It’s official: Twisted, a local yarn shop, is closing. They were part of the Portland yarn scene for 16 years. In 2020 they went online only, just before the pandemic. Now it’s time to call it a day. Emily is moving on to her next adventure. I’m forever grateful to Emily and Shannon; they jump started my knitting career by inviting me to teach at their shop. We’ve all come a long way since then! Twisted is still open for a bit, and they’re having a sale on their remaining stock. Check it out here.
Portland is actually losing two shops this spring; Pearl Fibers Arts just closed yesterday. I’m sorry to see this shop close, too, but I’m happy that owner Cindy Abernethy is moving on to enjoy retirement.
Next, thank you to everyone who donated to Knit for Food, whether it was through my page or another. We raised $340,000, surpassing by far the totals during 2021 and 2022. That’s amazing!
I began the day knitting in church (it’s my usual practice, not just for this event), and posted this picture to Instagram and Facebook. Based on the comments, I’m not the only one who knits in church! I find that having my hands busy helps me listen; if my hands aren’t busy, my mind wanders. I like to bring a simple project, no counting. It works for me!
We had a nice group of knitters in the afternoon, and I continued knitting into the evening when I came home. I’m giving my hands a break today, and I’ll be back at it again tomorrow. I’m really glad I was a part of Knit for Food, and hope to do it again next year.
Posted onMarch 25, 2023|Comments Off on Knit for Food knit-a-thon is tomorrow!
Almost here! The Knit for Food knit-a-thon is tomorrow, Sunday March 26. Join Margaret Waddell (co-founder of Puddletown Knitters Guild) and me for an afternoon of knitting for a good cause; we’ll be knitting in the fellowship hall (downstairs) of Fremont United Methodist Church, 2620 NE Fremont Street in Portland. (Look for the balloons at the top of the ramp.) We’ll be there from noon to 5 pm (although I’ll be knitting all day). Puddletown Knitters Guild is supplying us with coffee and donuts, yum! And we’ll have raffle prizes, too. Masks optional, but highly appreciated.
Not local? You can support this charity by knitting where you are and gathering donations, or donate without knitting. Support me by donating through this link.
Knit for Food has raised over $255,000 so far this year. In 2021 we raised $265,810 and in 2022 we raised $271,761. I’d love for us to exceed those amounts. The funds will be shared with 4 food related organizations: Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
The last Zoom session of the day will be live-streamed on Laura Nelkin’s YouTube channel, 8:15 – 10 pm Eastern, that’s 5:15 – 7 pm Pacific. It will be time for fun and games, and I’m participating in one of the games at 8:45 pm Eastern/5:45 Pacific. Link here to watch. Come watch, and if you haven’t donated, please consider making a donation through my page. Donations will be accepted until 10 pm Eastern/7 pm Pacific, the end of the event.
This is what I’ll be working on, without the bubbly! After a trip to the frog pond, it’s coming along swimmingly, and I think it’s the perfect knit-a-thon project. Assigned pooling, mostly knitting, with occasional pauses to do the fancy stitch. No counting! (Because someone will ask: Yarn is Dream in Color Smooshy in Bali Wood, bag is by MadderRootMaine, and the glass was a gift so I can’t tell you where to get one! It’s several years old and most likely discontinued.)
Hope to see you tomorrow, or that you see me for fun and games on the livestream. I’m so pleased to be participating in this event. Food related charities are very important to me; we give to Oregon Food Bank and the Northeast Emergency Food Program on a yearly basis. No one should go hungry in this country.
Comments Off on Knit for Food knit-a-thon is tomorrow!
Posted onMarch 6, 2023|Comments Off on Puddletown Knitters Guild
I’m giving a talk about my love affair with brioche knitting, including a little introductory brioche project, this Thursday evening for Puddletown Knitters Guild. The meeting is both in-person and online. Here’s a link for more information if you’d like to join us! Masks and vaccinations required for in-person. Hope to see you there!
Rose City Yarn Crawl was my third event of the month. That’s packing in the fun!
On Thursday, the day of my postponed trunk show, I put on my snow boots + YakTrax cleats and walked up to Close Knit. I wore these ancient Selbu mittens; I don’t remember when I knit them. They were too big when I knit them, so I fulled them in the sink way back when, and they are toasty warm! Way better than gloves.
I bought this tote by Kirikomade (IG) that I’ve been eyeing since last year. It’s lightweight denim, with a sweet print. One pocket inside. So pretty!
I did make it to For Yarn’s Sake on Friday for my delayed trunk show! It was great to visit with intrepid knitters. I signed books and chatted about my upcoming classes (Assigned Pooling, Aspen Leaf Brioche Coasters, Embellishment Cowl).
I bought another skein of Dream In Color Classy Cashmere to knit another Fanfare Cowl/Hat (is that it’s name? Probably! Pattern coming next week) because the green/purple one goes to For Yarn’s Sake.
Bisquee says it passes the sniff test.
I didn’t make it to more shops; I had other things on my agenda. I did personalize my bag with pins from JaMPDX and ShannyPeasCorner. Love that yarn chicken! Then we hit the road.
We ended February with Bruce Springsteen, Saturday in Portland and Monday in Seattle. It was DH’s 50th Springsteen show. A big deal, but remember…Bruce has held my sock knitting.
It’s official; we have a place for local PDX knitters to gather on Sunday, March 26. We’ll be knitting in the fellowship hall (downstairs) of Fremont United Methodist Church, 2620 NE Fremont Street in Portland. We’ll be there from noon to 5 pm (although I’ll be knitting all day). Join Margaret Waddell (co-founder of Puddletown Knitters Guild) and me for an afternoon of knitting for a good cause. Masks optional, but highly appreciated.
I’m participating in this 12 hour knitting marathon to raise funds and awareness for food insecurity. The money we raise will be equally divided among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.
Please support me by donating through this link.You can also sign up to participate yourself, if you’re interested. Come knit with us!
PS: I’ll have some door prizes/raffle prizes from my knitting book collection to share with you. My shelves are overflowing!
We’re snowed in! This weather system stalled over us, and we have 6-10 inches of snow. That’s a lot for Portland; we’re not equipped for it and our roads are a mess.
This means I won’t be having my trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake today. We’re hoping that roads are decent tomorrow (Friday), and if they are I’ll be there!
I still have knitting on my mind. doesn’t this look like a sweater yoke? It’s the netting between two neighboring driveways, to keep the basketballs on their side.
The brickwork on my front porch looks like slip stitch knitting. And I love how the snow is a gradient from thin to thick based on how the wind blew. I see some bobbles in there, too!
The snow on my bamboo is lovely. (I’m looking out my kitchen window; please ignore the garbage cans behind it.) To get a better view I’d have to actually go outside, and I’m still in my jammies. Maybe later. I may even ski the neighborhood.
Here’s last year, and we hope to see you this year, too! Pictured with me left to right: Debbie Stone, Lorajean Kelley, shop owner Anne Lindquist, and Shannon Squire. Our trunk show is Thursday February 23, from 10 am to 4 pm. The shop is open from 10 am to 6 pm that day.
I’ll have copies of Brioche Knit Love to sign for you; this is a great last chance to get a copy before they’re gone! I don’t know if there will be a reprint, and we’re down to the last few boxes. I’ll also have samples of my applied pooling adventures, and samples for upcoming classes. Come say howdy!
Or OFFF, as we fondly call it. We missed 2020 and 2021, and lost our venue at Clackamas County Fairgrounds. This year found us at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany, Oregon. It feels a lot further away, 66 miles vs 20 miles, but I was glad it happened.
It was great to see so many fiber friends! (There were more, just not all pictured)
Lots of animals, and 450 fleeces for judging, and then for sale.
Upper left: Valentino, Breed Champion Romney, Topaz (Icelandic), lower left
Beautiful prize-winning knitting (4194 beads in the purple shawl, in 2 colors)
Both gourd art and coiling were new to me, but coiling is an old indigenous technique.
Gourd art + Coilng = WOW from Jane A. WilsonFelted dolls by Carolyn St Clair Hibbard
This weaving by Jane Herbst features wool from 131 different sheep breeds.
I taught Petite Brioche, and the classroom was a definite upgrade! This is how I like to teach since the pandemic: Overhead camera so everyone sees my hands demo at the same time, and then I get to go around the room to fine tune with everyone.
You can see all of my OFFF pictures in this Instagram album here. There are a lot!
The other nice upgrade: All the vendors were indoors, in climate controlled splendor. Not quite as charming as being out on the lawn, but the possibility of being overtaken by a monsoon doesn’t exist, either. The weather was gorgeous this weekend, but that’s not always the case for OFFF.
Loot!
I don’t generally buy yarn until I’m ready to use it. That keeps my stash tidy, and is moth avoidant, too. So I generally buy other goodies at festivals. I came home with dryer balls (what pretty colors!) from Compass Moon Creations, an RBG-themed notions bag from Kirbie at Change Your Fate Creations (love that I can see what’s in it), a notions tin from Miss Purl so I can give it away as a bead tin at my Embellishment Cowl class at Vogue Knitting Live NYC in February, and a cute sheep necklace from Sheep Lady Charms (she was with Valentino the Breed Champion Romney, above).
I also bought this bookmark/bracelet loom from Craft Emporium PDX (Shannon and Lorajean). It’s a very teeny way of experimenting with weaving. In my copious spare time. But I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I saw it last month!
I did bring home a little yarn. It’s a slippery slope, isn’t it? At least it’s not yarn support, which sits around making me feel guilty that I haven’t designed with it yet. This was just a trade (and I think it will be a little brioche confection). Or just something to dream with! Carolyn mentioned she wanted to learn brioche, so I traded her a copy of my book for this set of minis.
Speaking of my book, Brioche Knit Love is one year old today! Happy birthday, baby!
Have you been to any fiber festivals this fall? What was your favorite thing?
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 