Fiddle Knits Designs | Beautifully detailed patterns for the hand knitter and crocheter
Created by Erica Jackofsky
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• • •
Sweater Project:
Week One
Sweater Project:
Week Two
Sweater Project:
Week Three
Sweater Project:
Week Four
Scotch Mary Cardi
• • •
Sweater Project:
Week One
Sweater Project:
Week Two
Sweater Project:
Week Three
Sweater Project:
Week Four
Scotch Mary Cardi
Week Two ~ February 8–14, 2010
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The Sweater Project: Day Eight
February 8, 2010 ~ Swatching
I've spent a good deal of today working on swatches for the bottom half of Scotch Mary. The one that I'm liking the best turns out to be just about the most simple lace "rib" that I could have possibly picked. You have to work increases and decreases on both the right side and the wrong side of your work, but it's only a 2 stitch repeat, so there's nothing huge to memorize. The very first right side row is kind of a bug, but after that it goes smoothly. The only annoyance with that first right side lace row is that you have to work knit 2 together through the back (K2tog tbl) and it feels pretty tight. However, once you've gotten that row out of the way it becomes much easier due to the yarn overs (YOs) that are present. I did an experiment to see if another decrease would work instead of k2tog tbl and if you wish to work slip-slip-knit (ssk) instead on the very first row for ease on your hands then you can go for it because it blends in rather well, or so it seems in the swatch.
Lace swatch for lower body of Scotch MaryI'm starting to get myself distracted. I spent a while this evening pondering whether I really still wanted to work all-over simple lace with the simple side panels for the i-cord ruching, or.... if I wanted to do an eyelet row directly below the bust to run i-cord to tie at the center back and then have lace insertions down the sides.... I'm a little torn... I think I want to do both, but which one should I do now? Both have potential to be nice, or be a fail. Hmmm... I'll have to think on it tonight. I need to make a decision before I can move any further in my knitting. Anyone have opinions? Leave a comment and let me know what your thoughts are. I'm leaning toward my original idea mostly because it would mean I was actually following through on a design concept from start to finish. A lot of times when I get sidetracked by a slightly different idea I wonder if I made the best decision or if that first one might have been better. So that's another reason to want to work both designs. Maybe that could be March's project: knit sweater idea #2 for a side by side comparison.
Raglan increasesThe Sweater Project: Day Nine
February 9, 2010
Sometimes I wish my brain would just give me a break already! The problem today is that with my teaching schedule I didn't get very much time to knit. When that happens I start scheming up new designs. And then, of course, I want to drop everything I'm doing and start something new, because I may suffer a little bit from knitting ADD.... But I am going to be good. I promise. No new projects were started today. I am still right on track with Scotch Mary.
Something pretty cool I noticed today was that Knit Picks has new Spring yarn! You can see the sneak peek video on the Knit Picks blog HERE. It's not exactly a *brand new* yarn, but more of a big expansion on yarn they carry now., which is really cool. And ya wanna know why? The yarn they've expanded on is none other that the Simply Cotton I'm using for Scotch Mary. Currently it is only available in natural colors, but soon Simply Cotton will get pretty colorful! So when Scotch Mary is done you'll be able to pick from a wide range of colors if you'd like to try out the yarn and the pattern. Perfect timing! (Or so I'm hoping.)
We're supposed to be getting snowed in tomorrow. I'm half looking forward to it. Normally Wednesday is a very busy day of teaching lessons for me, so typically it's a day I get very little knitting related work done. If we get as much snow as is being predicted now (up to 16") then everything will be canceled and I can knit to my heart's content. On the flip side, I *really* don't want to have to shovel more snow and not be able to get to Chris's house. People tend to think Long Island is flat, but I live on the rocky-formed-by-glaciers north shore with twisty turny old roads, so I could potentially be stuck home for a couple days. Oh well, knitting and hot chocolate it will be. Hopefully I can block out all those other pesky distracting ideas!
Now... off to bed. I can barely keep my eyes open and my thoughts are beginning to sound incoherent in my head.
February 9, 2010
Sometimes I wish my brain would just give me a break already! The problem today is that with my teaching schedule I didn't get very much time to knit. When that happens I start scheming up new designs. And then, of course, I want to drop everything I'm doing and start something new, because I may suffer a little bit from knitting ADD.... But I am going to be good. I promise. No new projects were started today. I am still right on track with Scotch Mary.
Something pretty cool I noticed today was that Knit Picks has new Spring yarn! You can see the sneak peek video on the Knit Picks blog HERE. It's not exactly a *brand new* yarn, but more of a big expansion on yarn they carry now., which is really cool. And ya wanna know why? The yarn they've expanded on is none other that the Simply Cotton I'm using for Scotch Mary. Currently it is only available in natural colors, but soon Simply Cotton will get pretty colorful! So when Scotch Mary is done you'll be able to pick from a wide range of colors if you'd like to try out the yarn and the pattern. Perfect timing! (Or so I'm hoping.)
We're supposed to be getting snowed in tomorrow. I'm half looking forward to it. Normally Wednesday is a very busy day of teaching lessons for me, so typically it's a day I get very little knitting related work done. If we get as much snow as is being predicted now (up to 16") then everything will be canceled and I can knit to my heart's content. On the flip side, I *really* don't want to have to shovel more snow and not be able to get to Chris's house. People tend to think Long Island is flat, but I live on the rocky-formed-by-glaciers north shore with twisty turny old roads, so I could potentially be stuck home for a couple days. Oh well, knitting and hot chocolate it will be. Hopefully I can block out all those other pesky distracting ideas!
Now... off to bed. I can barely keep my eyes open and my thoughts are beginning to sound incoherent in my head.
The Sweater Project: Day Ten
February 10, 2010 ~ Snow Day!
We did end up getting snowed in today and everything was canceled as predicted. Ahhh.... a whole day to sit back and knit! I worked on Scotch Mary quite a bit (sorry I didn't think of photos until it was getting a bit too dark out). Besides actually knitting I took some time to work on writing out more of the pattern and working on sizing. Right now the sizes stand as such:
Sizes: S(M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)
Finished bust: 34 (38, 42, 45, 49, 52)"
I think I'm going to add another inch into the 3XL size, which will put it right in the middle of the standard for that size according to the CYCA guidelines. Having some of the numbers all worked out is a big thing. The math is definitely my least favorite part. Now that I have some of it out of the way I can proceed knitting feeling guilt free. I've had this nagging voice in my head for the past few days bugging me about being organized and mapping out the pattern now instead of procrastinating, which is more typical of me. I always get what I want to get finished done, but.... I may leave it until the last minute and then suffer from near panic attacks. OK, anyone that knows me well wouldn't say they're "near" panic attacks, but pretty much full blown ones. Like it or lump it, that's how I've worked since I was a wee little kid.
I'm really excited that I get to start the lace stitch on the sweater now. I did a lot of staring at the wall today trying to project an image of a finished Scotch Mary there. There was some indecision going on in my head as to when and how to start the lace, and if I should begin it in the front and back at the same time, or just in the front and put some ribbing in at the back to pull the garment in a bit to keep it more fitted since the lace is going to make it open up. I think I had better insert a lifeline right about now... I have a feeling I may be pulling back. But hey, that's part of the process. My mom sees me ripping back plenty of designs and always wonders out loud how I can stomach it. You have to be cool with either accepting the mistakes you've made (and face it, you really are only human so there is going to be mistakes no matter how hard you try) or you have to look your knitting straight in the stitches and pull it back. As a designer you have to be even more willing to rip back, or knit several samples, because you need to know your design actually works. If I was knitting purely for myself and not writing patterns I would be the type that shrugged my mistakes off, unless they were really hideously huge, of course.
On that note... I think I'm going to go run that lifeline through good old Mary and start on the lace stitch. Good times! :-)
February 10, 2010 ~ Snow Day!
We did end up getting snowed in today and everything was canceled as predicted. Ahhh.... a whole day to sit back and knit! I worked on Scotch Mary quite a bit (sorry I didn't think of photos until it was getting a bit too dark out). Besides actually knitting I took some time to work on writing out more of the pattern and working on sizing. Right now the sizes stand as such:
Sizes: S(M, L, XL, 2XL, 3XL)
Finished bust: 34 (38, 42, 45, 49, 52)"
I think I'm going to add another inch into the 3XL size, which will put it right in the middle of the standard for that size according to the CYCA guidelines. Having some of the numbers all worked out is a big thing. The math is definitely my least favorite part. Now that I have some of it out of the way I can proceed knitting feeling guilt free. I've had this nagging voice in my head for the past few days bugging me about being organized and mapping out the pattern now instead of procrastinating, which is more typical of me. I always get what I want to get finished done, but.... I may leave it until the last minute and then suffer from near panic attacks. OK, anyone that knows me well wouldn't say they're "near" panic attacks, but pretty much full blown ones. Like it or lump it, that's how I've worked since I was a wee little kid.
I'm really excited that I get to start the lace stitch on the sweater now. I did a lot of staring at the wall today trying to project an image of a finished Scotch Mary there. There was some indecision going on in my head as to when and how to start the lace, and if I should begin it in the front and back at the same time, or just in the front and put some ribbing in at the back to pull the garment in a bit to keep it more fitted since the lace is going to make it open up. I think I had better insert a lifeline right about now... I have a feeling I may be pulling back. But hey, that's part of the process. My mom sees me ripping back plenty of designs and always wonders out loud how I can stomach it. You have to be cool with either accepting the mistakes you've made (and face it, you really are only human so there is going to be mistakes no matter how hard you try) or you have to look your knitting straight in the stitches and pull it back. As a designer you have to be even more willing to rip back, or knit several samples, because you need to know your design actually works. If I was knitting purely for myself and not writing patterns I would be the type that shrugged my mistakes off, unless they were really hideously huge, of course.
On that note... I think I'm going to go run that lifeline through good old Mary and start on the lace stitch. Good times! :-)
The Sweater Project: Day Eleven
February 11, 2010 ~ Keep it Simple
I love clean lines and little details. As I sat working on Scotch Mary today I found myself wondering if it had "enough," whatever "enough" might be. Well, I know how I was defining it. It's what the pattern consists of. Is there enough detail? Enough interest? I tried thinking of details and accents that I could add here and there. What if I did this....? Or that...? Would that be better? And then I caught myself. Why do I want to add more? Why am I thinking that something simple won't cut it? The patterns I was always drawn to had very minimal detail, but were fun to work on and got the job done. So why should I feel the need to create an over-the-top-full-of-detail design? Not everything has to be about abundance. I think I need to celebrate the beauty in subtlety. Now to remember that.
I took a break from knitting to go play in the snow. Really I had to go shovel, but might as well make a boring job a little more fun, right? Kids, sometimes they really know what's best. You can't tell from this photo (and I did that on purpose, sorry y'all), but I'm sporting my recently knit Sundae Break hat. I'm happy to say that it's quite comfortable and warm. I made it large (intentionally) to accommodate my massive head of curls. I'm not showing a full, clear photo of the hat because, as of this moment (I have been known to change my mind, especially due to impatience) it's being held aside for another Fiddle Knits Designs Collection: Sweet Treats. Easy knits that go relatively quickly. Instead of ear candy or brain candy... it's like knitting candy, which, I guess, means it's also brain candy... Oh, I could go around in circles on that one.
And speaking of collections... The Sweet Sounds Collection is officially up and out on both my Website and Ravelry. The patterns in this one are:
Dulcian Fingerless Gloves
Lute Hat
Lyre Scarf
Oud Collar
Viol Neck Cuff
Mandolin Mug Mitts
And now me thinks it's time to get back to my knitting. :o)
February 11, 2010 ~ Keep it Simple
I love clean lines and little details. As I sat working on Scotch Mary today I found myself wondering if it had "enough," whatever "enough" might be. Well, I know how I was defining it. It's what the pattern consists of. Is there enough detail? Enough interest? I tried thinking of details and accents that I could add here and there. What if I did this....? Or that...? Would that be better? And then I caught myself. Why do I want to add more? Why am I thinking that something simple won't cut it? The patterns I was always drawn to had very minimal detail, but were fun to work on and got the job done. So why should I feel the need to create an over-the-top-full-of-detail design? Not everything has to be about abundance. I think I need to celebrate the beauty in subtlety. Now to remember that.
I took a break from knitting to go play in the snow. Really I had to go shovel, but might as well make a boring job a little more fun, right? Kids, sometimes they really know what's best. You can't tell from this photo (and I did that on purpose, sorry y'all), but I'm sporting my recently knit Sundae Break hat. I'm happy to say that it's quite comfortable and warm. I made it large (intentionally) to accommodate my massive head of curls. I'm not showing a full, clear photo of the hat because, as of this moment (I have been known to change my mind, especially due to impatience) it's being held aside for another Fiddle Knits Designs Collection: Sweet Treats. Easy knits that go relatively quickly. Instead of ear candy or brain candy... it's like knitting candy, which, I guess, means it's also brain candy... Oh, I could go around in circles on that one.
And speaking of collections... The Sweet Sounds Collection is officially up and out on both my Website and Ravelry. The patterns in this one are:
Dulcian Fingerless Gloves
Lute Hat
Lyre Scarf
Oud Collar
Viol Neck Cuff
Mandolin Mug Mitts
And now me thinks it's time to get back to my knitting. :o)
The Sweater Project: Day Twelve
February 12, 2010 - Distracted
I was all over the place today with my knitting. Looking back on the day I can barely even remember what knitting I got done... except the stripes, but I'll get to that in a minute.
I started the day off with all the right intentions. While I sat sipping my morning cup of tea I knit away on the lace rib of Scotch Mary. This is going to be one of those projects that makes good social knitting. There's not too much brain power required, so you can chit chat away without worry. For me this means I start to daydream. This is good, but it's also very bad. (Quite contradictory huh?) It's good to daydream, it's good to have tons of ideas, it's not so good when the urge to go cast on for one of those ideas overwhelms me and I abandon the project in process. This is what ended up happening yesterday. You see, I have some Knit Picks Comfy Worsted left over from the Petticoat Loose Tank and the Bonnie Kate Cardi. It was sitting in direct line of sight and calling out to me. The colors are pomegranate and ivory and remind me of a candy cane gone vintage, or an antiqued Christmas look. They looked so yummy. How could I resist? So I cast on another design that will be appearing with the Sundae Break hat in my Sweet Treats Collection. (I'll probably not release the collection until next Fall. By the time I have everything together the weather will be warming up and then it won't make much sense...)
So there you have it. My determination took a vacation today apparently. Sorry Scotch Mary! I will make it up to you. I promise! On the plus side, even though I didn't actually work on SM a lot today it wasn't because something was going terribly wrong with it. Just me having an "Ooo! Shiny!" moment that was too tempting for my weak self. I hang my head in shame.... ;-)
February 12, 2010 - Distracted
I was all over the place today with my knitting. Looking back on the day I can barely even remember what knitting I got done... except the stripes, but I'll get to that in a minute.
I started the day off with all the right intentions. While I sat sipping my morning cup of tea I knit away on the lace rib of Scotch Mary. This is going to be one of those projects that makes good social knitting. There's not too much brain power required, so you can chit chat away without worry. For me this means I start to daydream. This is good, but it's also very bad. (Quite contradictory huh?) It's good to daydream, it's good to have tons of ideas, it's not so good when the urge to go cast on for one of those ideas overwhelms me and I abandon the project in process. This is what ended up happening yesterday. You see, I have some Knit Picks Comfy Worsted left over from the Petticoat Loose Tank and the Bonnie Kate Cardi. It was sitting in direct line of sight and calling out to me. The colors are pomegranate and ivory and remind me of a candy cane gone vintage, or an antiqued Christmas look. They looked so yummy. How could I resist? So I cast on another design that will be appearing with the Sundae Break hat in my Sweet Treats Collection. (I'll probably not release the collection until next Fall. By the time I have everything together the weather will be warming up and then it won't make much sense...)
So there you have it. My determination took a vacation today apparently. Sorry Scotch Mary! I will make it up to you. I promise! On the plus side, even though I didn't actually work on SM a lot today it wasn't because something was going terribly wrong with it. Just me having an "Ooo! Shiny!" moment that was too tempting for my weak self. I hang my head in shame.... ;-)
The Sweater Project: Day Thirteen
February 13, 2010
Scotch Mary and I went on a knitting trip today to Starbucks. I am delighted to report that both of us were very well behaved and had a nice time. No stitches were lost, no other projects were cast on. It was just me, Mary, coffee, and knitting friends for the afternoon.
Scotch Mary's Progress
The longer the lace rib section gets, the more I like the texture of it. It's so very nice and scrunchy right now. Obviously I will block it out when I'm done and that scrunch factor will be gone, but for now I'm enjoying grabbing a fistful of material and feeling the texture in my hand. When I do get around to the point of having to block it I'm going to be stretching the stitches down more than out. Right now I'm feeling very optimistic about the design. The drape of the fabric seems like it will definitely work with the idea of the i-cord lacing on the sides. Because of all the yarn overs the bottom half of the garment will be very airy and gathering parts of it up shouldn't be a problem, which is something I was slightly concerned about at the beginning of this project.
I am so happy that I remembered to place button holes in the front bands. This sweater would not do well with the distraction of button loops or tabs (as I used on Bonnie Kate). I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but I bought small mother of pearl buttons for Mary. Delicate, feminine, and pretty neutral. Overall a very safe choice.
In Other News
I'm having some trouble with my eyes recently. It seems to happen mostly when I'm tired, but I've found my vision getting a little blurry and feeling a pressure behind my eyes (toward the bridge of my nose). The pressure feels like it could be related to my sinuses, which I'd rather deal with, because I've also been getting an odd sensation in my ear as well. Eye problems kinda freak me out. My eyesight is so horrible and there is a history of eye related problems in the family, so I always feel like I've got some big bad monster looming ahead of me. I've promised myself that I will be get an eye exam (and fun new glasses!) sometime in the very near future. I'd like to say at the end of this month.
To end this day's post I have a question...
Length. I'm aiming for Mary to fall at the hips, at least for my own version. How long do you like your sweaters to be? Leave a comment to let me know! (and make sure you note what size (S,M,L, etc. or bust inches) this length would apply to.
February 13, 2010
Scotch Mary and I went on a knitting trip today to Starbucks. I am delighted to report that both of us were very well behaved and had a nice time. No stitches were lost, no other projects were cast on. It was just me, Mary, coffee, and knitting friends for the afternoon.
Scotch Mary's Progress
The longer the lace rib section gets, the more I like the texture of it. It's so very nice and scrunchy right now. Obviously I will block it out when I'm done and that scrunch factor will be gone, but for now I'm enjoying grabbing a fistful of material and feeling the texture in my hand. When I do get around to the point of having to block it I'm going to be stretching the stitches down more than out. Right now I'm feeling very optimistic about the design. The drape of the fabric seems like it will definitely work with the idea of the i-cord lacing on the sides. Because of all the yarn overs the bottom half of the garment will be very airy and gathering parts of it up shouldn't be a problem, which is something I was slightly concerned about at the beginning of this project.
I am so happy that I remembered to place button holes in the front bands. This sweater would not do well with the distraction of button loops or tabs (as I used on Bonnie Kate). I can't remember if I mentioned it before, but I bought small mother of pearl buttons for Mary. Delicate, feminine, and pretty neutral. Overall a very safe choice.
In Other News
I'm having some trouble with my eyes recently. It seems to happen mostly when I'm tired, but I've found my vision getting a little blurry and feeling a pressure behind my eyes (toward the bridge of my nose). The pressure feels like it could be related to my sinuses, which I'd rather deal with, because I've also been getting an odd sensation in my ear as well. Eye problems kinda freak me out. My eyesight is so horrible and there is a history of eye related problems in the family, so I always feel like I've got some big bad monster looming ahead of me. I've promised myself that I will be get an eye exam (and fun new glasses!) sometime in the very near future. I'd like to say at the end of this month.
To end this day's post I have a question...
Length. I'm aiming for Mary to fall at the hips, at least for my own version. How long do you like your sweaters to be? Leave a comment to let me know! (and make sure you note what size (S,M,L, etc. or bust inches) this length would apply to.
The Sweater Project: Day Fourteen
February 14, 2010 ~ Happy Valentines Day!
Sizing... I have heard back from some of my [absolutely wonderful, generous, and awesome] test knitters on sizing notes. It has been mentioned that sometimes the raglan shaping in the larger sizes may not fit the best due to the increases in the armhole shaping and how deep of an armhole that creates. Since I'm in the early stages of my sweater design career I'd like to hear more opinions on this. I do have the CYCA guidelines to refer back to, so I can see what the general proportions should be, but it's always nice to have input from people other than always relying on charts and what is supposed to be "normal."
In my sizing of Scotch Mary I've really been trying to pay attention to all the numbers. I wrote it out (roughly) the other day for all sizes up to the point of separating the sleeve stitches (after that the math is much simpler). I know I personally don't want huge armholes or baggy sleeves (in comparison to the body), so I worked the increases to a point to meet the armhole depth and upper arm circumference, and then worked a couple more increase rows to get to a good bust size. I'm feeling pretty good about this.
Today is a short day for knitting. I've got to go shower up and get ready to meet my honey for a Valentines evening together.
February 14, 2010 ~ Happy Valentines Day!
Sizing... I have heard back from some of my [absolutely wonderful, generous, and awesome] test knitters on sizing notes. It has been mentioned that sometimes the raglan shaping in the larger sizes may not fit the best due to the increases in the armhole shaping and how deep of an armhole that creates. Since I'm in the early stages of my sweater design career I'd like to hear more opinions on this. I do have the CYCA guidelines to refer back to, so I can see what the general proportions should be, but it's always nice to have input from people other than always relying on charts and what is supposed to be "normal."
In my sizing of Scotch Mary I've really been trying to pay attention to all the numbers. I wrote it out (roughly) the other day for all sizes up to the point of separating the sleeve stitches (after that the math is much simpler). I know I personally don't want huge armholes or baggy sleeves (in comparison to the body), so I worked the increases to a point to meet the armhole depth and upper arm circumference, and then worked a couple more increase rows to get to a good bust size. I'm feeling pretty good about this.
Today is a short day for knitting. I've got to go shower up and get ready to meet my honey for a Valentines evening together.