circular needle so they would match and also because I couldn't bear the thought of doing another sleeve after completing the first.





After all the knitting then comes the gargantuan task of seaming and knitting the button band! I used mattress stitch for the side seams and used a crochet hook for the shoulder seams and setting in the sleeves. The hood is done using a 3 needle bind off which is actually kind of neat and leaves a nice seam finish.

I love the finished look and I'm glad I finished it, but honestly knitting a sweater in pieces and then seaming is really a bear. I got so depressed about the whole project several times and lost a lot of momentum throughout.

The next big knitting project I attempt I think will be a top down pull over or cardigan that requires little to no seaming.

What do you think? Top down knitting or do you not mind doing pieces and then seaming later?

Thanks for reading.

Jane