Angelarae Knits

Favorite Book

"Hey! Hey! Take my picture! This is a good time, I'm sitting on my favorite book!  What? What's that?
You want me to move? 

Okay...just...give. me. a minute....


There!! How's that??

Meanwhile, here's the full set.  I had a very good Christmas!

Abby

This is Abby, from KnittySpin.  I knit this for my Mom's birthday with KnitPicks Gloss Lace and a Boye #6 16" circular.  I liked this yarn, though it isn't quite as glossy as Jaggerspun Zephyr.  It was still nice to work with and I like the color. So does Mom:)  Lots of work and little knitting going on right now. It's busy with Christmas and my Christmas gift list is pretty small.  Hope everyone is well and hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and Joyous New Year!

Two Hats

 

Here are two recent FO's.  The one on the right is Utopia.  I knit it for William.  He loves it, which is really saying something since he can be hard to please.  The one on the left is my own pattern.  I call it Gingerbread.   I have included the pattern for Gingerbread in the link.  Hope you enjoy it!

Award

My friend, Hakucho, presented me with this award.  Thank you, Deb:) Your blog is one of my favorites, so I feel honored that you picked mine along with a few other of my favorites as well. I would like to pass along this award to a few of my favorites.  Please post this award on your blog with a link to me and some of your blogging favorites.  Here are my picks:
Ann - talented and knowledgeable knitter and friend
Polly - prolific sock knitter and world traveler
Elizabeth - hiker, knitter, spinner, friend
Dave - master knitter (Dave knows everything about knitting, just everything...)
Shannon - beautiful spinning and knitting here and a sweet, sweet person to boot.
Li - talented knitter and scarf tie-er, she has a great sense of humor
Vyvyan-talented designer of all things knit-able
Eyeleen -Knits some just gorgeous things and has the cutest Doggy!
Knitterboy76 - Just an all around great guy...and he knits!
Del - talented writer, friend, and she laughs at my jokes.                                                                                          
Mel - passionate supporter and friend to everyone, great at *everything*

Pat - Another person who does everything so well...I'm jealous.                                                          

Sorry, but I could not narrow it down to just Seven.  I am blessed to know you all and count you as friends.

Ang

Silly

I mean, really...why can't I just take a normal picture of my just completed "Fountain Hat."
  

Oh, Okay...

I really love this pattern.  The starbursts are so pretty and I even got a compliment on it when I wore it out today.  For the most part, it is an easy knit, even though Interweave classifies it as an intermediate project. Here are the specs:

Pattern: Fountain Hat by Katie Himmelberg
Yarn: Knit Picks Gloss (70% Merino Wool 30% Silk, fingering) 220 yds/50g hank- Color: Woodland Sage
Needles: Size 5 16" circular Bamboo.
Mods: The only mod was that I used a different yarn and a size 5 rather than the called-for size 4 16" circular.  I ran short on yarn so I eliminated one or two of the knit rows between decrease rows.  Worked out fine.  I imagine that if you used a size 4 with this yarn, 220 yards would be plenty.  Also, I used some of the skein for another project, so there you go.

The cost of the Gloss yarn is $3.99, a far cry from the $20 it would cost to use the Shibuiknits Sock that the pattern calls for.  I think the Gloss is a nice yarn. There was no splitting or knots, and it shows off the stitch pattern well.  I am thinking of ordering more to knit another one of these as a gift.

Here's the completed Houdini Sock. I am working on the other one, so you will have to wait to see the pair.  Some of you have remarked that you love the yarn, as do I.  You can find some for yourself here.  This one is the Superwash Merino Sock yarn.

Love, love, love the pattern. Can't say enough.  Not thrilled with the cast-off...kind'a ruffle-y. But no trouble getting it on his foot,  so it's good, I guess. 

Last, another Ballband. I tried this one using only one skein of Sugar and Cream Stripes in Lime Stripes. I did not use a contrasting color. The color changes come only from the self-striping lime yarn. 

Genius

Cat Bordhi's Houdini Sock has tempted me back into the actual enjoyment of sock knitting.  I heard about it on a recent Cast On podcast and Googled 'Houdini.'  The pattern is *free* and I couldn't wait to try this technique, so I finished the Chevrons in order to free up the size one circulars, and cast on.  I did not try to knit two at a time.  For once, I chose forbearance.   I used this tutorial (again, by Cat Bordhi) to try Judy's Magic Cast On, and knit away happily to the length required for a size 11 1/2 foot.   I decreased for the toe and grafted it.  Perfect. I decided to use the cast on toe as the heel  and began the process of opening the foot for the leg portion of the sock.  This is the first time I have ever taken scissors to my knitting...

Here, I have arranged the stitches to begin knitting the leg of this sock...

And here the leg is beginning to progress.  I have to say that this is the neatest heel/gusset that I, personally, have ever knit. No holes. The yarn here is Three Waters Farm Merino Sock.    I'm not sure of the colorway.   It's been in my stash for quite some time and I have lost the tag.  Big hugs and thankyou's to Cat for sharing this technique with all of us knitters for nothing.  It has turned sock knitting on it's head, for me anyway.  I can see myself knitting up a basketful of the feet to add legs to whenever I feel like it.  Right up my alley. 

Grandma's Afghan (uh...socks)

I couldn't help but think of a crocheted ripple afghan in those 70's avacado, orange and yellow colors that were popular in the 1970's while knitting these socks. I think the pattern is perfect for this yarn for that reason.  Here are the specs.

Pattern: 'Chevron Socks' from Sensational Knitted Socks by Charlene Schurch. 
Yarn: Knit Picks 'Felici' Sock Yarn/ color: Patina -75% Superwash Merino, 25% Nylon
Needles: Knit Picks Size 1 24" Fixed Circular (nickel plate)
Method: Two-at-a-time on two circulars, top down, with a bullseye heel.

These were great fun to knit.  The pattern is easy to memorize and the this yarn is really good sock yarn.  It is very soft yet sturdy. The color job can be a little annoying, but I imagine it could be fixed using a different sized needle.  Also, I love these needles.  They are sleek and solid and make knitting socks a breeze.

Unfortunately, these socks are too small to fit my huge honkin' feet.  So, I guess I shall have to reserve them as a gift for my Mom.  She has a small dainty foot and loves handknit socks.  Think she'll like 'em?  

For Becky

Thank God for ball winders!  This is Knit Picks Shadow, Pink Posey Heather, 100% merino wool. The project is Evelyn A. Clark's Swallowtail Shawl, free here.

I was concerned about starting a shawl as a gift so close to a person's birthday.  Beck's is the end of August, which gives me only 4 weeks to work on this beauty.  However, now that I've started knitting, it's a joy and just flying by.  The pattern, thus far, is easy to memorize with almost no pitfalls.  No lifelines needed.  I may have to knit 2 of these!

I Got It! (I think...)

Well, my Notting Hill Vest is coming along okay, so far.  I am right that the setup row should be worked opposite the written directions, as the setup row is written to be knit on the wrong side of the work and, when knitting in the round, you are only ever working on the Right side of the work. So, I reversed the pattern and knit purls for knits and knits for purls which worked perfectly.  Also, I think the size will be perfect and the cables are doable for me, so far, anyway. I am considering making the vest more of a fitted affair using decreases on either side of the vest, in the reverse stockinette areas.  After all, it is meant to be a man's vest  so I think making slightly more fitted would make it more feminine.  There is plenty of room here to do a little shaping, though I am not sure how I should do this. If anyone knows, please submit a comment.  Here's what I have so far.  This is a much better representation of the actual color, by the way.

Sand And Sun...

...and I need someone to save me from myself.  You'll see what I mean shortly.  Meanwhile, I am so glad to have the day off and finally some time and wherewithal to both blog and knit.  I have made a near full recovery from the mystery illness of the last few weeks.  Believe it or not, Claritin is the miracle drug which eased all of my symptoms except the swelling and sore hands.  I am still suffering some joint issues, but liberal doses of B Complex and B6 seem to be helping.  My hands are almost normal again.  Thanks to all of you for your concern and best wishes.  It helped a lot.

I wanted to share some pictures with y'all of a last minute trip we made to Topsail Island on the N.C. coast.  These were pretty good ones of my son, William.  He and Emma played in the water on these boogie boards for hours.  What fun:) (click on each pic to enlarge)
  

I swear,  I know I could live here...it's so beautiful...



We had a great time.  I caught a blue fish, Will caught one, too and Eadmer and Emma just watched...not much for the whole slimy fish thing. 

Since I have been home, back from the salt and sea breeze, I have been inspired to knit some cotton cables with the Knit Picks CotLin I have in my stash. 


Not the best picture, colorwise, since this yarn is really a minty green. Now here is where the 'save me from myself' bit comes in...I have started the Notting Hill Vest.
You know that does not mean I won't rip in frustration after a few rows, especially since I have decided to knit it in the round by subtracting two stitches from the number for the front and back cast on's and adding them together.  So, since I am knitting the Mens 48" vest and the cast on number is 106, I subtracted one seam stitch from each side (2 sts) for the front and also for the back (4 sts total). So I cast on 208 stitches to knit this thing in the round.  Looking at the pattern directions, I see that the increases are a little more complicated that I originally thought they would be, so we'll have to see.  I think, if I knit the set up row twice, minus 4 sts., I should be okay, then again, the setup row is supposed to be knit on the wrong side of the work. Does this mean I should knit it backwards?(k to purls and p the knits?)  Anyone who has knit a sweater in the round that was meant to be seamed, please chime in here.  I've never tried this, so I am not certain of the pitfalls. People, when will I learn?