Apparently I’m living my best brioche life today. This morning I got up early and took a VKLive class with Nancy Marchant, Lacing Up Brioche.
I learned 2 ways to make eyelet holes in my brioche, the double yarn over method, and the release purl method. Brilliant! I bought Nancy’s book back in March, but had yet to open it. I just needed someone to make me pay attention. It was 7 a.m. here for me, and 4 p.m. for Nancy in Amsterdam. There were students all over the world; thank you Zoom!
Here’s a better look at my swatch, with the light shining through.
Brioche item 2: I also taught a Petite Brioche class later in the morning; these are always fun. Twenty new brioche knitters sent out into the world!
Brioche item 3? I’m test knitting a hat for Hunter Hammersen. I saw her call for test knitters on Twitter, and her sample was so pretty I couldn’t resist. It’s knitting up nicely in Malabrigo Rios. The variegation in the dark color doesn’t show much on the public side, but the inside is spectacular.
It’s been a very brioche day. But not to worry, I also got a few rows in on my Half the Knit Sky KAL.
I just finished the next increase row, so my smile is getting bigger!
Tomorrow I’m teaching brioche increases and decreases, and Petite Brioche again on Sunday. Lots more brioche going on!
If all this talk of brioche makes you want to learn, there are still a few spots in my classes *next* weekend through the Peacetree Fiber Adventures online retreat. I’m teaching Petite Brioche and Next Steps in Brioche: Increases and Decreases. Check it out!
PDXKnitterati 
If it’s your best brioche life, Michele, I hope that makes it your happiest too.
I found the Craftsy brioche course of Nancy’s a bit hard to follow – and that was about 5 or 6 years back – so I moved over to Lesley Anne Robinson, whose instructions I grasped very quickly. You, being a professional, probably adored Nancy’s teaching.
I hope that one day in the indistinct future I’ll still be able to access your current KAL for Half the Knit Sky: this is a pattern that MUST be done quite perfectly.
Class was fun; I had a great day. It’s really nice that there are many teachers for most subjects; that means you can usually find someone who explains it in a way that works with the way you think. But for brioche lace, I think Nancy’s the only one teaching it; she developed it and wrote the book, so she’s the source!
As far as the KAL goes, come on over to the Ravelry forum; there’s a good bit of chatter going on there. And really, there are so many ways to fudge with this pattern; it doesn’t have to be perfect!
Hope you had a great birthday!
Thank-you, Clever One ! XO
FUDGE ?! Half the Knit Sky must not be fudged !
I have spoken.
[grin]
🙂 That’s a pretty good day!
I love the hat you are test-knitting. Just gorgeous, especially in the Malabrigo, which is such a favorite of mine!
I love the hat you are test-knitting, especially the way the Malabrigo is showing up. I love that yarn!
I love this yarn, too! it’s a little squashed on the 16” needle, but too small for a 24” needle. I may move to magic loop and see if that makes my hands happier.
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I find that I get frustrated with the 16″ needles because it’s hard to hold them at the angle I prefer; the cord is so short. I do like working on two circulars.
The 16” needles didn’t bother me before, but the last 2 small projects have been…bothersome! So maybe my hands are just getting older and crankier. I find magic loop to be slightly more controlled than 2 circulars; the waving ends of 2 circulars are distracting to me.
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Every time I see your Half the Knit Sky I get a little closer to deciding to go for it, and I think I even have a pair of yarns I think would work nicely and I’ve been trying to knit as much with stash as possible lately… I have something else on the needles right now (I’m not quite as monogamous as you usually are, but I try to keep things to a minimum), but maybe this is what goes on them next…