Hey Yarnies,

It’s time for another edition of Tuesday in My Queue. This week is Ivywild, by Carol Schoenfelder, a pattern that I think is particularly suited for the Spring that is just around the corner. Seriously, I don’t care what anyone says. Spring might be officially weeks away, but I come from the NORTH, darn-knit (tehehe. A pun), and when it’s raining, there’s mud, and there’s daffodils, it’s spring. Now, if that means spring comes early now that I’m in DC, and later if I were to live, say, in Canada?

So, Ivywild. I found this pattern in the fall, and when I looked at it, I knew it was going in my queue, because while I wouldn’t be interested in working on it NOW, I knew that it would be perfect if I did it in some sort of milk/soy fiber for spring/summer. There’s a really sweet one that The Yarn Spot carries, that escapes me now, but I know it when I see it.

What people are doing with it:
Most people seem to be sticking to the yarn that is called for, Knitpicks Cotlin. It’s a good yarn, soild for the price. It’s a cotton and linnen blend, which is right up my alley. Of all the spring/summer type yarns (IE: cotton, soy/milk/other manufactured protein fibers, seacell, linen, and silk, linen and linen blends are my favorite. I think it’s the Swede in me.) If I were to do it, I might experiment in some other blends, simply because I’m not too fond of cotton, unless it’s REALLY good cotton. This is because cotton tends to be heavy, and doesn’t quite have the body of my favorite winter fiber, which would be wool (with alpaca running a close second).

One of the things I would say to watch for in the pattern is where the end of the diamonds hit on the bust. I have a big bust, which might make the point of the diamonds hit in just the wrong spot.

Other things I’d look out for: I’m not quite sure what is going on with the cap of the sleeve, which doesn’t seem to be fitting quite the right way. That might be the way the decreases are worked, and it might be something else entirely, but I’d be tempted to mess around with it a bit.

I like the ribbing on the bottom, and the way it looks a bit lacy. I wonder in the cotton how effective the ribbing is, seeing that cotton doesn’t quite have the springback that a wool or wool blend would.

I’m also a bit dubious about the neckline. I’d be tempted to simplify it, and maybe get rid of the points. It doesn’t seem to be lying quite flat on the model’s neck, and that would drive me crazy. I might just go for something that would draw it in a bit more. You can see how the girl to the right here brought it up higher, and made it so it gathered tighter around her neck. This causes the diamonds to hit a different place on her bust, but I think it works for her.

I would seriously consider doing the whole sweater in reverse stockinette, not just the diamond part. I think it would be interesting. Plus, I love knitting reverse stockinette.

I’m not quite sure what the shaping for this pattern is, but I think it would be a simple matter to make sure you do some increases around the hips to make sure it expands nicely. It would also solve the potential problem of having the ribbing around the hips stretch too much.

The Specs:

Published: June 2010

Until later,
Jen