Design Discussion: Squirrel Monkey

This is a woman’s pullover knit with Interlacements Toasty Toes. Finished chest measurements are 36, 40, 44, 48, and 52 inches. This is a nice project for knitters who want something a little different and a little classic at the same time. It features cables and lace, and I am currently looking at sizing it for men. Interlacements has told me that there has been some interest in a men’s garment with this design.

This design is from a collection inspired by animals at our local zoo. I mentioned this collection in the post on Zambesi River (a lace gaban for women). I love looking at the colors and textures of flora and fauna. Often when something catches my eye other things start coming to my mind which influence design choices too. I have often said the imagination is just as valid with design decisions as more objective points of reference. It is our imagination which colors our own inner landscape and helps create meaning.

In the case of this particular design, the inspiration was a small and delicate monkey known as a Squirrel Monkey. This particular monkey has some striking coloring mixed in with your drab browns, which range from bright orange to yellow to cream. This monkey is native to virgin and secondary forests of South America. They are typically one of the most peaceful of the primates.

In this design I decided to focus more on the delicate appearance of this monkey, and the playfulness of monkeys. Here is where the imagination comes in, as I had this picture in my mind of these little monkeys careening about in the forest.

I love combinations that are a little different, and when I saw the stitch pattern in one of the Barbara Walker stitch pattern books, I knew it would be perfect. Cables and lace, that tilt back and forth.  I also knew that I wanted a finer gauge yarn since I wanted to keep the delicate feel, so I decided to look for a yarn that was not any heavier than a DK weight. I saw Interlacements Toasty Toes at Stitches in the Olive colorway and knew it would be perfect for this design. It is a Sport to DK weight yarn, and I loved the varigation of the yarn. It has a little yellow in it, and the variation in the greens is enough to enhance the design rather than detract from the stitch work. It made me think of the leafy canopy these little monkey’s play in. The yarn has excellent stitch definition and a nice soft hand.

You will notice how the design has simple garter stitch bands. There are some that don’t care for garter stitch, but it is a stitch that I really like. In this case, it provides a nice non-rolling band to a garment that has a lot going on already between the varigated yarn and the busy stitch pattern. Part of good design is knowing when to stop with the detail, so that not every part of the design commands the same amount of attention. Not every piece of knitting needs to have a lot of detail. The important thing in choosing how much detail you are going to add lies in what you want for your knitting. That is the most important factor of all, what you like and what has meaning for you.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene

Design Discussion: Red Rocks

This Aran style sweater is knit out of Black Water Abbey 2-ply Worsted Weight in Rust. Finished chest measurements are 40, 44,048, 52, &56 inches. It was designed with 4 inches of ease, and is a unisex garment.

This particular design is the first one that I did with Black Water Abbey, and is one that I did for my husband Ed. He loves the color red, and when I decided to do a sweater for him I wanted it to be a little different.

I decided to use some traditional Aran stitch patterns, and chose a hot spicy Red after some of the stitch patterns made me think of rocks and Cacti.

In choosing something that has a strong regional identity as inspiration, an important element is color. This particular design would not have such a strong Southwestern feel if it did not have colors that suggested the Southwest. If I had chosen Burgundy, for example, it would have a completely different feel. So combined with the unusual color and stitch patterns that are either not used frequently (or not frequently together) gives this sweater the feel that it has…a little unexpected, a little unusual, a little exotic.

Men tend to prefer ribbing at the bottom of their garments, and this one has ribbing too but the stitch patterns flow into the ribbing. This is a much better treatment design wise, as it leads the eye into the stitch pattern than abruptly stopping it where the stitch patterns begin.

This pattern is carried by most of my vendors.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene

Design Discussion: Brambleberry

This ladies pullover is knit without your traditional type of edging out of Black Water Abbey Worsted Weight. Finished chest measurements are 40, 44, 48, 52, 56 inches. It has an average ease, and finished garment length is 23.5, 24, 24.5, 25, 25.5 inches. It is a feminine design which is very flattering, with it’s strong vertical lines.

This particular design was inspired by a patch of wild berries in my yard. We live on a little over 2 acres, in a house just over 100 years old. There are lots of trees - including walnut trees, crab apple, elderberry, and others. It is a good natural habitat for animals. In the spring we have lots of birds, who love the berries in the patch and the trees. I always know spring is here when I hear them all singing. And they stay, too, until it is time for them to leave for Winter.

I wanted to bring the berry patch into cold weather sweater, so I focused on color and stitch pattern to give the design the feel that I wanted.

Pink Heather was the perfect color, as it made me think of the berries. Next, since I was working in worsted weight, I knew that I would be using cables for the stitch patterns. If I were working in a lighter weight wool or a plant fiber, I would have chosen lace to create line. I had cables in mind, too, just from looking at the patch of arching canes. Very fluid and strong lines that would be well suggested in cables.

With that in mind I found the perfect stitch pattern. One of the reasons I think this design is successful in representing the feel that I wanted it to, is because I did not simply repeat the chosen stitch pattern over the whole garment. By working a small portion of the repeat over the bottom part of the sweater the long vertical lines are formed, which is repeated on the sleeves. On the yoke the whole stitch pattern is worked which gives the feel of the canes crossing back and forth. In the berry patch itself, that movement is a long, graceful arc. So even with the simple cable crossings which occur more frequently, the overall movement in the stitch pattern is more widely diagonal, as the eye follows not just the individual cable crossings, but the blocks of cable crossings, as they begin at the bottom edge and arc over the yoke, ending at the shoulders.

I chose not to put any edging at hem and sleeve cuffs. I had the design go right into the stitch pattern so that the detail would gradually build, drawing the eye up to the top of the garment and near the face of the wearer.

It is one of my favorites and is carried by most of my vendors. It works well in any number of worsted weight yarns and colors. As always feel free to choose what you love when working the design.
Peace and Knitting, JoLene

Design Discussion: Hickory Hollow

This handknit cardigan pattern was designed with men in mind, but I have been told women knit and wear it too (it has been labeled a unisex garment on the pattern). The mannequin is a little small, so the neckline looks lower than it actually is - although it is lower than the armhole. It comes in finished chest measurements of 40, 44, 48, 52, & 56 inches. The sample garment was knit with Black Water Abbey Yarns 2 ply worsted weight.

This is another design inspired by a place, with memories and feelings in the mix. It was named for my grandparents cottage on Palestine Lake (you can read about that a  bit and see the picture on the post about Through The Woods, another cardigan designed and inspired for this area).  I designed this thinking of my grandfather Caroll.

His normal day wear consisted of a tee-shirt and bib-overalls, which he wore like a badge of honor. He was a a dark and handsome man, who reminded me of a loaf of french bread. Crusty on the outside but soft on the inside. Everyday, hard working. He would often delight in pulling little pranks on us, too, like the time he told us his hat was made out of Hamster fur (we had a hamster at the time). I’ll never forget the sparkle in his eye and his grin when he would do stuff like that, or my Grandma’s voice in the background tinged with exasperation uttering one word…Caroll!

He would have looked great in this sweater, on occasions where they would dress up or just to putter around outside the cottage.

When swatching this cardigan, I took a simple cable pattern and altered one end of the cable. In doing so, it changed the texture of the cable and made me think of the Shagbark Hickory. The cottage was named for the Hickory trees in the yard. That is the emotive part behind the design. Home, comfort, loved ones of all kinds.

Peace and Knitting, JoLene