I’m in Spain, Madrid and Alicante. Coming home soon. But I wanted to share this:
I happened upon El Gato Negro near Plaza Mayor in Madrid.
It’s a cute shop, and they had some fun speckle and space dyed yarn, too.
It matched my flower power jacket. I had to buy some! It’s cotton, sport weight, 2 100g skeins. I wonder if I can get the pink to pool a bit. It’s a pretty short color pop. We shall see, later.
Rosaria shawls, my 2014 RCYC MKAL design
I’m coming home soon. Rose City Yarn Crawl starts Thursday, and I’ll be at For Yarn’s Sake on Thursday with a trunk show! See my latest designs, and get my book, Brioche Knit Love, if you haven’t already.
Also, I’m teaching Brioche Pastiche, beginning brioche, on Sunday April 26 at For Yarn’s Sake. Come learn brioche in person with me, me, me!
I had a fabulous time at Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival last weekend. I taught 4 classes: Brioche Pastiche, Brioche Doctor, Embellished Brioche (brioche + assigned pooling), and Fun Stitches for Assigned Pooling. I was in my technique heaven!
Andrea
Andrea wore her Whale Conga Line to Assigned Pooling class. I love seeing finished projects from previous classes!
Katherine wore hers, too! And I loved wearing my Seagull Flight shawl from Brioche Knit Love. (Seagull Flight pattern is still on sale for 15% off with code FLOCK through February 24.)
It was fun to have Lily Chin teaching on this coast! I usually see her in NYC.
The marketplace was full of goodies, as usual. And I feel like an influencer: Last year I asked several dyers if they had assigned pooling yarns, and I only found one.
Tara from Stranded by the Sea gave me the yarn that turned into Fired Up last year (see it over her shoulder?), and had lots more pooling yarn this year in both fingering and worsted weight.
I picked up some Starry Night to demo in my assigned pooling class, and also picked up sparkly yarn…and chocolate.
Phat Girlz Fibre also had pooling yarn, and Ashley took my pooling class to make the most of it.
Dragonfly Fibers/Canon Hand Dyes had gradient and rainbow assigned pooling minis (very cool).
And Northwest Yarns had assigned pooling yarn AND my books, which we sold out. Woohoo!
Greta showed me her Portland Frog Hat. I’m getting to ya!
I also loved Susan’s little frog hat in the Runway Rubber Duck contest. He took 3rd place, yay!
Debbie’s duck took Top Duck and Fan Favorite. The small scale lace and bead shawl plus the red hat were well done.
Anna-Lisa’s group won the Top Flock award with this Olympic themed team.
And Mr. New Beginnings at the train station modeled my Fired Up Cowl.
I had a great time teaching, socializing, shopping, and knitting.
But perhaps brioche plus pooling isn’t the best choice for knitting by the fire during a late night game of Cards Against Humanity. I taught Brioche Doctor the day before, so I was definitely prepared to frog and get this back on the needles!
This morning I gave a presentation on Design Process and taught an assigned pooling class for the Greater Boston Knitting Guild; we had a fun 3 hours together! Let me know if your guild would like a presentation or class, too. Tomorrow I’m off to Spain to visit friends. DH is staying home with the cats. Hasta luego!
I’m back! I had a fabulous time teaching and playing at Vogue Knitting Live in NYC. I taught 5 classes and we had a lot of fun!
I think the one with the highest risk/reward ratio was my Log Cabin Love Coasters class, which involved reinforcing and cutting steeks, and then adding log cabin edges. These knitters are no longer afraid to cut their knitting!
I was thrilled to be a featured designer with GoSadi, a new platform for designers and makers.
My Whale Conga Line cowl was featured in the designer display (upper group).
What is GoSadi? According to their site, “GoSadi is your central hub for discovering, saving, and organizing your favorite knit and crochet patterns from across the web. Follow your favorite designers, keep track of your projects, and find endless inspiration all in one place—built to make your creative life simpler and more joyful.”
The Makers part of GoSadi just launched last week. You can sign up for a free maker’s account at this link. There are upgrades you can pay for, but the basic membership is free. Decide if you like it, and you can cancel at any time. I’ve been part of the Designers side of things for the last year, but I haven’t spent a lot of time on it. I’m not good about taking time to learn new things that aren’t knitting! I’ll catch up soon.
I was charmed by Sarah Divi‘s interactive art exhibit; she was here last year, too.
Ellie d’Eustachio‘s knitted coral reef was kinetic and tactile, and blacklit!
She said the corals were especially fun to knit, and encouraged me to touch them.
I posted lots more pictures on my Instagram and Facebook accounts, so if you want more you can find them at those links. I’m not quite done posting yet!
I spent all of my time in the venue, the Marriott Marquis at Times Square. It was super cold out and I didn’t get out at all, except for a show on Wednesday night after arriving.
I went to see Maybe Happy Ending at the Belasco Theater, starring Darren Criss (remember him from Glee?) and Helen J. Shen. It was fantastic, very sweet concept and very well done. And the ending? Maybe it was happy; I don’t know! There was a technical issue before the last (?) act. The actors were asked to leave the stage, and it was announced that they were working on a technical issue. Dez Duron (the jazz singer in the show) came out and entertained us with a few songs. And then Darren and Helen came out to chat a bit and say that the issue couldn’t be fixed that night, and we were sent home (getting a refund). So, maybe happy ending? I’d love to see it again and find out!
I’m home getting ready to head to Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival next week. It’s all brioche and assigned pooling for me next week! There’s still room in Brioche Doctor, Embellished Brioche, and Fun Stitches for Assigned Pooling, so come to Tacoma and knit with me!
It’s been a hot minute since I last checked in! I finished the Portland Frog Hat and sent it off to Sheryl, and donated her $100 to Northeast Emergency Food Program. And I started swatching a new project.
So far I’ve established that yes, you can do entrelac in the round on magic loop or 2 circulars or Flexi-Flips, but no, it would be terrible to try to write that pattern. If it’s confusing for ME, it would only be more confusing for someone trying to learn from it!
Athena
My Athena Entrelac Neck Warmer is knit in the round, and knit flat for the split at the bottom (top, really). It works because it’s on an appropriate circular needle with no extra cable to fiddle with. For a small circumference item like my current project, I’d need a 9 inch circular, and I don’t like working with those.
So the project is flat, and that means a lot more ends to weave in later. I could use a color changing yarn so I don’t have to work in different colors for each tier, but it’s supposed to be a stashbuster. Well, I have color changing yarns in my stash! But I’ll figure that out later. I have a couple other things I need to puzzle out with this swatch first.
Since I last checked in, I’ve had two Thanksgiving celebrations, one in St. Louis and one in Portland. I get around!
When in St. Louis, we have to acknowledge one of DH’s favorite things growing up. We actually had a box of 30, not 20, for a group of 9.
Calvin the Christmas CATcus sends you the greetings of the season.
It’s December, and I already have the lights on my house…because I didn’t take them down last spring! I just didn’t turn them on until now. Winning!
July was a jam packed month. Besides San Diego, I also visited Sisters, Oregon and Seattle, Washington. All fun!
I visited friends in Sisters. They took me to the Dee Wright Observatory, a structure built from lava rock. It’s at the summit of the McKenzie Pass in the Willamette National Forest.
Each window in the observatory looks out at a different mountain peak, and there are signs that tell you what you’re looking at.
They also make good photo ops! I don’t remember which Sisters these are. July was a long time ago.
Apparently it’s the North and Middle Sisters! This bronze was cast by students at Benson Polytechnic High School in Portland, Oregon in 1937, before my dad was a student there.
It was also a music weekend. Becky and I played in church. The other musical group was the Renaissance Sisters, who played baroque and renaissance music on soprano, alto, tenor, and bass recorders. Very fine work.
The church has a stunning view behind the altar. Is that Middle Sister, maybe?
Banjo welcomes you to happy hour…
On to Seattle!
Four of the five Adagio Babes met for a reunion. We all met through Sonata Piano Camp from 2000 to 2003, I think. We’re not playing a lot of piano these days, but the friendships last a lifetime.
We played tourists on a beautiful day in Seattle.
Mt. Rainier even put in an appearance.
It was a fabulous weekend. I’m so lucky to have met friends through music!
It’s been a little quiet around here, but I’m still knitting. More on that in the next post. How’s your summer? Or winter, down under?
I spent last week in San Diego, presenting and teaching for the San Diego North Coast Knitters Guild. This is a happening guild! They bring in guest speakers/teachers nearly every month, and have two retreats per year. Impressive!
Monday was travel day, in order to be in place on Tuesday. I arrived in the afternoon, so I went to the beach! Moonlight State Beach was just a half mile down the street from my hotel in Encinitas.
Not your usual concession stand hot dog
It’s a lot more crowded than an Oregon Coast beach, because the water is warm.
I walked a half mile south to where it was quieter. Perfect. Then back to my starting point, and a little ways north. I sat on the sand watching the waves, and it was so pleasant that I couldn’t bring myself to get up for an hour past when I thought I should.
I explored the main drag of Encinitas. Very touristy, lots of fun shops and eateries. And overlooks at the ends of the streets so you can see the beach and ocean.
The main drag is Highway 101, so 4 of these surround every tree and lightpost. .
I gave a presentation on my design process, and blocking accessories at the guild meeting on Tuesday. And I enjoyed the Show and Share time at the end of the meeting.
The knitters in Emmy’s family had a knitalong (KAL) of the Both Sides Now shawl that I designed for Knit Picks. It was fun to see so many of them, and to see how different each side looked.
And one of the knitters modeled a cardigan that she started in 1997. She had set it aside many times, and was finally determined to finish it. Then she ran out of her lilac yarn, so she color blocked one of the fronts in a gorgeous spring green. It looked fabulous, but the kicker? She found the rest of the yarn after finishing the sweater! I think the color blocking really added to the piece, so it was a serendipitous misplacing.
I was pleased to have a chance to wear my new Scattered Petals cowl.
I taught classes on Wednesday and Thursday: Brioche Pastiche, Whale Conga Line, YO YO Fancy Stitches, and Sheepy Steeky Coasters.
I loved that program coordinator Theresa bound off her coasters just before class, and she brought her steamer for steam blocking!
Mary is knitting a Starstruck shawlette. I love her color choices.
It was so nice to meet Karen, who test knit for my Brioche Knit Love book.
Theresa, Denise, Karla, Anne
I had a great time with this guild! I’d happily teach for them again.
I came home and hit the ground running. Lots to get done this week before I leave on Friday to go sing in Sisters!
It’s been a busy couple weeks. I did a photo shoot with my sister for my two upcoming designs, Scattered Petals and Simply Stellar.
Scattered Petals and Simply Stellar
I’m publishing Scattered Petals next Monday, after the July 4th weekend. If you’d like a 25% discount on the pattern when it’s published, sign up for my newsletter by Saturday July 5, and you’ll receive the coupon code via email on Monday. I publish my newsletter once or twice per month. I promise I won’t spam you; I don’t have the energy!
My favorite public art, by Botero
This past weekend DH and I went to St Louis to celebrate his mom’s 92nd birthday. It was an art-filled weekend! There is a wonderful exhibit at the St Louis Art Museum called Roaring: Art, Fashion, and the Automobile in France, 1918–1939. There are 12 fantastic motorcars, lots of art, and some exquisite fashion items.
The theme image at the entrance is from the painting “Eiffel Tower” by Robert Delaunay, 1924.
My favorite gown. Coco Chanel, 1937. The whole sheath dress is covered in flexible gelatin sequins, covered with a net overskirt and bodice. So gorgeous. Very Downton Abbey, don’t you think? And timeless. I’d wear it in a heartbeat.
This Lanvin gown (1929) features a rhinestone spiderweb. I love it.
Sweater by Elsa Schiaparelli, 1935. The information card noted that women’s knits maintained silhouettes while allowing for comfort and movement. But that asymmetric detailing at the shoulders makes me twitch!
I felt the need to make my own art, too. Probably more along the lines of Andy Warhol!
I have a ton of work to finish this week. I need to do all the background work to publish Scattered Petals. And I’m prepping and packing to go to San Diego on Monday to present and teach for the San Diego North Coast Knitters Guild. Git ‘er done!
My sisters and I took a quick trip to Los Angeles to celebrate our cousin Stephen’s marriage to Lauren.
the happy couple!Sisters and cousins (and cousin-in-law)
It was so nice to get together for a happy occasion. Lots of laughing and remembering, too.
Griffith Observatory
I wanted to do one super-touristy thing while we were there, so we went to Griffith Observatory on Sunday afternoon. Very cool. If we had many hours, I would have read more of the exhibits. This was just a quick buzz through.
HOLLYWOOD
You can see the iconic Hollywood sign from there.
Which means of course you need to try to get it into your picture.
My sister Janelle took this picture of me taking a selfie, sign included.
Sister Sharon knows all the best places for food. We had hand pulled noodles (just a snack!) at Lan Noodle, and then ice cream at Fosselman’s. This was before dinner…
My first boba tea! (that’s enough for two people, honestly)
I thought I was going to have time to knit during the weekend, but there was just a lot of chitchat, revelry, and food the whole time. I’d say I didn’t knit a single stitch, but I did give my cousin Sandra a mini brioche lesson. She’s a quick study!
We were in a restaurant, so I cut out the busy unrelated background. Do you know how to do this in the Apple photos app? Long tap the subject, and it it makes a cutout. Save the cutout, and use it elsewhere. Okay!
We were planning a trip to Japan for this month, but our plans fell through. You can read about that on DH’s blog here, if you’re curious. I had blocked out the back half of May for this trip, so we went to Plan B. Oregon Coast!
We stayed at a friend’s house near Pacific City. You can see Chief Kiawanda Rock from there. I know this rock as Haystack Rock, but there are three Haystack Rocks on the Oregon Coast. The most famous is in Cannon Beach up north from here. So calling this Chief Kiawanda Rock, at the end of Cape Kiwanda, makes sense!
I like the little sea arch kickstand on the north side.
I love beach walking; there are so many interesting things to see.
Look at all the colors in this sea foam.
This jellyfish is waiting for its ride home.
This Velella Velella (by the wind sailor) is too dried up to make it back to sea.
A couple steps can totally change your perspective.
Just like real life.
This area is known as the Three Capes Loop: Cape Kiwanda, Cape Lookout, and Cape Meares. We went to Cape Lookout on Wednesday and explored the South Trail (shorter, but lots of tree roots and challenging footing) and the Cape Trail (goes out to the end of the cape, longer but mostly easier footing). We didn’t have hiking poles with us, so we just did some of each. Lots of interesting flora! (This is the wet side of the Cascades and Coast Range, unlike last week’s dry side wildflower walk.)
Fairy BellsSalmonberry blossomsferns
We saw lots of trilliums that were past bloom, but there was one with just a bit left.
Trilliums are white when they bloom, purple after pollination, and this one was translucent, ready to disappear.
The views from the cape are spectacular.
looking south to Cape Kiwandalooking north to Cape Meares
On Thursday we went to Cape Meares to visit the lighthouse, a perfect rainy day activity. This lighthouse was in service from 1890 to 1963. It’s the shortest lighthouse on the Oregon Coast (on a tall cliff). We had a great tour of the light with a park volunteer; he loves lighthouses and it shows! He and his wife are living in an RV, traveling and volunteering when they’re not home in Boise.
Cape Meares lighthouseThree Arch Rocks, south of Cape Meares
And we even had one nice sunset.
We’re home again, and I’m knitting and designing and writing and…everything! It was nice to get away.
Oh! I did some knitting on this, but I’m not sure I love it. I think it needs more tonal and color contrast between the two yarns. What do you think? The pattern is all written and tech edited; I just need to knit a sample.
Last week (May 7), I went on a wildflower walk in the Columbia River Gorge, on the other side of the Cascade Mountains. That’s the dry side. I was enticed by the pictures of balsamroot in my Facebook feed.
I wanted a view of Mount Hood, so we crossed the river to Washington. This was one of the only clumps of balsamroot left this spring. I don’t know if it’s warmer/dryer this year, but last year there were a lot more! I’m going to have to put a note in my calendar to go in April next year.
There were a lot of poppies, though! I didn’t see any of those last year.
I love how luminous bitterroot flowers are.
The bachelor’s buttons were also out in force.
Catherine Creek Falls
So good to have friends that I can talk into excursions! I promised that it was a walk, not a hike. With views of Mount Hood and the Columbia River! We stopped in Hood River, Oregon on the way home.
We saw wing foilers, which seem to be the next interatiion after the windsailers. Pretty cool!
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.
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