PDXKnitterati

A frog is (re)born

Posted on February 7, 2026 | Leave a comment

It was a toss-up about which of my frogged yarns was going to be on the needles first.

And it was this one!

two balls of yarn, and a bit of knitting

Remember I said I thought the dark purple was too contrasty with the pooling yarn? Before I went to New York, I popped in the LYS to pick a green, figuring that Mother Nature knows what she’s doing. But I didn’t love this so I ended up going with the dark purple again.

two hanks of yarn, before soaking to unkink it

I was really glad I wound 3 of my 4 hanks on my swift, because the dark purple that I wound on my 2 yard niddy-noddy was too wide for my swift when I was ready to re-wind it after soaking. I had to wait for DH to come home from a trip so he could be my human swift, the night before I left for VKLive.

The initial bit of knitting looks pretty good. Using the dark purple as background and a small featured accent helps tone it down. I’m not sure about my pooling motifs, though. And then I had another idea while I was at my aqua-fit class. I do a lot of mind knitting in the pool.

So this yarn is now the project on the needles.

brioche and assigned pooling knitting in greens

I’m realizing that the orange color pop is shorter than I’m used to, but it works fine for the motif I’m using. Part of the fun of assigned pooling is that every yarn is different, and you can choose what you want to do or not do, to adapt or let it be.

So this is my “mindless” knitting project to take with me to Red Alder Fiber Festival on Wednesday. I’ll be gone for the weekend, teaching classes and hanging out with other fiber loving creators. For now I have to set it aside and prep my teaching things, and pack!

VKL NYC 2026

Posted on February 3, 2026 | 4 comments

I’m back! I had a fabulous time teaching and playing at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC. I taught 5 classes and we had a lot of fun!

I think the one with the highest risk/reward ratio was my Log Cabin Love Coasters class, which involved reinforcing and cutting steeks, and then adding log cabin edges. These knitters are no longer afraid to cut their knitting!

I was thrilled to be a featured designer with GoSadi, a new platform for designers and makers.

My Whale Conga Line cowl was featured in the designer display (upper group).

What is GoSadi? According to their site, “GoSadi is your central hub for discovering, saving, and organizing your favorite knit and crochet patterns from across the web. Follow your favorite designers, keep track of your projects, and find endless inspiration all in one place—built to make your creative life simpler and more joyful.”

The Makers part of GoSadi just launched last week. You can sign up for a free maker’s account at this link. There are upgrades you can pay for, but the basic membership is free. Decide if you like it, and you can cancel at any time. I’ve been part of the Designers side of things for the last year, but I haven’t spent a lot of time on it. I’m not good about taking time to learn new things that aren’t knitting! I’ll catch up soon.

I was charmed by Sarah Divi‘s interactive art exhibit; she was here last year, too.

Ellie d’Eustachio‘s knitted coral reef was kinetic and tactile, and blacklit!

She said the corals were especially fun to knit, and encouraged me to touch them.

I posted lots more pictures on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, so if you want more you can find them at those links. I’m not quite done posting yet!

I spent all of my time in the venue, the Marriott Marquis at Times Square. It was super cold out and I didn’t get out at all, except for a show on Wednesday night after arriving.

I went to see Maybe Happy Ending at the Belasco Theater, starring Darren Criss (remember him from Glee?) and Helen J. Shen. It was fantastic, very sweet concept and very well done. And the ending? Maybe it was happy; I don’t know! There was a technical issue before the last (?) act. The actors were asked to leave the stage, and it was announced that they were working on a technical issue. Dez Duron (the jazz singer in the show) came out and entertained us with a few songs. And then Darren and Helen came out to chat a bit and say that the issue couldn’t be fixed that night, and we were sent home (getting a refund). So, maybe happy ending? I’d love to see it again and find out!

I’m home getting ready to head to Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival next week. It’s all brioche and assigned pooling for me next week! There’s still room in Brioche Doctor, Embellished Brioche, and Fun Stitches for Assigned Pooling, so come to Tacoma and knit with me!

woman wearing a handknit cowl featuring assigned pooling motifs — Fired Up assigned pooling cowl

4 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Fame, Knit, travel

Tagged GoSadi, Maybe Happy Ending, New York City, VogueKnittingLive

Green Tea Chai Scarf

Posted on January 26, 2026 | 2 comments

I’ve always meant to individually publish some of the patterns from my book Brioche Knit Love: 21 Skill Building Projects from Simple to Sublime. I managed to publish one, Seafoam Latte, and then the project slipped to the back burner. Oops.

woman wearing brioche knit scarf — Seafoam Latte

On to the second one, 3 years later!

A leafy green brioche knit scarf — Green Tea Chai Scarf

The Green Tea Chai Scarf is a two color brioche scarf, knit flat. Regular increases and decreases create the leafy pattern. The stitch pattern is easy to memorize, and it’s a great opportunity to learn to read your knitting.

Pattern requires two 100g balls of worsted weight yarn in contrasting colors. Knit to the length you like. Gauge is not critical. I used two balls of Malabrigo Rios in contrasting colors for my scarf.

You can find this pattern on Ravelry and Payhip. And in Brioche Knit Love, of course! If you’re planning to purchase more than 3 or 4 patterns, you’re better off purchasing the e-book or paperback. I like giving options. The download consists of two files: the pattern, and the abbreviations used in the pattern.

Use coupon code SIPPER for 15% off through January 31, 2026. (Editing to add: this coupon now works on both Green Tea Chai and Seafoam Latte! Use on one or the other, or both.)

A note: RIP Alex Pretti and Renee Good. My heart is broken for the people of Minneapolis.

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, my book project, pattern design, yarn

Tagged brioche knit love book, green tea chai scarf, Malabrigo Rios

Oops I did it again

Posted on January 23, 2026 | 4 comments

Peekaboo shawlette featuring brioche and assigned pooling

I should have knit the Peekaboo Shawlette on a smaller needle. I did correct that in the pattern, but the looseness bothered me in person. It made the motifs not quite close at the top.

I have a pretty good idea of what I want to do with this. I’ve charted it out and I just have to wait until the yarn is dry so I can wind it back up.

The lovely yarn is from A Chick That Knitz in the Singles Fingering in Forget Me Not and Glenhaven (green).

Stop me before I frog again!

I don’t have any further frogging plans, so I think we’re safe. For now.

4 Comments

Posted in Knit, yarn

Tagged A Chick That Knitz, frogging, frogging brioche, reclaiming yarn, recycling yarn

Wear it or Frog it!

Posted on January 22, 2026 | 8 comments

I have a shawl that I don’t wear, and I decided to frog it (rip-it! rip-it!) to give the yarn another chance to shine.

a purple brioche shawl with orange stars

I didn’t publish this design; I didn’t like the edge (this was my first attempt at putting brioche and assigned pooling together). And I decided (much later) that I didn’t love the high tonal contrast of this dark purple with the pooling yarn.

knitters by the ICE facility in Portland Oregon

I decided to frog it with the ICE knitters today. It was 31 degrees F when I left the house, and I knew my current tiny needle entrelac project would be too fussy for cold fingers. Ripping is much easier.

I got most of it done, but had to finish at home. Too cold!

Balls of yarn and a green Portland Frog Hat

Why yes, I was wearing my Portland Frog Hat while frogging!

It didn’t look too bad in the ball, but you can see how kinky the yarn is when it’s no longer under tension. I wound the purple yarn on my 2 yard niddy-noddy, and the pooling yarn on my swift. The swift is easier; I’m not sure if I put a twist in with the niddy-noddy.

The yarn has been soaked, and it’s now hanging to dry. I may use a lighter purple, or what if I went all the way wacky and used magenta? Too much? I have some velvety deep blue in the same base, and that could be nice, too. This is MadelineTosh Twist Light.

I need to get something on my needles before I leave for New York next week! I’ve packed my teaching suitcase with class supplies and tech, so I’m almost ready.

What are you dreaming of knitting this year?

8 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Brioche knitting, frogging, frogging brioche, knitting, MadelineTosh, portland frog hat

Planning, packing, knitting

Posted on January 18, 2026 | 7 comments

I’m feeling frightfully organized this month. I taught my first (online) class of 2026 on Friday; it was First Steeks for Modern Daily Knitting. We had a blast, and the chat window was filled with glee as students reported that they had cut their knitting. So much fun!

I’ve scheduled local classes through April. My next local class is on Zoom! I’m teaching Advanced Tink Drop Frog: Fixing Mistakes (including lace) on Saturday, February 7 via For Yarn’s Sake. This is a great way to up your knitting skills! Register here.

I’m reviewing Powerpoint presentations this week (oh! I forgot; the young people are calling them slide decks these days) for my classes at Vogue Knitting Live NYC so I can pack my teaching suitcase for next week.

collage of brioche plus assigned pooling

And I’m planning the classes I’ll be teaching at Red Alder in February, including my newest class Embellished Brioche: Brioche plus Assigned Pooling. I’m also teaching Brioche Pastiche (beginning brioche), Brioche Doctor, and Assigned Pooling. There’s still room in some classes; check it out here.

My calendar is tidy, so my mind must be, too! Sure.

7 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit

Tagged red alder fiber arts retreat, VogueKnittingLive

Knitting numbers games

Posted on January 9, 2026 | 14 comments

Have you ever had a knitting pattern tell you to increase or decrease a number of stitches evenly over a row or round, but not tell you how? Or have you designed or adapted something for yourself, and struggled to get your increase or decrease round to work out?

I’m a fan of this online knitting calculator from Worldknits. Alex Capshaw-Taylor is the generous soul behind this site, and it is super helpful to me right now!

More about numbers: I’m pretty distracted lately, and my handy barrel counter/stitch marker isn’t getting the job done for me. I sail past it, and then I can’t remember if I turned the number. Usually I can read my knitting and figure it out, but sometimes that’s not easy.

two kinds of row counters on a background of entrelac knitting

Both of these row counters show that I’ve finished two rounds of ribbing.

knitting row counter from Twice Sheared Sheep

When I move this chain marker from one needle to the other, I’m also changing to the next number. Now I know that I’ve advanced the counter.

There’s a little extra clip to mark the tens, so this can count from zero to 99. The clip requires a little squeeze to make sure it doesn’t slip off. The row counter is available as a straight chain, as well as this circular chain. I chose the circular chain because it doesn’t dangle as far down my knitting. I don’t want it to be a cat toy!

This row counter was a gift to me from Twice Sheared Sheep. Search for row counters on that page, and you’ll see them all, straight or circular, with various charms. (The link is an affiliate link, so if you order through it, I earn a small commission.) I like it so much that I’m planning to order a second one, this time with a sea turtle charm.

I first encountered Twice Sheared Sheep at Vogue Knitting Live in New York last year. They had goodie bags for the teachers, and I eventually used the cat clip stitch markers in my Jelly Jewels jewelry organizer. They were exactly what I needed before I even dreamt of this project.

cat clip stitch markers on assigned pooling knit fabric

I enjoy well-made products that get the job done, especially if they’re pretty, too.

How do you like to track your work? Have you ever used a chain counter like this one? I remember my Susan Bates peg counter, but I could never be sure that my pegs wouldn’t fall out!

14 Comments

Posted in pattern design, Product review

Tagged knitting, knitting calculator, knitting row counter, Twice Sheared Sheep

Happy new year!

Posted on December 31, 2025 | 9 comments

A quick look back, and then on to 2026.

collage of 2025 pdxknitterati patterns — 2025 PDXKnitterati patterns

I published 10 new patterns in 2025, and gave Brioche Pastiche a big glow up for my Modern Daily Knitting brioche class. Not bad! Patterns are: Jelly Jewels (jewelry organizer), Portland Frog Hat (free), Fantasia Cowlette, Simply Stellar Shawlette, Log Cabin Love Coasters (for January 2026 Modern Daily knitting steek class), Flower Power Entrelac, Scattered Petals, Fired Up, Starstruck, Peekaboo Shawlette, and Brioche Pastiche.

Seven of my new patterns featured assigned pooling (four of those combined brioche and assigned pooling), and five featured brioche. I do have my favorite techniques, don’t I?

The Portland Frog Hat got the most attention this year.

Eight of my Top Nine Instagram posts were related to protest, and the last picture wasn’t even mine! It was a tagged collaboration.

Time to move on to 2026! My first class of the year is Log Cabin Love Coasters, an online class for Modern Daily Knitting. Come cut your first steek with me! It’s very non-threatening when it’s just coasters. Class is on Friday January 16, and it’s recorded so you can see it more than once, or if the time isn’t convenient for you. Register here!

What do YOU want to knit in 2026?

9 Comments

Posted in classes, Fame, Knit, pattern design

Tagged knitting, log cabin love coasters, modern daily knitting, portland frog hat, Portland protests, TopNine

Craftivism in the news

Posted on December 27, 2025 | 7 comments

link page for The Guardian article on craftivism

I’m in the Guardian! Earlier this month I was contacted by a reporter about crafting and activism. I put her in touch with Tracy Wright, who is also mentioned in this article. The gist of the story is that common interests make it easier to participate in protest. True!

Knit on…

7 Comments

Posted in events, Fame, Knit

Tagged Craftivism, knit protest

RIP Barbara Walker

Posted on December 27, 2025 | 3 comments

Barbara G. Walker, 1930 – 2025. Feminist, knitter, designer, artist, inventor of the SSK.

Before the SSK? We used to SKP. Slip one as if to knit, knit one, pass slip stitch over. Barbara realized that slip, slip, knit gave you the exact same result. Quicker, and less distortion. I also use SSK inside my right leaning brioche decreases.