The Sweatshop of Love Blog

Hoodie Devoted!

(You ever see a picture of yourself and not really believe that is you?)

Hoodie Devoted, my first Ravelympics project, is complete! Started Friday night, finished Thursday afternoon. How is that for devotion?

Hoodie in the Sun

I’m in love. The stitch pattern was fun and interesting and the bobbles weren’t annoying. That is all you can really ask of a pattern, right? Ravelympics Project #1 Finished!

I made some serious modifications. I didn’t check my gauge, because it’s a hood, who cares?, but it was HUGE a gusset time so I changed that all up. I also changed it from being a pullover hood to being more of a cape.

Finished Hood!

Mods:

Gusset: Beg with Row 5, work even in cable pattern for 6 more row. BO all sts.

Attach Gusset to Sides: Fit gusset in to top, seam sides of hood together around gusset and down center of hood.

Rib Yoke: Not so much! PU 120 sts around bottom of hood, do not join. Starting with a RS row, work in K2, P1 to end, ending with K2. Cont in pattern for 4 rows.

Dec Rows -  Work 2 sts, dec1 st, work in pattern to 4 sts from end, dec1 st, work 2 sts.

Work Dec Row every row till ribbed section measures 5 inches. Loosely BO all stitches.

The... BACK!

I had a hell of a time figuring out what was going on with the back of this hood. There are only two pictures in the book and one of them is specifically to show the lining. The pattern calls for a gusset to be worked down from the center of the hood, and the sides to be seamed to the gusset. My hood was already HUGE, so I modified the gusset and just seamed the sides together.

It was seriously the right call to use my Caron One Pounder I had left over from a slipper project. I was worried it would be stiff and scratchy, but no part of your skin touches the yarn. My lining is this beautiful silk material I found in a remnant bin and feels like you have a seriously warm cloud wrapped around your head.

Spend money on what counts! For this project it was definitely the lining.

Pre-Lining

Of course I had to go out and buy ANOTHER pound of brown yarn because I ran out right as I was finishing the ribbed section. So I’ve got about 98% of that pound left. Again. This will be in my stash forever.

What did I do this weekend?

Lotta Hood

I barely left my house. Barely left my TV. I didn’t miss a ski jump, a cross country race, a mogul, and, most importantly, a pairs ice skating performance.

Yesterday I had Sweater Club in the morning, returned home around noon, then at 10pm when the Olympics ended I looked down at my knitting and thought, well shit!

I knit like 13 inches of my Hoodie Devoted. Since the opening ceremonies.

I even went out Saturday night! I brought my knitting to game night and happily knit while vampires and dinosaurs were fighting in Heroscape while listening to the Lord of the Rings soundtrack.

Take a second to let just how cool I am truly sink in.

Pudge Approves!

Pudge has grown very fond of this hood, probably because she has been laying under it for two days while I was knitting. I put it on the floor to take these pictures and she was so confused.

She was mainly confused that I was standing, and walking around.

The stitch pattern is fun and interesting, the bobbles aren’t annoying and every other cable is different. Thus, this is pretty much the best pattern to work on 12 hours a day two days in a row.

Yikes.

Well, what am I supposed to be doing on a February weekend in Chicago? It’s cold, bro. And it isn’t like I should be out celebrating a holiday or anything.

Last night’s 2010 Winter Olympic opening ceremonies were a little bizarre. Between the punk fiddlers and tap dancers, the huge Coke polar bear, an anorexic Brian Adams, and a huge torch lighting malfunction, there was a lot to take in.

Hoodie Devoted

I can safely say, however, that I have never looked forward to an Opening Ceremonies as much as I was looking forward to these, because of the start of the Ravelympics!

I’ve been getting a few questions about what the Ravelympics are. They are like the Olympics for knitting! You enter into different competitions with different projects and you have to get them done by the closing ceremonies.

I’m on Team Buttercream hosted by the lovely Julie at Knitted Bliss. I cast on Hoodie Devoted, out of Boutique Knits, last night.

Cables and Bobbles

This is a little more project than I was expecting! I’ve got a good start on my needles, but that is 215 stitches I’m working! 17 days? And I’ve got other projects on the docket?

Well, it wouldn’t be like me not to try to do a million things at once.

I tagged my ravelry project page with the official Ravelympics tag, my team name: teambuttercream!, and the event I’m entering with this project: Hat Halfpipe!

I was tweeting like a crazy person last night! Keeping up with other Ravelympians and Olympic Opening Ceremonies watchers. It was easily the most fun I’ve had on twitter to date.

Highlights:

rocketslide: Olympic drinking game! Drink for every cable knit, turtleneck, & hat with a pompom! RT @sweatshopoflove: Loving the Olympic knits!

jmgehrke: @sweatshopoflove Wait, which one was Michael and which one was Janet in that “We are the world” montage?

actifblue: Maybe we could start one… RT @sweatshopoflove NO JAMAICAN BOBSLED TEAM?!?!

adamfairholm: The dancers on each side of the athletes coming it is making it feel like a sad Wii Mii fashion show.

modeknit: Dang we gots some good lookin’ hats on our atheletes! ravelympics! MOOSE!

WaterlooWools: Loving all the live tweets of the ceremonies–but aren’t you people supposed to be knitting?!

acmevalley: If Sum 41 doesn’t make a showing here, I will be FLOORED. YOU HEAR ME DAVID ATKINS?!?!

adamfairholm: Leave it to the French Canadians to turn the Olympics opening ceremony into a bad student art show with gothic fiddlers and riverdance.

CaryWhitt: These dudes are like the ambian and Nyquil of Olympic speech readers.

rocketslide: This is what you get for using the metricsystem!

modeknit: RT @ebertchicago: U.S. tweeters snarky about Canadian Olympics ceremony. Canuck reply: If you’re so smart, why don’t you have health care?

Sleeves, Kinda

When we last checked in with my Dollar and a Half Cardigan I had just discovered two major errors. I was finished with the body and one side. Since then I’ve finished the second side and have got a good 8 inches of two sleeves finished.

Will I finish this sweater before the Ravelympics start during the opening ceremony of the Olympics tomorrow night? No way in hell. I’m saying it right now. There is no way I can finish those sleeves, attach everything, and knit the front button bands, by tomorrow night.

I know what you are saying. ‘Allyson, you should have figured that out a long time ago.’ And you are exactly right. What was I thinking? I am one woman! Frantically knitting a lot a sweater!

Geez, Allyson. Geez.

So what is the plan? I want to start my Hoodie Devoted! But I lent out the needles I need for that pattern. Which sucks because I need this hood!

Hoodie Devoted

I mean, come on. Everyone needs this hood. So I don’t really have a plan. WHY AM I SO UNPREPARED?! It’s really unlike me. I’m blaming Dollar and a Half. She has been zapping up all of my energy.

What do you have planned for the Ravelympics?! And I hope you are more prepared than I am!