Floral Rhapsody is a two color half-pi (semi-circular) shawl, knit flat. It features sweet little assigned pooling flowers on a striped background. The shawl ends with a sweep of Old Shale lace edging.
The half-pi construction keeps your patterning simple with only occasional changes in stitch count. A video tutorial for the Trillium pooling stitch is provided in the pattern.
Choose 2 coordinating 400 yard skeins of fingering weight yarn, one of which is dyed for assigned pooling. I used A Chick That Knitz Singles Fingering in Vintage Rose AP (pooling) and Respect.
The pattern is available on Ravelry and Payhip. Use coupon code ROSES for 15% off through October 10, 2026.
I’ve taught on cruises before. It’s an enjoyable way to travel; you get to visit interesting ports and your hotel room comes along with you! No daily packing and unpacking. We’ll have classes and dinners together, as well as knitting opportunities. Bring a friend, or make new ones!
I’m looking forward to VKLive in New York in January! This is the biggest event I teach at; it’s a whirlwind of fun.
Helix knitting is one of my new classes. I’m looking forward to teaching it there, and also at For Yarn’s Sake this Sunday, a little closer to home. Jogless stripes are so tidy!
There are so many classes with so many wonderful teachers; there’s something for everyone. The market at VKL is huge, and there are fashion shows and interviews happening on the stage all day long. VKLive is a great place to see old friends and make new friends.
Hot off my needles, it’s Floral Rhapsody! (Name may change, we’ll see. Give me your suggestions!)
This half-pi shawl features easy shaping, easy stitches, and assigned pooling. It’s knit with two skeins of fingering weight yarn, one of which is dyed for assigned pooling. I used A Chick that Knitz Singles Fingering in Vintage Rose (pooling) and Respect.
I’m looking for a few test knitters; let me know if you’re interested!
It took me six cast ons, but I finally heard what the yarn was trying to tell me. I love it!
Vogue Knitting is launching a membership community in September, the Next Loop. You can read about the Next Loop here. They’ve been running newsletters in advance of the launch, and I was pleased to be included in a discussion: Is brioche still hot? You can read the article here.
I love reading or listening to podcasts while I’m knitting. One of my favorites is Articles of Interest by Avery Trufelman. It’s about fashion and the things we wear, but not about being fashionable. Lots of interesting history. The current episode is titled Lace and Labor, and it’s about knitting, crocheting, and the history thereof. Give it a listen here.
Another favorite podcast is We Tried To Tell You, hosted by Marie Greene (designer, teacher, my ex-publisher) and LYS owner Sarah Keller. I love this industry insider look at knitting/fiber.
You can listen to these on Apple Podcasts, or directly from the links listed above.
Do you read/listen/watch TV while you knit? I’m not much of a TV watcher, but reading and listening work for me!
I’ve always meant to publish more patterns from my book, Brioche Knit Love: 21 Skill Building Projects from Simple to Sublime. Still working on it! I just released the patterns for the Hello Brioche set: scarf, hat, mitts. These three pieces are knit in single color brioche. The scarf is knit flat, the hat is knit in the round, and the mitts begin in the round, flat for the thumb section, and in the round for the top.
You can purchase them through Ravelry, individually or in an ebook. The ebook contains all three pieces for less than the price of two individual patterns. The link is here. Use the coupon code HIYA for 15% off an individual pattern or the entire ebook. If you’re a subscriber to my newsletter, you have a coupon code coming; I have to write the newsletter first!
I just checked on Amazon for the listing for Brioche Knit Love so I could update my Ravelry pages from the old Library House Press listing, and I noticed that the book is on sale for $17.69, 34% off list price. This is the same price as the Kindle ebook version, too. It’s a great deal. I’m not the one who put it on sale; that’s Amazon. If you’re going to want more than the Hello Brioche ebook from Ravelry, you should jump at buying the whole book on Amazon. I don’t know how long that price will hold, so go check it out if you’re so inclined. (When my original publisher closed doors, I turned to Kindle Direct Publishing to keep my book available; it was the simplest way to get it done.)
I don’t know about your weather, but it’s been a bit cool here in Portland. The hours of daylight are shrinking, too. I can feel autumn is just around the corner. Time to start knitting cozy things, so we’re ready!
My second Luminos Tee is done, and I love everything about it. It’s knit exactly the same as the first one. Pattern is by Yamagara, and it’s well written and easy to follow. (Ravelry link)
Luminos Tee
It’s been fun expanding my wardrobe this summer.
RanunculusFlyss: 65/35 silk and linen
I thought about knitting one more Ranunculus with some Handmaiden Flyss (silk and linen), but it’s really time to get back to work around here. I’ve started playing with more yarn from A Chick That Knitz; this is Vintage Rose (pooling) and Respect on her Singles fingering base.
I don’t have enough yarn to do what I was thinking of, so I frogged this and started playing with a different idea.
This isn’t quite right, either, but I’m working on it!
Where am/was I? I’ll tell you about it in the next post.
When I said I was knitting away on my second Luminos Tee, I really was knitting, away. I took a trip to the Oregon Coast with my friend Vickie. She’s a forever friend; we went to University of Oregon, way back when. She’s the source of my blueberry cobbler recipe!
We went to Yachats, which is near Cape Perpetua. Yachats has a lot of rocky shoreline which is great for rock hopping and tidepooling.
Wall of marine life: mussels, barnacles, starfish, anemones, dogwinkles, crabs
dogwinkles (carnivorous snails) come in many colors; I like the orange ones! the starfish are back!
I’m glad to see the starfish are recovering; there were several years of starfish wasting disease where their numbers were down.
starfish and sea anemonestiny crabstiny pelagic gooseneck barnacles on seaweedmore gooseneck barnaclestiny sand dollars and a heart-shaped fragment
This shelter was built by the CCC in the 1930s. Workers (young men who needed jobs during the Depression) earned $30/month. They kept $5, and $25 went home to the family.
crocosima on the trail
It was a quick and efficient getaway! I’m planning one more before the summer is over; I like short trips. Do you have summer travel plans?
Remember I gave away my first Ranunculus? It was too long for me.
Unblocked and blocked Ranunculus #1
I finished the second one in 5 days, easy peasy.
This is more the length I was looking for. I love it! It’s perfect over my many long sundresses (I think I have five?). Just enough when it’s too cool for bare shoulders, or if I’m looking for a little modesty.
I finished it before I went to visit friends in Sisters.
We visited the Whychus Creek Overlook, and saw the Three Sisters (behind us).
We could also see Mt. Jefferson, Black Butte, and the Akawa Butte Fire. This wildfire was about 6200 acres at the time, grew to over 27,000 acres to date, and is now 43% contained. There are many wildfires burning in Oregon; it’s a very dry summer. I hate that there is now a yearly fire season.
Missing Claudia!
We had a great visit and made music and food and fun.
Warm scones and yellow plum jam!
Here’s my ancient scone recipe that hangs on my fridge. It’s probably been hanging there for 25 years! I’ll interpret for you.
2 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp sugar for chocolate chip scones, or 2 T sugar for plain scones
Stir dry ingredients together, then cut in 1/2 stick butter (4 Tbsp) with pastry blender or rubbing in with your fingertips. Stir in 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, if you’re using them.
Measure 1/2 cup milk, then scramble 1 large egg into the milk.
Pour egg and milk into dry ingredients, mix until combined. Knead 4 or 5 times on floured surface.
Form into two circles, slightly domed in the middle. Cut each circle into 4 (or 6 if you want tiny scones) triangles. Place scones on ungreased cookie sheet, and let them rest for 10 minutes.
Bake at 425° F for 10 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.
As for the jam, it’s the plum jam recipe for MCP pectin (Sure Jell is fine, too) with a generous 1/4 cup bourbon and 1/4 cup chopped crystallized ginger stirred in at the end, then processed in a water bath canner for 10 minutes.
I’m knitting away on my second Luminos Tee, and enjoying it as much as the first one! My second skein of pink isn’t quite a perfect match for the first skein; it’s slightly darker and less streaky. But I started the new skein above the contrast color chevron on both the front and back, and used the old skein for the lower parts, so it all flows nicely.
And sometime soon I’ll get back to designing! It’s been a fun break, but I’ve been plotting and planning the next design while I’m in my Aquafit class. It’s a workout for body and mind…
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.
