If at first you don’t succeed…

I worked very hard at not working on my current design project during the week before I went to the coast. I wanted to have an established work in progress so I could be sociable while I knit.

Fan stitch

I want to combine brioche and assigned pooling, two of my favorite types of knitting! I was planning to use a V’d stitch like in Fanfare. In my imagination, they’d be airier because there would be the brioche purl stitches between the knit stitches, and I was going to dip down and out to the side to make upside down Vs. But I found out pretty quickly that it would not be very much fun to make those Vs if the pooling color happened on the wrong side of the fabric. I need a pooling stitch that will work on both right and wrong sides. And it needs to fit into the rhythm of brioche.

I used brioche increases to make my Vs instead. So sweet! I set the project aside, ready to knit at the coast.

It took 70 rows of coastal knitting, but I finally realized: All of those cute stitches *really were* increases, and they were going to throw off my shawl shaping. You can see in the picture above where all the increases have thrown off the straight edge on the right. Oops. Also, I had elongated the Pear Leaf edging from 10 to 12 rows, and it didn’t really look like a leaf any more. Double oops.

So this is my project, frogged, at the coast. Since then I’ve knit and frogged and restarted it at least 5 more times while settling on the syncopated cream colored edging pattern (not pear leaf after all) and how to handle the pooling stitches. Remember, I make the mistakes so you don’t have to! And now I’ve figured out where it’s going. I’m kind of obsessed, and all I want to do is knit this gorgeous yarn. Why yes, that’s Yarn Snob Keith’s Bellina colorway again, this time paired with cream. I love the combo; it tones down the green just a little bit. No previews yet.

What are you knitting for spring?

Summer Embellishment Workshop at Sitka Center

I’m teaching a weekend workshop at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology August 10-11 on the Oregon Coast. The setting is lovely, nestled among the trees on a slice of land on Cascade Head near Lincoln City.

This knitting workshop offers several ways to make your plain knitting fancy! Drawing inspiration from nature, we’ll start with elongated fancy stitches that evoke the beauty of flowers, stars, butterflies, and bees.

Moving forward, we’ll delve into the art of color pooling, a hot technique that is the current darling of indie dyers.

To add a finishing touch, we’ll learn herringbone and other braids to elevate our knits to new heights. Join us for a creative journey where you’ll learn to infuse flair into your knitting, turning the ordinary into the extraordinary.

Sound fun? Register here. The workshop fees are for the workshop only; you’ll need to book lodging of your choice. It’s a wonderful relaxing weekend away. I taught a brioche workshop here last year, see that post for a taste of the experience.

See you at the coast?

Coming soon: Bellini Bubbles? (Test knit?)

I thought I was done with assigned pooling for a while, but during my Starfall KAL with Yarn Snob Keith I fell in love with a colorway used by one of the participants.

Keith’s Orchid: Bellina

The colorway is Bellina, named after one of dyer Keith’s orchids. When I saw it, I had to have it. I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.

Test Knitter Annie’s Prosecco Pop

When I asked Ann Berg to test knit Prosecco Pop in a smooth yarn, she used a pooling yarn instead of a slubby one. I loved the idea, but I wanted more pooling, and fewer eyelets. It took a few tries to figure out the proportions, and I even changed my mind after my sample was finished, but here’s the basic idea.

Working title: Bellini Bubbles

I was going to use a different assigned pooling stitch, but these star flowers are so perfect here. This was knit with one skein of fingering weight yarn, dyed for assigned pooling.

Star flowers, blocked

The pattern has been tech edited, and now I’m looking for a few test knitters. Is that you? Let me know!

Edit: Test knit is full, thank you!

Away, time to play

I’ve run away to the coast with friends. Apparently the unofficial first year for Crafty Moms was 2003 with kids and husbands, and the first year with just moms was 2004. This is the 21st year? Egad.

I have my knitting with me, but this is a great opportunity to explore some other fiber fun, too.

On the way to Rockaway, we stopped at Latimer Quilt & Textile Center in Tillamook to see the Homage to Audrey Moore, founder of the Damascus Fiber Arts School near Portland, Oregon.

Homage to Frida, Feeling Pink, Summer Days (Audrey Moore)

These are pieces from her series, The Ladies. They’re tapestry weavings on a Navajo style loom.

There are many pieces by Moore, and many pieces by her students. Reading their comments on their own pieces gave a good idea of her teaching style: Suggestions, comments, but she’d let you figure it out yourself. Perfect.

Besides the exhibit room (you can tell that it was a school auditorium at one point), there are two other large rooms. One is full of looms and other fiber fun, and the other is full of quilts and even more fiber fun. Some of it is for sale, and some are just for exhibit.

Loom Room
On the loom

I found some beautiful hand painted roving for sale by Mary Torrey of Manzanita. It’s 75/25 BFL and silk.

Wait, I don’t spin! Why do I want roving? Well, I saw a reel on Instagram where someone was using a Lemonwood mini minder to hold her roving while spinning. I commented on it, and Veronica from Lemonwood offered to send me one. I love it. It’s so much more ergonomically friendly than throwing roving over your elbow and hoping to keep it out of the way of your spindle!

Heart Heart Heart Mini Minder

I love how the hearts look like knit stitches.

I think the Mini Minder is really meant for holding a cake of yarn so you can knit or crochet while you walk (or not); your yarn unwinds off the outside of the cake. I’m usually knitting 2 color brioche, so that wouldn’t work for me. For a one skein project, sure! Many of my assigned pooling projects would love this. And you can take it off the spindle at any time, too.

Thank you to Veronica for the Mini Minder. She offered it to me with no expectation of a review, positive or negative.

I thought I’d practice with old fluff on hand. The Mini Minder works great; it doesn’t unwind before it needs to. Clearly my cop winding skills could use some work; I got distracted and suddenly I was off. Oh well; this is practice, and my new roving awaits!

Cordsmith i-cord maker

I also took some time to play with the Cordsmith that I bought at VKLive NYC. If you need yards and yards of 3 stitch i-cord; this may be your jam. It’s a little fiddly to get started, and then it starts rolling along. Occasionally I accidentally drop a stitch off the needle, and have to figure out how to get it back in sequence. Practice is helping, for sure.

I don’t actually mind knitting i-cord on double pointed needles. Also, I’ve made i-cord on any number of stitches on dpns, 3, 4, 6… And my usual fake way to make a cord is to cast on a big whack of stitches, and bind off on the next row.

It was lovely when we arrived yesterday; Carole and I walked up to the jetty and were pleased to see sea stars, and a seal frolicking in the waves.

Sea stars and anemones and barnacles, oh my!
Zoom in to see everything!

There are several bald eagles hanging out here. They like this post outside the house. Sorry for the blur; I can’t get close!

I hope you’re having a fiber fun weekend, too. And food. OMG so much food when we get this crew together! Delicious.

Knit for Food stats

Knit for Food 2024

We did it! We sped right past our goal and raised $379,010 to fight hunger both here in the United States and abroad. This was our biggest year yet. In 2021 we raised $265,810, in 2022 we raised $271,761, in 2023 we raised $340,000. That means knitters have raised over $1.25 million with our knitting needles!

Thank you so much for your support. I’ve sent coupon codes for a free pattern to everyone who donated to my campaign. Everybody wins!

Hat cranking station

We had a great time at the Puddletown Knitters Guild Knit for Food party, too. We worked on our own projects, and we also knit hats for Rose Haven day shelter here in Portland. We had 3 hat cranking machines; they are quick and efficient! It was my first time using a knitting machine.

my pink/purple reversible double thick hat

It was a very busy weekend, but I also managed to finish a design project. More on that in the next post…

Thank you again for your support!

Knit for Food: Today’s the day!

I’m knitting for food again this year! I’m participating in this 12 hour knitting marathon to raise funds and awareness for food insecurity. The money we raise will be equally divided among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

Please support me by donating through this link. If you donate to my link, I’ll send you a coupon code for a free pattern from my Ravelry store. (If you’ve already donated, I have you on my list and will send out codes next week.) Today (Saturday) is the last day to donate this year.

Puddletown Knitters Guild is having a knitting party from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. We’ll have door prizes and activities. Come knit with us! RSVP here. Not local? Check the Knit for Food website for local watch parties, wherever you are! You can also sign up to fundraise yourself, if you wish.

Nobody should be hungry. Let’s knit for food!

Red Alder acquisitions

I don’t stash a lot of yarn, which means I don’t shop for a lot of yarn while I’m at fiber festivals. But here’s what followed me home.

Red Alder stitch markers
Red Alder 2024 colorway from Greenwood Fiberworks

Organizers John and Becky gave me a sweet goodie bag that included Red Alder stitch markers and two half skeins of Red Alder 2024 sock yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks. This was a thank you for redesigning my Aspen Leaf Coasters into red alder leaves for my brioche class. I also made coasters for John and Becky. I’ll be adding the red alder leaves to the pattern eventually, in case you need red alder leaves, too.

Aspen and red alder leaf shapes

I’m never quite sure what to do with variegated yarns unless I add a tonal or speckle to tone them down, so I went to the Greenwood Fiberworks booth to find something suitable.

Carolyn (Greenwood) suggested this beautiful Violet semi-solid.

Sandpiper minis and Contempo

I was also looking for something to go with this set of minis in Sandpiper; I traded a copy of my Brioche Knit Love for the minis at Oregon Flock and Fiber in 2022, maybe? She suggested this Contempo variegated. I think it might end up as brioche, somehow.

Although these two skeins look pretty nice together, too! I’ll let all those ideas sit for a bit while I work on other things.

Knit stitch necklace from Birdie Parker

I may not stash a lot of fiber, but I can’t resist knit-adjacent lovelies! This is my new necklace from Birdie Parker. So many beautiful things to choose from, but I finally did.

I love my new entrelac print leggings. They go perfectly with my 31 year old sweater that’s still going strong!

Myrna Stahman

The last thing I brought home: 2 copies of Myrna Stahman’s book, Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves, which are a masterpiece of lace knitting. She is downsizing the last of her print copies, giving them away. I have 2 signed copies, one for me and one for the Puddletown Knitter’s Guild.

Okay, that’s my Red Alder takeaway. Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival is a lovely event that includes knitting, spinning, weaving, and more; save the date for next year: February 13-16, 2025.

Reminder: Puddletown Knitter’s Guild is having a get together as part of Knitting for Food. We’re raising funds and doing some charity knitting, as well as enjoying the company of other knitters. And we have great prizes, including the Myrna Stahman book.

RSVP through Puddletown’s page here if you’re coming to knit with us. You can also donate through my link, or sign up to fundraise on your own. There are get-togethers all over the country, if you’re not local to us. Food insecurity is a top issue for me; I’m happy to be part of this.

I’ll get to January’s VKLive wrap-up…soon?

I’m here, I’m there…

I’m every fiber-where…

including in other people’s media content! That’s pretty fun. And a great way to discover new podcasts/people to follow.

Erica’s Whale Conga Line

Erica of the “Bootie and Bossy Eat Drink Knit” podcast was a test knitter for Whale Conga Line, and talks about it in this episode of her podcast at about minute 26. This podcast series is lovely. This episode about a family gift stole my heart; I’ve subscribed and really enjoy the series.

Screenshot

I was interviewed at VKLive NYC by the fabulous people at Gosadi, a big sponsor of VKLive this year, also about Whale Conga Line. I’ve pinned the bit on my Instagram here.

Kim’s Brioche Pastiche hat with taller crown

And Kim of “Knit Together with Kim & Jonna” talked about taking my Brioche Pastiche class at VKLive NYC (I’m at about minute 36). It’s a great recap of her entire time at VKLive; she does a great job of making you feel like you’re there. Here’s a link to the episode on her YouTube channel. I watched it while working on my newest design; it’s like having a knit group in your iPad. Wonderful! I just subscribed.

Where am I next? Trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake for Rose City Yarn Crawl on March 7, 10 am to 3 pm. Hope to see you there!

Introducing Prosecco Pop!

When Shannajean (Shannon Squire and Lorajean Kelley) asked if I’d like to collaborate on a design with Knitted Wit Summer Slubbing to feature during Rose City Yarn Crawl, my answer was a big YES.

Prosecco Pop in Sakura

The slubby texture of Knitted Wit’s Summer Slubbing fingering weight yarn shines with simple stitch patterns in this triangular shawlette, knit on the bias. Alternating waves of nubbly stockinette and lacy eyelet bubbles make this chic piece perfect for warding off summer’s air-conditioned chill.

Prosecco Pop in Unicorn Dreams
Prosecco Pop in Aquamarine, photo by Shannon Squire

The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It’s also available through Payhip, link here. Use coupon code FIZZ for 15% off through March 11, 2024.

If you’re local, come visit me and Shannon at For Yarn’s Sake from 10 am to 3 pm on March 7, the first day of the Rose City Yarn Crawl. We’ll have trunk shows with design samples including Prosecco Pop and Starfall, my book Brioche Knit Love, and some Knitted Wit Summer Slubbing so you can make your own Prosecco Pop!

Upcoming events and classes

Rose City Yarn Crawl is just around the corner! We celebrate our yarn shops in the Portland metro area with a 4 day extravaganza. There are 8 shops on the crawl, and I hope to visit all of them. I’m hoping to at least visit the two I’ve never seen. One is Knotty Lamb in Forest Grove (a ways out), and the other is Ritual Dyes in inner SE Portland.

I’ll be having a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake from 10 am to 3 pm, along with designer Shannon Squire and dyer Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit). I’ll bring all my designs since the last crawl, including my newest design (coming out Monday, February 26), Prosecco Pop! I’ll also have copies of Brioche Knit Love to sign, if you still need one.

Prosecco Pop

Prosecco Pop features Knitted Wit’s Summer Slubbing fingering weight yarn. The slubby goodness shines in this easy to knit shawlette. Come see us at For Yarn’s Sake on March 7 to get your hands on this fun yarn; we’ll have it there for the trunk show.

Brioche Pastiche

Also in March at For Yarn’s Sake, I’m teaching Brioche Pastiche. This choose your own adventure class starts with learning 2 color brioche in the round. You can add increases and decreases when you feel ready; the class pattern lets you choose headband, hat, or cowl, plain or leafy. This class is 2.5 hours in person, March 24, 2-4:30 pm, register here.

Whale Conga Line and Tink Drop Frog

Not local? I’m teaching Whale Conga Line (brioche increases and decreases, and syncopated brioche) and Tink Drop Frog (fixing mistakes) for Virtual Vogue Knitting Online on March 15 & 16. These classes are recorded and available for 2 weeks after the class, so you always have the best seat in the house…YOUR house!

In person local classes

Rounding out the spring, I’m teaching Tink Drop Frog April 20 and Sheepy Steeky Coasters May 18 at For Yarn’s Sake (class listings soon) and Petite Brioche April 13 and Whale Conga Line May 25 at Hook and Needle in Vancouver WA (right across the bridge).

I love teaching, and would love to help you take your knitting to the next level!