Finally Giving In!

Okay, I have been looking at these knitted headbands with the increase and decrease in the center for a good year now and always postponed to design one myself. Well now I gave in and here comes "Begonia". Yes, good design names don't come easy at all. I am thinking of letting my readers come up with a name for my next design......
I am quite proud of this pattern since it will work just well without any crochet skills. Most of the headbands I have seen so far have a crochet edge and a crochet flower. This one will be great without any crochet at all. But in case you absolutely have to have a crochet flower - there is a beautiful crochet flower in this pattern, too! I know, everybody will want one once you start making them.

Crochet Flower

Adjustable size!

Knitted Flower

 You can download the pattern for $6.00 right here
http://www.ravelry.com/purchase/angela-juergens-designs/83062

And there are more good news! I am one of 10 finalists for the 10,000 th design of the Patternfish website. Now it depends on which design gets the most votes. Check it out here and if you like my design please vote for me. http://www.patternfish.com/newsletters/6
This is my design:

The beautiful model is my Godchild from Germany. She spent two weeks in summer with us. 

The nice idea about this design is that it can be made with two different lace options! Ha! 

The orange lace is a repeat of the first row (quite easy to remember) and the second version (on the brown model) is a challenge but I know some knitters love that! 

I can't decide which version I like best but I would love to have one in every color!

The pattern is also available for $ 7.00 right here:http://www.patternfish.com/patterns/10218

Dancing Waves Scarf

I was trying to come up with a good use for Rowan's Alpaca Cotton which we carry at the yarn store. The yarn is gorgeous but somehow unattractive in a ball.

It is very soft and really nice to work with. This scarf is a good project for a fast gift, too! The short rows are actually fun and maybe a good lesson for a future more challenging project. I loved making this one!
The pattern is available on Ravelry.

My Newest Favorite Video on Youtube!

I could watch this over and over again! I love sheep! I wished I had one or two!

It is about 3 minutes long. Three amazing minutes! Enjoy!

First Prize Winner in Local Photo Contest!

 First Place - Places

“Water Diamonds”
Angela Juergens, Appleton
This was a familiar image for judge Brunette, who works downtown Menasha where this fountain is located. He was able to provide a history of the fountain: “When it was built, it was requested from travelers and U.S. embassies from around the globe to send a vial of water to be added to the fountain to begin its life. Menasha received water from four continents, three oceans, many rivers, and over 40 countries were represented. It is called the International Waters Fountain.” Angela Juergens, the photographer, spent New Years Eve at this exact location and is grateful for all of the downtown activities. “The gleaming copper pinnacles caught my attention,” she recalled. Judge Aubrey hit on one key criterion for selecting winners: “If you don’t know where this fountain is, you want to find out and visit.”

I am proud to win this prize especially since I just bought my camera about a year ago and am still working through the instructions! Find out more about the contest here:

Fox Cities Magazine

Time To Move On!

Last Monday I finished this scarf in one day! Now I wonder how many more I will make because it is a fast and luxurious project and - you only need two skeins of yarn! And affordable on top of it. I decided to make one in purple and one in "blood" which is the original name of that color and of course it is red. 

buy here

One humid hot day here in Wisconsin! Who said you can't knit in summer?! I guess right now one only survives inside close to a fan and a good AC would complete it. And here you have it! The perfect climate to knit!

Kate Middleton's Angora Shrug/Bolero Knitting Pattern

Today my friend Sara modeled Kate Middleton's wedding shrug  and she looked so lovely in it! Thank you so much! I have sold the pattern to Erin in Australia and she promised me a picture of the bride and the bridesmaids wearing the shrugs! I can't wait to see it!

Kate Middleton's Angora Wedding Shrug/Bolero: HERE IS THE PATTERN!

Thank you so much for all your patience! 
I always try to write my patterns as precise as possible and then some.....so don't be surprised that this is another long one. But only because I really try to cover every hurdle. You will find the exact row for every size where for example the button hole has to be. 
Not much measuring here. I believe in counting rows. There is just no way around it.

Done! The Angora Bolero of Kate Middleton's Royal Wedding

It is getting warmer (finally!) here in Wisconsin and it seems strange to work with such warm and fuzzy material. The outcome is stunning though! The pattern is easy to follow and seven sizes cover many body shapes.

For buttons I chose sparkly rhinestone buttons because they really make the look complete. The angora is super fluffy and the piece looks like a cloud. I wonder if it will ever be worn to a wedding.
The pattern should be available by the end of this week. With school being over and the kids around I don't get as much done as I had hoped. Sorry to everybody who is waiting patiently for the pattern to arrive!

Alpacas!

Yesterday I went to an open house at the  London Dairy Alpaca Farm in Two Rivers. These animals are so wonderful and just touching their wonderful fleece makes me want to sit down and start knitting.
Unfortunately it is getting summer now in Wisconsin (finally!!!) and it is hard to imagine to knit anything for colder weather although we are just past these snowy days.....the human memory is very bad. I have knitted a great cardigan out of Misti Alpaca Chunky weight yarn and I know from my own experience that the alpaca yarn is three times warmer than sheep's wool. It is also more awesome (sorry, dear sheep I love you, too).
So whatever project your are making out of alpaca yarn be aware of the warmth this fiber provides.
I will definitely include more alpaca yarn in my projects!

The Royal Wedding Shrug/Bolero!

Of course I was taken away with royal wedding in London, too!

Especially with the bolero that Kate wore with her second dress after the church. Never would I have thought to knit with Angora yarn again and every time I think NEVER I will of course do the opposite! That's why I had to design a pattern for this cardigan. It is not all done yet because I ran out of the fuzzy material but one more sleeve and then the pattern will be out there! It is gorgeous and of course would work for any other yarn as well.

The Photos Of The New "60 Quick Baby" Knits Are Here

I really liked making these booties! The colors are not as BRIGHT in the original ones! 

I hope they will warm many baby feet!

Little Paws

Many new ideas are floating through my head! 

The days are too short to put everything in knitting though. "Little Paws" is my newest baby booty design and it seems I always like my newest one the best. This one is definitely the fastest and easiest right now. I will try it out on my beginner students in two weeks and then I will know more. 

My photographer friend Andrea Isaacs has sent me this great picture of her daughter with a hat I crocheted a while ago. 

I am always amazed how beautiful her pictures are. Thank you!

It is still winter here in Wisconsin and it is hard to come up with projects for warmer temperatures. I am thinking of shoulder wraps - maybe something you could wear when you go to a wedding! The so called Mulberry stitch is one of my favourite stitches right now. I finished a very lacy scarf out of Rowan's Kidsilk Haze

The yarn is so lovely and soft that it looks almost blurry in the photo. Well, it could be me, too. I still have not read the instructions that came with my new camera which I bought last year in fall.....shame on me. But I rather knit than read instructions.

60 Quick Baby Knits

A new book by Soho Publishing (the makers of the VOGUE knitting magazine) is on the way! It will be out in May and I think it has been almost a year since I sent off my precious goods (not telling what but there will be three items from me in that book). Guess who knitted the hat on the cover??
Yeah, it's me. Nothing to be extremely proud of since it is "just" a hat. But anyway. I still find it amazing when something that I made reappears somewhere in printed matter. Even more amazing: when people knit something that I "invented" and my idea gets multiplied. Very very wonderful.

As for example "Santa's Favorite Stocking". I taught a class about the pattern and my student Karen has probably made the most stockings in the history of this stocking! One went even all the the way to Africa! Wow! I felt so proud. She made some without the Intarsia pattern and sent me a photo so wonderful it should appear in a magazine! Thank you so much Karen!

Fingerless Gloves!

My newest design! I love fingerless gloves and since I am lately more into crocheting I came up with these! They are easy and fast to make and I have tried to cover everything in my pattern which looks more like a book - just kidding! But with all the photos it is a rather unusual pattern and even a not so experienced crocheter could make these. I am sure! 

You can buy the pattern here

I