A Word About Bootsocks.

I have a feeling that "boot socks" mean different things to different people. To me, they are not just "socks that look good with boots". They are a working sock! A boot sock should be a little roomy so that you can fit a sock liner in. If you've never worn boot socks with a sock liner....oh my goodness, your feet are missing out. A liner is a very fine sock made of cotton, or sometimes silk. It wicks the moisture away from your foot and then your woolly boot sock will absorb it. So your feet stay warm and dry! The liner also provides the friction cushion, so that any rubbing is between the boot sock and the liner...not your foot. So blisters are uncommon with liners and boot socks. So that's why when I write a "boot sock" pattern they will be a little roomy. I'm thinking that just going down 1/2 size on the needles would probably remove the need for a liner if you don't want to use them. But try it, just once! When you're out in the cold, with your boots on and a lot of walking to do. It is amazing how well boot socks and liners work together and how much more comfy feet can be!

27 Knots Boot Socks

Subway Boot Socks

Fiddlehead Reversible Boot Socks

These patterns available here: http://www.ravelry.com/designers/moira-engel

Three Cheers for Fall!

I'm the first to admit that I am not a lover of sun, sand and summer. I wilt noticeably and spend a lot of time hiding indoors. Fall, winter and spring are my seasons. Not just because I knit either. It’s just something about me. Those first few colored leaves send me into a giddy joy that lasts straight through until June. Fall is my new year! I feel inspired to start new things, make my resolutions and get moving again.
This fall has been particularly busy. I’ve been fortunate to have been working with Three Irish Girls Yarn. It’s my first experience with their yarn and boy, do I love it! The stitch definition and drape of their “Kells” merino is amazing. It even smells pretty! My design “Arya Sweater” went live with their “Eunice’s’ Choice Club” for October. My bootsock design “Walkin’ in the Free World” was their “Sock Club” choice for September. I’ll be releasing both these patterns in my Ravelry Store in December.

I’ve also started work on a wrap…I’m not really a shawl person. I like having the long, wide wrap that you can wind around your head and shoulders. Here’s a sneak peek!

It’s turning into a bit of a career because I have to keep putting it aside to work on something with a deadline looming. I really love it though, I think it’s so pretty…or will be if I ever finish it!




My dilemma is a sweater that I shall call “Indecision”.

I bounce back and forth between loving it and feeling it’s not quite right. Maybe it’s the colors….I wanted a subtle change but perhaps I should have gone bold! It’s certainly not the yarn; I worked it in “Dream in Color” Classy. Super soft and delicious yarn, so I want to do it justice. The pattern is written, the photos are taken and I still can’t decide. More deliberation is required and some honest critique! This is really the first time this has happened to me, so I’ll try to glean some wisdom from it.

Other than knitting, I’m finding a challenge in my last offspring in High School. With 15 years between children…really, it happens… the whole school thing is kind of dragging out. So, as a homework support person, I find myself learning Math 10 again. Third time round you think it would be getting easier! I love math, it’s kind of like magic! I honestly find thinking hard for a few hours makes me more tired than exercise, too bad it doesn’t burn the same calories. I pray that there’s still hope my brain will rally and it just hasn’t gotten too old.

Bullies......worse than zombies!

I had thought that when I started to blog, it would be about knitting. However, once I started to write things down ~ I realized how many things I had to say! Probably not interesting for all, but stuff that I'd like to share or get off of my chest. So today I have been ruminating about bullies. My first experience with a bully was in grade 6. It was my introduction to many overpowering emotions; fear, despair, isolation, helplessness and loss of self confidence and self esteem. It lasted for about a year and probably changed the course of my life for a while. I lost confidence and found friends that I thought could protect me. It annoys me that I still think about that bully and it still hurts 40 years down the road.

That experience was NOTHING compared to the soul crushing pain and helplessness I experienced when it was my child who was bullied. She got it bad. It was physical, psychological and even the teachers had a crack at her. It started in Grade 1 and continued for her entire time in school. We tried homeschooling, but my beautiful girl was absolutely determined to find her place in the playground. My husband and I were at the school constantly. We tried mediation with the bullies...counselling and threats. Nothing worked. We didn't know at the time that my daughter had Asperger's syndrome. But we knew that she was different. She had a scary high IQ and was/is an extremely gifted violinist. Also, she's strikingly beautiful. You would think those things would guarantee social success. Nope. She dropped out of high school and went on to a very successful musical career. I found this book during her adolescence, it was amazing and depressing. I would highly recommend it though. Reviving Ophelia, by Mary Pipher.


Our son was a miracle baby, born 15 years after our first. He was diagnosed at 3yrs old with Aspergers. We were not surprised, he was already reading at a grade 5 level and could name all the planets in order....with their physical manifestations. Scary, for sure!! Our daughter begged us not to put him into regular school. She was right. We tried one year and the bullying started. I was amazed how vicious these wee little kinders could be. He's been homeschooled since in a wonderful program where he attends classes once a week and works at home with two visits from an amazing Special Ed teacher the rest of the week. I wonder if the real world will be too much of a shock for him....but at least until then, he is not being destroyed.

So that's the history of bullies for the formative years. What really blew my mind is the reality that bullies never go away. They're everywhere!! On the road, at work, in parking lots, grocery stores, everywhere!! My husband and I spent quite a few years in wonderment and self pity before it got to be too much and we decided that we needed to learn about bullies. We found quite a few books on the phenomenon and started studying. The one that changed the world for us was "The Gentle Art of Verbal Self Defense at Work" by Suzette Haden Elgin. My husband and I worked through the book together and it totally changed the way we communicate with each other and the people we encounter. A life changer for sure!

It was an eyeopener to find behaviors in ourselves that made us perfect targets. It was challenging to change those, but in the end it was totally worth it. We have a mental blueprint now that helps us decipher and diffuse situations that could become abusive. Sometimes, especially on the road...you just get out of the way. Don't make eye contact or flip them the bird (you can still do that in your head if it makes you feel better). This is a sensible video on handling road bullies.



So, they're out there....like the zombie apocalypse....only it's the bully apocalypse. Maybe I'm in a minority of people who think bullies are running amok and rampant. Maybe it's because I have special needs kids and that seems to be a red flag to bullies. Maybe it's just human nature and it's always been this way. I don't know, but it's definitely worth the time to learn how to deal with them without losing your power.

An Orchid Hint!

It seems that everything I do turns into an obsession at some point. For the last few years, besides knitting and designing, it's been orchids! I'm not an expert but I'm having success and lots of blooms! Here's a hint that I just learned...and if you look at the picture of the twiggy thing with a new blossom shoot, you can see that it works! When your Phalaenopsis is finished blooming, cut it just after the second joint(?) on the stem and if you're lucky it'll bloom again! Lucky Me!! :D

Here's some of my other orchids in bloom....so pretty!

OK...this one is a little weird, but it smells amazing! It's called the "Witch Doctor" :D

My first and oldest orchid, it's a Cattelya

Mason Jar Hack

My amazing yarn safe!!

My husband Brian is an avid woodworker. He does things the old fashioned way and uses and refurbishes a lot of antique tools. Brian also likes to use authentic finishes from long ago and has recently been using linseed oil paints. He needed a "safe" for his paint brushes and came up with this brilliant design fashioned out of a mason jar from the thrift store.

As soon as I saw it I knew that this was just what I needed to keep my yarn safe! Ours is a very "debris" filled household. Infiltrated with sawdust, cathair, crumbs and whatever else spills, crawls or makes it's way in. Right now I knit out of bags, so the idea of a mason jar was very appealing. It's pretty and I can see my yarn and what it's doing while I knit. He drilled the hole and sanded and bevelled it so that it's quite smooth and doesn't catch or wear the yarn. I am in love with it!! A $3.00 Ikea mason jar hack, yay!!

I'm building a website!

Wow, talk about a learning curve! I've been working on this for about three days...and I have to say that I'm pretty darn proud. I'm going to try to do different sorts of blog entries there, but some will be the same. This whole internet thing is very time consuming! It's amazing to look and see that people all over the world have had a look at what you have to say. Here's my new address, I can never get the link thingy to work...that learning curve thing again :) www.moiraengeldesigns.com

Exciting last week of July!!

I'm sooo excited that two of my favorite patterns....the ones that I probably had the most fun designing and knitting are live this week!
The first one is in Enchanted Knits 2014 by Interweave. "The Rumplestiltskin Wrap". I wanted to create something that almost looked like hammered metal. Sort of what I'd envisioned spun gold would look like. It was originally designed for Rapunzel, shuffling around in a drafty tower. The hood was a must because I figured that she spent a lot of time with her head out the window! It's knit in a DK yarn with twisted stitches, so it really didn't take that long to knit up. I was especially pleased with the border. I'd never used wrapped stitches before, so it was really interesting to do and I found the finished border really appealing. The yarn I used was Sweet Fiber's Merino Twist DK...totally delightful! It'll be cozy too!




The next pattern that came out was "The Tugboater Pullover". It's my first mens' pattern and was inspired (of course) by my Tugboat Captain hubby. I felt that the Maritime industries are pretty well represented in knitting; There's the Fisherman's Knit, The Gansy, The Merchant Marine's sweater. I felt that a lack of Towboat sweaters was a huge oversight. So this one is a little gansy, a little henley and a little cowichan with the bold motif. I don't know if you can start an official sweater for something...but in my rather cluttered mind, this will be the official Tugboat sweater!

Twisted Stitches

I'm trying out the wild world of instructional videos...I'm new to this so any critique is welcome. When I got my first Japanese Stitchionary I was in LOVE with all the wild twisted stitch patterns. I was familiar with the knit to knit twists, but these also featured knit to purl varieties. The instructions are pretty good if you can figure out the pictures..or have someone who can read Japanese! I figured most of them out, but was kind of frustrated to find that there were no instructions that I could find that also featured twisted stitches with a purl component. So, here we go, my first instruction video on twisted stitches that includes the elusive purl stitch.

New Project, New Skills!

One of the many, many things that I love about designing and knitting is that it is a bottomless pit of new skills and techniques to master. Every time I put yarn to needles I seem to learn something new. Sometimes just a little trick, sometimes a game-changing monumental discovery! This month was a very good fibre month for me. I found a Lucy Neatby video that finally shared the secrets of the provisional cast on. I was sure everyone knew but me and they weren't telling! I've finally learned to do a provisional cast on that doesn't take me hours of picking and snipping!! A provisional cast on leaves you with live stitches at the beginning of your work. So that you can set them free and graph them together with the end stitches. Or, if you don't want to sew a hem (I hate sewing), set them free and knit them together with the body of your work where you would have sewn the hem! The next mind blower this month was Lily Chin's "Join as you go knitting workshop." I bought it because..again..I hate sewing! It's not a technique that you could always use, but the possibilities are pretty exciting for me! I have also started learning Brioche! I bought Nancy Marchand's "Knitting Brioche, The Essential Stitch Guide" What fun! It's so easy too. For a simple Brioche stitch on an even number of stitches you just have to keep repeating one row.

After the set up row which is:
*yf,sl1 purlwise,yo, k1; repeat from *

Repeat row: *yf,sl1, yo, brk1 ; repeat from *

Continue to work this repeat row and you end up with a lovely, sturdy reversible fabric!

Abbreviations:

yf: Yarn Forward
sl1purlwise: Slip 1 stitch purlwise
yo: Yarn Over
brk1: Knit 1 stitch together with the yarn over from the previous row.


Knitting Essentials: provisional cast-on

Stargazer Tee errata!

I was very excited that my Stargazer Tee design went live this month. It's one of my favorites!

I received an e-mail this morning tho' that pointed out that the chart had errors. My charts and keys get entered into the publishers' programs so there's a lot of room for errors. It's certainly amazing work that they do and I'm surprised that errors so seldom happen. My head starts to spin after a few hours doing my own charts! So I'm going to add the chart and key here for anyone who needs it. Hopefully the word will get out and all will have a chart that is free from error. If you want me to send you the chart and key via email, my e-mail is bengel@telus.net

Here's some more corrections for "The Stargazer Tee" It had a rough ride to publication! There is a strange seemingly random string of stitch counts for the shoulder on the front. I'm posting this correct passage

Front
Place Front 108 (120, 132, 144, 156, 168, 180, 192) sts from holder back onto larger needle. Attach yarn. With RS facing, work armhole BO and Armhole Shaping same as Back, and, at the same time when piece measures 19 (19.5, 20.5, 21.5, 22, 22.5, 23.5, 24.5)", on a RS row start to Begin Neck Shaping, below.

Begin Neck Shaping
Work to center 14 (14, 16, 16, 16, 18, 18, 20) sts, attach another ball of yarn, bind off center 14 (14, 16, 16, 16, 18, 18, 20) sts, complete row. Work both sides at once. Bind off 2 sts at each neck edge every row 3 (3, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4, 4) times. Dec 1 st at each neck edge, every other row 7 (8, 9, 8, 9, 9, 10, 11) times. Continue in St st until piece measures 23 (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29.5, 30.5)" from CO. 21 (23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 33, 36) sts each side. Work BO Shoulder Shaping (at shoulder edge) to correspond with Back. 21(23, 24, 26, 27, 30, 33, 36) sts each shoulder.

Where do socks come from?

I was knitting in the hall at my son's school, it's thankfully the kind of school that you can do that sort of thing. I was making socks and was at the point where there were many needles! I add extra when I'm doing the heel flap. This little guy came up to me with a look of absolute awe and asked what I was doing with all those needles! When I told him that I was making socks, he was even more amazed! "You can MAKE socks!!". Yup I can. My mother made socks, my cousins and sister make socks. Even if they don't make socks, every one I can think of has at least received hand made socks. Imagine, there are people out there who have never thought of where their socks come from! I mean, if all the sock factories suddenly went down, we sock knitters would be rock stars! Actually I find it kind of liberating and empowering to be able to make socks and other woolies. It's really cool to have a need that you can fill yourself. Honestly I've taken it a little over the edge with the DIY. I make my own laundry detergent, scouring powder, air freshener, bug spray, bread, buns and last night I actually made home made deodorant. At first I think is was about saving a bit of coin. Then it became more about knowing what is in the products that I use. Somewhere along the line, after it became second nature to just whip things up, it became empowering! There are so many awesome videos, patterns and recipes that we have instant access to. It seems that nothing is impossible! I think spinning will have to be my next DIY skill. I have the spinning wheel and the fiber...I just have to figure out how to DIY myself more time!!

In case anyone would like to know, here's how I make some stuff. It doesn't take as much time as going to the store to buy it does!

Scouring Powder:

1/2 Cup Baking Soda
1/2 Cup Regular Kitchen Salt
About 10 or 15 drops of whatever essential oil you like. I use Tea Tree and Eucalyptus. Tea Tree is a natural antibacterial, so is salt! So there really is no need for bleachy, chemical cleaners.

Air Freshener:
1 Cup Distilled Water (truthfully, I just use tap water)
1/2 Cup Rubbing Alcohol (apparently Vodka works well...but that sort of blow the whole cost savings out the window)
10 - 15 drop of essential oil. I really like Lavender and Bergamot. At Christmas time I used Clove and Cinnamon Oil.
I spray this on carpets and curtains before I vacuum. I'm not sure that I would trust it on really fine fabrics...actually I'm pretty sure that I wouldn't. It works just like fabric fresheners that I've used and it's not stained anything that I've used it on. Of course...even my couch is machine washable...so my experience might not be the best to call on!

Bug Spray for plants:
Just make the Air Freshener, add a teaspoon of olive oil, a teeny blop of dishsoap and 5 drops of Clove oil, 5 drops of cinnamon oil. I use it to control fungus gnats, spider mites and other fungal infections and powdery mildew on my orchids and violets. Again...No chemicals!

Bobblephobia

April 18
There have definitely been certain techniques in knitting that I have avoided. Either because I don't like the way they look or because they are too fiddly! Color work is definitely fiddly. Especially Intarsia with all the little balls every where!!The finished item is often worth the extra effort though. I don't care for stranded color work because the strands are messy. Fair Isle is fun but very challenging. I struggle with keeping a flexible fabric that isn't too tight. Then....there are bobbles. I'm kind of a bobblephobe. Finding a place where a bobble will be attractive is difficult. Texture can be very effective in a garment but too much texture can really ruin a silhouette. Bobbles are a lot of texture! My goal is to work through all of the techniques that I avoid to add to my skill set. Bobbles will be my first adventure! I'd decided that I would use Barbara Walkers instructions because she is a genius! I found that they were still “too bobbly” though. So I modified the instructions. When I got to the stitch I was going to make a bobble in I:
K1,yo,k1 into the same stitch. Turn. P3. Turn. K1, yo, k1, yo,k1, now complete the row.
On the following row, when you get to the bobble sts, wyif (with yarn in front) sl1 purlwise, let yo drop, sl1 purlwise, let yo drop, sl1 purlwise. Now slip the 3 purl sts back to the left hand needle and purl them together through the back loop. That’s it a bobble!
I’m going to look through all the different techniques…and maybe try them all. The first step in over coming your fears is facing them!!

Transitions...where does wool fit in?

I spent 5 hours in the dentist chair yesterday! 5 hours! Normally any time I am forced into an inert state...I will sleep. The dentist was way too noisy (we won't get into that) so I spent 5 hours thinking. My mind wandered through miles of yarn and design ideas. Predominantly focused on Spring! The transition to Spring is an interesting time to dress for and knit for. It's unpredictable! You can be cold, wet, sweaty and hot all within a matter of hours. So of course layers are called for. A fingering or DK weight wool tank top is an awesome choice for transition seasons. I will be honest and admit a woolen tank top is too warm for summer...even if it is lace. Cotton and vegetable fibers don't insulate as well as wool so they really are a better choice for summer. Back to Spring and Fall though....keeping your core warm is the secret to a happy outside experience, really! So if you are wearing wool as a base layer, you will be warm. If you throw off all the outer layers and are in sleeveless light wool, you will cool down. Simple! I'm going to share a couple of tanks that I designed for these transition seasons. They are wildly different in design but share a silhouette. It gives you an idea how you can go in as many directions as you want to with a basic shape.
The Goldleaf tank" is actually knit in cotton for Universal Yarns. I had originally designed it in wool ~ so you could go either way with this one, or any of them for that matter. Goldleaf is an "Ode to Woodland Creatures" tank top! The Zelda in Knitscene was a totally outside the box design. It was one of those designs that I was totally in love with, but wasn't sure how it would be received! Zelda was one of two tanks designed with my wild violinist/accordianist/cellist/violaist (and the musical saw) gypsy daughter in mind! The last one (my very first ever published pattern!) is a free download for a hooded tank called La Gitana it means the Gypsy and is also the name of a favorite piece of music La Gitana by Fritz Kreisler

Goldleaf from Universal Yarns

Zelda from Knitscene Spring 2013

La Gitana from Knitty Spring Summer 2010

Weather and Wool and Socks...oh my!

April 12 / 2014
I learned a new word today…pluvial…it means “long periods of wet weather or climate”! I looked it up because “Pluvialphile” was listed on Facebook as someone who loves or finds peace in the rain! That’s me! I get cranky if the sun shines for too many days! I guess it’s my Irish genes or that fact that I've had skin cancer twice. I know that my pasty skin will never have a golden glow. Nope, it’s red, peel, pink….pasty. Living on the West (wet) Coast is perfect. Enough sun to break the monotony of constant gloom, then back to cloud and rain. This area of British Columbia is home to a northern rain-forest, yup rain-forest. Plus we have an ocean! Certainly a lot of wet and that’s what brings us to wool. Wool has an amazing ability to keep you warm even if it is wet. Synthetics just don’t cut it in wet weather. Polar Fleece for example, nice if it’s chilly but forget it if it gets wet. It reverts to its plastic bottle ancestry and forgets to keep you warm. If you keep your head covered in wool, torso and feet the weather doesn't have to stop you. Which is a good thing, because in BC , if you don’t go out in the rain you often don’t go out at all!
I have to admit that even if I don’t like sunshine, I really do like weather! I have a little weather station on my desk that measures barometric pressure, humidity and temperature. A good storm has me at my window…thunder and lightening and I’m out on the street! I know that’s not smart, my husband says I lack a fundamental survival instinct! I love a good wind storm too! Out here it’s measured in nautical miles per hour….that’s “Knots”! So when I designed my latest boot sock pattern with weather, wet and wind in mind, I had to name them “27 Knots”. Why 27 you ask?? Because 27 knots is gale force and if you look at the socks the cable looks kind of like it’s blowing away!


27Knots

I have a blog?

The other day I received a message from someone mentioning that they had read my blog!  Sadly, because I am old and the mind is slipping....I didn't remember that I had a blog.  That was the first shock, the next was "Holy Cow!! Someone actually read my blog!"  I wonder if anyone else has??  It was cause for great rumination as I have not typed a single word in this said blog for about 2 years.  A lot has happened in two years!  So many knitting patterns, so much growth in myself and my family.  I'm not sure I could sum it all up! I'm quite proud of the knitting patterns and designs that I've put out in the last while. I've learned a ton about knitting and my "product" over the past two years.  Here's what I would say are the game changers:

1. I've learned that swatches are NOT for babies!  It saves a ton of time and effort (and math) if you are sure of your gauge.  Swatch in stockinette stitch first, then in the pattern or texture stitch you are going to use.  Then wash and block it!  This is the foundation that the whole design rests on!

2. Test knitters are amazing!  I was hesitant to use test knitters because I was worried (mostly) about confidentiality.  For my self published work, I would say that test knitting is essential.  These wonderful ladies are thoughtful and insightful.  They find errors and passages that are confusing and make sensible suggestions as to how to make the pattern the best it can be.  It feels wonderful to release a pattern and be really confident that it's an error free, enjoyable pattern.  Also, it's nice to have their projects linked!

3. Rejection is ok.  It really is!  It just means that you roll that project on to something new.  I have yet to have a pattern actually die.  Sometimes it takes three or more submission trips before it finds a new home. Plus there's always the option to just self publish!


4. I am learning all the time.  There will never be a time when a new design doesn't add something new to my skill set.  That's what makes it fun.  I don't want to just produce lots and lots of patterns.  I want to try something I haven't done before and share that new skill with other people who maybe haven't tried it either! It makes the whole thing exciting!  Believe me when I say there are a few skills that have changed my knitting life!


Here's a free sock pattern, it's a slip stitch or mosaic stitch (there is some debate). So you can achieve colorwork but only use one color at a time...it's kind of like magic!
http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/sock-feat