Michele Lee Bernstein, PDXKnitterati, designs and teaches from her home base in Portland, Oregon. She loves designing accessories, especially if they use one or two skeins of very special yarn. She’s fond of texture (brioche, lace, entrelac, elongated stitches, assigned pooling), and loves using interesting techniques to make small objects sing. Her patterns are available through Ravelry and Payhip.
Michele loves teaching knitters to be the boss of their knitting! She teaches at fiber festivals (Vogue Knitting Live, Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival), guild meetings, retreats, and local yarn shops. Her new book, Brioche Knit Love: 21 Skill Building Projects from Simple to Sublime combines her love for teaching and designing, using simple accessories to take knitters from the easiest one color brioche through more complex brioche techniques.
Michele blogs about knitting, food, and music at PDXKnitterati.com. You can also find her on Instagram, Facebook, Ravelry, YouTube, and Twitter; she’s PDXKnitterati on all platforms.
More:
Click here to subscribe to my email newsletter for news, techniques, and special offers on newly released designs. I send them once or twice per month.
I’m pdxknitterati on ravelry.com, and you can find my patterns there. I’m PDXKnitterati on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Payhip, and Twitter; you can follow me there, too. Come check out my Facebook page!
From July 2010 through January 2012, I launched and maintained a blog, Facebook, Twitter, and Ravelry group for Lantern Moon, a source of handcrafted fiber baskets, fabric bags, luxury knitting needles, and more.
My other hobby is music. I started piano lessons in 1998 with the kids. They stopped playing after 5 and 8 years, but I kept going. I was playing daily, until January 2008, when knitting and life took over. I hope to get back to being on the bench every day, someday.
I play the guitar, too. Just enough to sing around the campfire. Key of D, G, or A? I’m there. I used to sing with a group of friends, the Day Old Pastries. A little crusty, but fresh enough! It’s hard to get 7 people together, so now mostly I sing with a subset of the Pastries, the Pie Birds. We’re a trio of women who love harmony.
You can contact me at pdxknitterati at comcast dot net (You know the drill for converting that to a real email addy, right?)
PS: I know Knitterati is probably plural, but Knitteratus just doesn’t have the same ring to it. Or maybe I’m using the “editorial we.” Yeah, that’s it.
Knit on!
PDXKnitterati 
Hey Mish!
Love the blog site. You are so amazing! Knitting piano and blogging, not to mention parenting and wifing with such charm, grace and talent!
luv u
lw
Awesome. The first of my friends with her very own blog. I am very impressed.
Love those socks!
Twisted has a yarmulke knitting class on April 6th! One can then make a matching set – socks and a yarmulke.
Trying out the bib in the One Skein book. Another teacher is pregnant. I think there is something in the water at Pac Crest.
See you soon. Mouse (aka Susan B)
Michelle, Congratulations on your fabulous blog!!! It is fantastic and you are amazing….I could not wait to send the site to my friend in LA, she too will be so impressed.
Sue
I’m loving your patterns! Have downloaded a couple of free ones. I’ll let you know whenever I make one.
Keep up the good work. And get back to that piano – a little bit every day. ; )
Oh, I haven’t really connected my blog to my Ravelry. On Ravelry, I’m ‘llr.’
See ya ’round.
Thank you so much for my very first blog comment! 🙂 I will definitly post my stockings, and who would of thunk it? It is your pattern I am doing… I hope I serve it justice. This is my first time working on DPS I usually work on 2 circs, and my first time adding in another color. Your blog is absolutly wonderful too, I love that red shaw!!
Congrats, fellow newbie. Your blog looks good and you write well. I sent it along to my Aunt Lorna, an inveterate knitter who can keep up a conversation with guests while knitting shawls for the local vet hospital or baby bonnets/booties for neonates.
Mine is a cooking blog accessible at http://www.cookingwithdee.net. Keep up the content!
Dee
Michelle, what a beautiful blog. Your pictures are gorgeous.
Ah, a fellow musical knitter! I play the drums and my husband is an awesome guitarist. If only I could figure out how to play the drums and knit at the same time….
love your blog! totally subscribing so i can come back and live vicariously thru someone elses love of yarns ( I need to slooooowwww down on the stahing-ing 😉 )
Miche,
That hat is great. Is it Faire aisle (sp) or something else? I am interested but not ready for the F A patterns.
Laurie
Would love to do a hat in the purplish one and try my “hand” at some fingerless gloves with the blue.
Michelle,
I just took your Christmas stocking class and want to show you my progress! What is your email address?
Thank you so much for my very first blog comment! I will definitly post my stockings, and who would of thunk it? It is your pattern I am doing… I hope I serve it justice. This is my first time working on DPS I usually work on 2 circs, and my first time adding in another color. Your blog is absolutly wonderful too, I love that red shaw!!
+1
I purchased your Autumn Scarf pattern. My question is: does the scarf have to have two rows of loops? The scarf you wore to class looked like it was thinner. Please email and let me know.
Hi, Deborah: Yes, the Autumn Scarf has two columns of loops. Because it’s stockinette, it tends to roll in on the sides, so that’s why it looks thinner. If you wanted to change it to only have one column of loops, you’d have to change the shaping at the end of the scarf to make the leaf work out. I think the scarf would be *too* narrow with only one column of loops, but you are the boss of your knitting and can do as you like!
Cheers, Michele
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I need help! I have a family tradition of knit Christmas stockings and I need to find someone who can knit one or two stockings for me by Christmas, following the general feel of the stockings I have now. We have a new baby on the way and he will need his wn stocking.
Can you or someone you know in the knitting world help?
Hi, Tacy: I don’t have time to knit for hire, but you might try inquiring at your local knit shop to see if they know someone who does. Good luck!
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why has no one developed a pattern mimicking that of the Portland carpet?
Because it’s intarsia! (not my bag…)
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I’d like to be added to your email list
Hello Michelle,
When you tried your first design was there a guide or resource that helped you navigate?
For the first time in 7 years, I have actual time in quarantine and this has been a long time dream. Any thoughts??
Hi, Paige:
I didn’t use any kind of guide; it was just years and years of reading knitting patterns for standard language, and knowing certain shawl shapes that I wanted to fill in! Same for hats and cowls and mitts. But you might try Ann Budd’s books, the Handy Book of (sweaters, or hats, or other)…
Sounds like we will all have a lot more time to try our hand at new things for the near term.
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I have become obsessed with brioche knitting… just finished two of the patterns from Nancy Marchant’s Knitting Fresh Brioche and stumbled upon synchopated brioche. I found your pattern and wonderful tutorial video. I hope to figure this out so I can modify an existing pattern on my own! Thanks for the great resources!
Hi Michele, thanks for helping me with Mary’s class yesterday. I signed up on your mailing list. Brioche is next on my list! Dana/ Bazaar Girls
Would like to talk to you about s knitting problem I have
Am will to purchase time for one on one help
Sandy
503 201 2830
swlitster@gmsil.com
Your “Brioche 101” (Petite Brioche) class was brilliant. I previously knit a brioche moibus scarf (pattern by Brooklyn Tweed)–my first brioche knitting. I had to start over 7 or 8 times before I finally got it. That was 4 years ago and I didn’t return to brioche because it was such a daunting experience. You have made it make sense! Thank you and thanks to @BazaarGirls (wonderful yarn store in Port Townsend, WA with great Zoom classes).
Hi, Lane:
I’m glad you enjoyed the class! I hope you continue to fall in love with brioche, and that you come for another class. As you know, I love, love, love brioche!
Michele
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I came across one of your free patterns with video tutorial for the Boxed Hearts Coasters (steeking). I never steeked before until now. Thank you for being my first. I’ve shared your video and pattern with 12 other knitting friends. We love it, and you’re so knowledgeable and give so many tips. Thank you again. I’ve got a question for you: Your pattern is so well-written, and you make 2 coasters at once, is it possible to double-up the pattern and make 4 coasters at once? Please share your thoughts.
Hi Victoria:
Yes, you can absolutely make 4 coasters at the same time; you’d just add more repeats before getting to the end of the round. You might want a 24” needle. I started with 2 coasters because a 16” needle is perfect for 2, and that’s the smallest circular I like to use for homework!
Cheers,
Michele
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