Holy cats, it’s almost September! My favorite month: birthday, anniversary, back to school, back to knitting classes.
I’m teaching on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise September 2-9; I’m teaching Brioche Pastiche, hat or cowl. Ana Campos is also teaching on the cruise; she’s teaching Portuguese knitting. I’m looking forward to this! I haven’t been to Alaska since I was working in a cannery on Kodiak Island to pay for college.
I’m teaching a Zoom class on stranded colorwork for For Yarn’s Sake using the Shetland Wool Week Buggiflooer Beanie as a jumping off point. I have the feeling that I’m going to go rogue with my sample and knit a cowl instead; I haven’t worn any of the previous beanies (they mess up my hair!).
We’ll talk about yarn color dominance, ways to manage your yarns, and more.
I’m teaching Petite Briocheon Saturday September 30 in a new venue! I’ll be in-person at Hook and Needle, a new shop in downtown Vancouver WA, right across the river. Register here.
Virtual Vogue Knitting Live is the weekend of October 27. I’m teaching Brioche Pastiche, Slip Away Cowl (slip stitch knitting), and Syncopation (syncopated brioche). And I’m giving a lecture on blocking, too. Come knit with us, virtually! Registration isn’t open yet (there’s a virtual event at the end of September currently on the site), but you can sign up for their newsletter and you’ll be the first to know when classes are available.
I’m home from the nautical knitting cruise on the Schooner Zodiac. That was a ton of fun! But just before that, I taught a steeking class at Northwest Yarns in Bellingham.
I love teaching knitters to cut up their knitting.
It’s low stakes cutting; they’re coasters!
Easy-peasy.
The next morning we boarded the beautiful 99 year old schooner Zodiac, and set off on our adventure in the Puget Sound. The Zodiac is a sail-training vessel; you can choose to help sail and be assigned to a crew (based on which sail you’re operating), and also to a rotation of watch duty: chart house/navigation, bow watch, helm/steering, and messenger (between the bow watch and the wheel). Well why not try it all? How often does this kind of opportunity arise? And I taught 4 knitting classes, too. Busy busy!
“Who’s feeling burly?”
That was the question, and my answer was “Not me!” Mainsail crew was the first to volunteer.
“Who’s feeling agile?”
Well, I’m more agile than burly. The jib crew hops over the bow onto the stays to untie the jib sail. I was glad there’s a net under it, just in case.
And then we raised the jib. Haul that line!
Once we were sailing, we could knit until it was time to tack (turn the bow through the wind so the wind changes from one side of the sails to the other). When it’s time, it’s time. You can’t say “Just let me finish this row!”
Tacking! I’m on the wheel pulling hard to port, and the people behind me are turning the mainsail.
Diane at the aforementioned bow watch. There’s a bow watch because the person back at the wheel can’t see what’s directly in front of the 160 foot long ship. (Oh, and that’s a good look at the stay and netting under the jib, too.)
Abby the cat lives on board, and she likes to nap in the chart house.
Hoist that sail, Abby!
Zodiac schooner, image copyright Taylor Hodges, borrowed from Zodiac website
I couldn’t take a picture of the sailing schooner while sailing on it, so here’s the Zodiac in full glory.
The wind died down that afternoon, and we were becalmed. What goes up must come down. We took the sails down and stowed and tied them back up. (I climbed up on the booms to help stow the other sails, too.) We then motored to Clark Island to explore a bit. Shells, beach glass, cool rocks..
Vickie and I have been friends since college. The perfect roomie!
The sunset that night was reflected in the water through the trees.
And the moonrise was even more spectacular.
Nearly full Sturgeon Moon.
The second morning was foggy and a bit chilly.
Whale Watch Cap and Cowl
It was a great opportunity to break out the knitwear. I’d never actually worn this sample set before. It was perfectly cozy.
Crew member Sarah’s double knit compass rose hat was inspiring! She improvised off a pattern. We still had no wind, so we motored to Friday Harbor on San Juan Island to shop at Island Wools and see the town.
Our classes on board were in the salon, which is also the bunkroom. See the curtained bunks around the edges? Some people sleep here, and some sleep in small staterooms. Vickie was on sunset/moonrise watch during the evening classes, to alert us when it was time to peek.
Another lovely sunsetMoonrise; full moon was earlier that day.I see some brioche…and a nicely stowed sail!
After our last class on the third morning, I was a bit sad that we didn’t have enough wind to sail back to Bellingham. But that also meant we could just relax and knit. Mixed feelings, indeed.
There’s all sorts of craftiness on a boat. I wish I had a picture of some of the thump mats on board. They’re like small rugs made of rope, meant to protect the deck from dropped rigging blocks.
NOAA (Ironic Noah?) used 3 fathoms of rope for this mini project; a fathom is 6 feet or 2 yards. A fathom was originally based on the span of a man’s outstretched arms. Your best measuring tools are the ones you have with you!
It turned out well. A mini version of the heavier rope thump mats on deck.
I don’t know what these weighted knots are called, but they remind me of the little Lantern Moon stitch markers. (Googling tells me they’re called monkey’s fists. They’re worked around a sandbag or other weight, and help when tossing the lines.)
Baggywrinkles! These are made from frayed rope to protect the sail from the rigging.
Red lentil patties, roasted cauliflower, rice pilaf, tahini dressing
Every meal felt like a work of art. That’s craftiness, too! Vegetable forward, interesting seasonings, delicious. Caz Ludtke (@seasonedatsea on Instagram) does amazing things in a small galley kitchen.
I had a great time! Thanks to the Cephalopod Sisters Echo (right) and Heather (center) at Northwest Yarns for inviting me to teach on this adventure.
And thanks to Abby for endorsing my book! Or at least the cardboard box they came in…
Virtual knitting summer camp? Sign me up! Mitered square dishcloth class with Lorilee Beltman via Modern Daily Knitting was too tempting to pass up.
I completely forgot about the Zoom until midnight the night before, so Bisquee supervised my homework this morning. Knitting in bed with cats is the best.
The box came with yarn, needles, yarn needle, pattern, camp patch, and a cool kitchen tool. I knit the first homework i-cord with the enclosed needles (US 7 Clover straights). While I love the needles, I don’t like straight needles for i-cord because you have to keep moving the knitting back to the left needle. That was cumbersome, and the sliding back to the left needle made my knitting much looser and messier than just sliding to the other end of a dpn. I pulled out some Brittany birch dpns for the other three i-cords, and whoa! You know what they say about swatching on the needles you’re planning to use for your project? Check out the difference between the first i-cord and the other three. Seeing is believing! I eventually frogged that first i-cord so it would match the rest.
That patch!
Here are the three mini dishcloths I knit during camp/class this morning. Mitered square, 2 color intarsia, and a slip stitch pattern. All the dishcloths are started by picking up in an i-cord, so we had lots of practice with that. And they all have knit in i-cord edges, like the ones I used on my Thrumbelina slippers.
I really liked the i-cord edges on the 2 color slip stitch pattern. It was hard to see the edge pattern emerging until the 6th row…kind of like brioche! Just keep knitting, trust, and believe. Now that I see it, I may have to try it on my Slip Away Cowl pattern. If I like it better than my garter stitch edges, you may see a pattern update!
I also enjoyed the intarsia dishcloth. Intarsia is fun when it’s geometric shapes. I don’t love picture intarsia that keeps you tied to a chart, but straight lines are my happy place. I knit 2 Vogue Knitting Grumpy Cat sweaters for my kids a very long time ago. I started a third one for me, and I never finished it. That was the end of my intarsia knitting, until now.
Box o’ joy
All in all, this was a very fun way to spend a morning in the company of other knitters. Lorilee Beltman is an excellent teacher, very organized and well prepared.
If you have a hankering to knit mitered dishcloths with hanging loops, you can purchase the Sinkmates Dishcloth pattern (full size dishcloths with lots of skill building variations) on Ravelry. Use code FRIEND for $3 off; I think the coupon is valid through the end of July. And if you want to knit with this dreamy Rowan Handknit Cotton, you can find it on the Modern Daily Knitting site in a ton of beautiful colors. There’s a coupon for 10% off in the pattern, and that one is definitely good through July.
Now it’s back to the neverending bind off on my assigned pooling shawl. Not even halfway there yet…
I had a fabulous weekend teaching a two-day brioche workshop at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology on the Oregon Coast. The setting is lovely, nestled among the trees on a slice of land on Cascade Head near Lincoln City.
Brioche Entree
We started with one color brioche, a scarf in super bulky yarn (Brioche Entrée), just to get a feel for the sl1yo and brk stitches.
Brioche Pastiche
Then we moved on to 2-color in the round, setting up for Brioche Pastiche. I’ve revamped the pattern for plain brioche rib or leafy climbing vines, on either a hat or cowl. I like giving options.
Whale Watch hat and cowl
I also included the Whale Watch pattern, because it fits so nicely with the coastal theme. But Pastiche is a much gentler introduction to increases and decreases, so that’s what we actually worked on.
The weather was glorious all weekend, so we took our knitting outdoors!
Sitka Center features arts workshops all summer long. The other participants this weekend were creating beautiful things, hand building with clay.
Kristin showed me some of her beautiful work. I want to try this! Check out the catalog of classes for this summer here.
Cathy and I visited the Salmon River estuary after class on Saturday. That looks like a whale’s ribcage, but it’s really a tree.
That speck of a bird way out there may be a cormorant. It was fishing!Closer to the ocean, Cascade Head to the rightRoad’s End Point
I had time for a walk on the sand after my last class on Sunday. I headed south to the beach at Road’s End (north end of Lincoln City); that’s Road’s End Point in the distance. It was foggy on the beach, with blue skies inland.
Kelpwith barnacles!swiss cheese rock with shells
My stay at Sitka included the night after my workshop, so I’m writing from this sweet stairway nook on Monday morning. It’s drizzling now, and raindrops are hanging on the maple leaves outside my window. Perfect.
There’s so much art on campus; here are some things I saw while walking around.
near the office
And nature makes her own art, too. I love this lichen!
Bisquee wanted to come with me, but I had to say no. I needed to bring clothes.
In the home stretch…again
And I even had time to knit! More about that in another post. How was your weekend?
Posted onJune 29, 2023|Comments Off on Brioche Pastiche, cowl and hat
Brioche Pastiche, cowl and hat
I’ve completely revamped my Brioche Pastiche pattern to use in some upcoming brioche classes. The pattern now includes instructions for both a cowl and hat, in either plain 2 color brioche rib, or in the leafy pattern you see here. I’ve also added the swirling 6 section crown shown above.
Original Brioche Pastiche hat
The original 4 section swirl crown is still in the pattern, too. So many options to keep a new brioche knitter engaged! You can purchase Brioche Pastiche from Ravelry or Payhip. Use coupon code LEAFY for 15% off through July 6.
I’ll be using Brioche Pastiche in my intro to brioche class on the Vogue Knitting Cruise to Alaska in September, and for Virtual VK Live in October. Come knit with me!
I’m teaching a 2 day brioche workshop at Sitka Center in Otis, Oregon (near Lincoln City),July 15-16. No previous brioche experience needed; you should already know how to cast on, knit, purl, and work in the round. Lodging isn’t included, but there are many places to stay in the area. We’ll have a relaxing time knitting together!
This is my only brioche workshop this summer, other than the sold out schooner cruise in August and the Vogue Knitting Cruise to Alaska in September. Come knit with me!
I’m taking a break from my assigned pooling project to knit some brioche. You know I can’t resist.
It feels so good to have brioche in my hands again! I’m knitting new samples for Brioche Pastiche to use in a class; I’ll show you more in the next post. But for now, I just wanted to announce that Martha is the winner of my Next Steps in Brioche: Increases and Decreases class at Virtual Vogue Knitting Live! I’ll email her to let her know.
If you’re not Martha, there is still room in this class for you! It’s on Sunday, June 11 at 2 pm Eastern. Register here!
I’m teaching Next Steps in Brioche: Increases and Decreases for Virtual Vogue Knitting Live on Sunday, June 11, 2 – 4 pm Eastern (11 am Pacific). Vogue is generously letting me give away a seat in this class via my social media channels.
Deep End Hat and Cowl, and Madrona Cowl in lower right corner
In this class you’ll learn how to knit brioche increases and decreases that create the lovely patterning in two color brioche. We’ll also talk about fixing mistakes and reading a chart. Prerequisite for the class is knowing how to work two color brioche in the round. To enter to win a seat in this class, leave a comment on this post telling me what you want to knit with these increases and decreases. For an extra chance to win, leave a comment on my Instagram post for this giveaway. Contest closes at 11:59 pm Pacific on Monday May 29, and I’ll let the winner know on Tuesday, May 30.
I’ve taught a lot of knitters to knit two color brioche with my Petite Brioche class and pattern. If you don’t know how yet, sign up for my Zoom class via For Yarn’s Sake! The class is on June 3 at 10:30 am Pacific (1:30 pm Eastern). Learning from this class or from my free Petite Brioche pattern on your own will have you ready to learn increases and decreases.
Big thanks to Julie Rosvall (@julierosvall on Instagram) for letting me use her giveaway graphic! She’s teaching at Virtual VKL too, and I’m looking forward to taking her First Impressions: Print Making with Knitting class on Saturday June 10 at 10 am Eastern (7 am Pacific, oy!). Luckily, Vogue is recording our workshops during the June event, so I can replay it if I need a reminder from this early (to me) morning class.
Here’s a description of Julie’s class: Join textile artist and printmaker Julie Rosvall for a hands-on textile printmaking workshop. Julie will share how she went from knitter to printmaker, and why she loves capturing the pattern and texture of knitted shawls and swatches on paper. Participants will have the chance to try textile relief printmaking in a simple hands-on process, no experience necessary. Julie will provide information in advance for preparing textiles to print, or if you’d like to use stencils or other materials to mimic the textiles she will provide alternatives that can be picked up at your local dollar store or craft supply store.
You know I’ve been playing with block printing. Printing from knit fabric swatches will be next level fun!
I had the great pleasure of teaching for the Knitting Guild of Greater Buffalo this weekend. We had a day of brioche, and then we explored elongated novelty stitches (some of which are also great for assigned pooling) and designing with favorite shawl shapes. So much fun!
Mt. Hood and Mt. Jefferson
I usually choose my airplane seat by whether there might be a view of Mt. Hood. It only matters during daylight, and it was a very pretty morning. (No view? Aisle seat please.)
American Falls, from the Canadian side
Maureen was the perfect hostess/tour guide/organizing whiz. I met her (and Sharon, the other half of the organizing duo) at Madrona years ago. She took my entrelac and Syncopation classes and knew we’d have a good seminar weekend! My one non-knitting wish was to see Niagara Falls. We went over to the Canadian side for a better view.
Niagara Falls, American and Canadian, on the Niagara River
The water is a pretty green from dissolved minerals.
American Falls and Bridal Veil Falls (the smaller one to the right)Horseshoe Falls (Canadian Falls)Looking across the ring of Horseshoe Falls
I think the Canadian falls are prettier than the American falls, but I’m not trying to create an international incident!
Under the bridge
I didn’t think to take class pix until the last class, which was on shawl shapes. It’s a pretty relaxed class, and you have a bunch of mini-shawls when you’re done. Vince says he’s going to string his on a cord and hang them like a garland on his mantel. After blocking and weaving in ends, of course! Blocking is magic for shawls.
Favorite shawl shapesWhen in Buffalo, one must have Buffalo wings!
Thank you to the Greater Buffalo Knitting Guild for having me! I love teaching for guilds. If you want me to come teach for yours, let me know…
I’m scheduled to teach my Embellishment Cowl class on Sunday, May 7, from 1 to 3 pm Pacific. The class (and cowl) features slip stitch quilted lattice, a fancy fan stitch, and beads! I’d love for you to join me; I need a few more people to sign up before the class is a go. If you’re interested, you can sign up via For Yarn’s Sake here.
Saturday June 3 I’m teaching Petite Brioche, beginning 2 color brioche in the round. Sign up here.
Sunday June 4 I’m teaching another assigned pooling class. I’ll be using my new Starfall Cowl pattern, which is included in the class fee. The pattern isn’t out yet; my test knitters are having fun with it. It should be out the first week of May. You can sign up for class here.
That’s all I have on the Zoom schedule for now; I’ll start Zoom classes again in the fall. Carpe diem; let’s knit!
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 