Category Archives: travel

4 days in Alicante, Spain

Posted on March 21, 2026 | 1 comment

Travelogue, continued!

On Tuesday we took Renfe (a high-speed train) from Madrid to Alicante, which is on the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of Spain. It’s about a 2 hour ride, at speeds up to 300 km/hour (190 mph, thanks Siri). Very comfortable. Bev & John’s apartment is a 15 minute walk from the train station, easy!

Their 9th floor apartment is on the top floor of the building on the Calle del Teatro. The apartment’s wraparound deck looks down at the Teatro Principal which dates to 1847.

Castillo Santa Barbara is on Mt. Benacantil behind the city, right up the street. And I do mean UP!

We went to the Convistas bar in the very tall Hotel Gran Sol for drinks and views.

Looking down from Convistas at Hotel Gran Sol

Such a pretty esplanade, and palm trees in February!

Paella for dinner that night, and then a nice meander back to the apartment.

On Wednesday we hiked to the Castillo/Castell Santa Barbara, 166 meters up. (Castillo is Spanish, Castell is Valencian, and signs use both.) The views of the coastline and the Mediterranean Sea are spectacular. Definitely a great place for a lookout, so you could see your enemies coming. The origins of the castle date to the 9th century.

That’s the tower where we’re standing, yikes

Just imagine!

We walked back down through the old town.

Loved the art and poetry on this house. I guessed that it was a Time Flies/Tempus Fugit theme, but needed some help. And may I say that Google Translate with Google Lens is a very handy app? Here’s what the house says:

Pretty sure that’s months, not head of cattle, but the paint was slightly illegible on that line.

Sweet!

We visited a modern art museum, and then walked on the iconic esplanade.

It was very disconcerting to walk on; it looks like it undulates in waves from left to right. Can you see it? DH doesn’t see it in 3D, but it still makes me slightly dizzy!

There are a lot of gelato shops in this town. We only sampled two in our four days here. How virtuous!

Pizza at Scighera: Mozzarella flor di latte, chopped pistachios, bologna mortadella, burrata, pistachio sauce. Pistachio is the flavor of the moment in Spain. We had it in croissants, gelato, chocolate, pizza.

On Thursday we took a bus to Altea, a neighboring resort town.

We walked up to the square at the top of the town to see the church up there.

Guernica-inspired sculpture by Antoni Miro, and the church behind

So much public art, and such beautiful views of the sea. Look at those blues!

Of course I had to dip my toes in the Mediterranean Sea

And also knit a few stitches there.

A late lunch including the beverage of the week before heading back to Alicante. The weather was so nice the whole time we were there; this was late February and no jackets needed.

Friday was my last full day in Alicante, so we explored the town a bit more.

The Mercado, 2 stories of food, flowers, and more

We visited the Mercado, which is a beautiful 1921 building with 290 stalls of the most beautifully presented wares.

Oh, jamón! The Spanish love their ham, and it is delicious. Even the Mercadona grocery store had a display like this.

After the Mercado, we wandered through town back down to the waterfront for a walk along the beach.

So much public art and beautiful architecture.

Even down to the faux needlepoint on this restaurant, where we had a very nice dinner.

Saturday I took the train back to Madrid, because it was time to go home. Brandi Carlile and the Rose City Yarn Crawl were next up on the agenda!

I’d love to visit Spain again. I think DH would love it. Someday?

1 Comment

Posted in foodies!, Knit, travel

Tagged Alicante, Art, spain

Three days in Madrid

Posted on March 18, 2026 | 1 comment

So much to catch up on! My friend Sharyn and I went to visit our friends Bev & John who are staying in Spain for 2 months. They came to meet us in Madrid before we all headed to their apartment in Alicante on the coast.

Madrid is a beautiful city. The architecture is so much older than west coast USA.

baroque facade — Baroque doorway at Museo de Historia de Madrid

This museum was in the neighborhood where we stayed, right by the Tribunal metro station. (The metro is efficient and easy to use.) The doorway dates from 1726.

Fancy!

We took a bus tour on the evening we arrived. It’s a good way to start to figure out where you are, and doesn’t take a lot of energy from the jet-lagged.

Do I remember what all these buildings these are? No, but they’re gorgeous.

a large statue of a head, Julia by Jaume Plensa — Julia by Jaume Plensa at Plaza de Colón

I did recognize the work of Jaume Plensa, having seen some in Chicago. We followed our tour with dinner at 10 pm, as one does. So continental.

On Sunday morning we headed for Puerta del Sol, a big lovely square full of people enjoying their day.

Churros and dipping chocolate, and café con leche, breakfast of champions!

The bear and the strawberry tree (madrone) are symbols of Madrid, and this statue in Puerta del Sol had lots of people waiting to take a picture with it. And kids were getting a kick out of 67 (is that still a thing they say?).

This ornate building was across the street from our churro stop.

Not to be outdone, the one attached to it appears to have bobbles on it.

Even the less fancy buildings were still quite lovely. We went to El Rastro, the famous open-air flea market, but it was pretty overwhelming, so we didn’t stay long.

Sharyn and I spent 3 hours in the Prado Museum, admiring the paintings of Velázquez, Goya, and many others. We could spend a week in there! No photography allowed, which is probably a good thing. My favorite painting there? Las Meniñas (Velázquez).

In the metro station on the way home, this Velázquez from 1660 was featured: The Spinners or the Fable of Arachne. How did I miss that in the museum? Easy, it’s a huge museum and we saw just a fraction of it.

Fiber arts are everywhere, right?

We had another fashionably late dinner that evening, this time at Cafe Commercial around the block from our apartment. Great vibe, and the olives…

Monday morning we headed for Plaza Mayor, the main square in Madrid; it dates to 1619. The buildings surrounding the square are uniformly impressive.

A bronze statue of Felipe III from 1616 is at the center of the square.

On the way to the plaza, we came across El Gato Negro, the yarn shop. It was a quick trip through, but the most interesting part about it was that you’re not supposed to help yourself the yarn. Let them know what you’d like to see, and they’ll show it to you. No pawing through the wares!

There’s a hang tag for each section of yarn, but the skeins weren’t individually labeled. And there’s a scale because you purchase by weight. This sport weight cotton yarn was 7 euros/100g, which is really quite reasonable. I’m looking forward to playing with my two hanks…eventually!

In the afternoon we visited the Almudena Cathedral and the Royal Palace.

The cathedral was begun in 1883 and completed in 1993. The interior is a mix of old and new styles. Note the modern stained glass windows above what looks like Byzantine-style paintings just below.

From there we headed to the Royal Palace. It’s…a lot. A bazillion chandeliers and marble and porcelain and paintings on walls and ceilings, and…very beautiful.

Enter here, and feel your insignificance

an early 19th century piano, and several instruments by Stradivarius in this room

This piano has five pedals for registers such as bassoon, drum, or bells. Or so my translation app tells me!

collar of the order of the golden fleece — Collar of the Order of the Golden Fleece (ooh, fiber adjacent!)

Tuesday, the next day, we were off to Alicante on Renfe, the high speed train. More later, but I’ll leave you with one more building to enjoy.

Adios Madrid, city of architecture, fountains, art, statues, olives!

PS: The NY Times came out with a “What to do in Madrid” article after I came home. Here’s a gift link if you want to know more!

1 Comment

Posted in travel, yarn

Tagged madrid, spain

Hola España!

Posted on February 28, 2026 | 4 comments

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!

4 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, travel, yarn

Tagged Brioche Knit Love, brioche knit love book, Brioche knitting, el gato negro, madrid, rose city yarn crawl, spain, yarn

Red Alder 2026

Posted on February 19, 2026 | 3 comments

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 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!

3 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, travel, yarn

Tagged assigned pooling, Brioche Knit Love, Brioche knitting, Fired Up cowl, portland frog hat, Red Alder Fiber Arts, Whale Conga Line Cowl

VKL NYC 2026

Posted on February 3, 2026 | 5 comments

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!

woman wearing a handknit cowl featuring assigned pooling motifs — Fired Up assigned pooling cowl

5 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Fame, Knit, travel

Tagged GoSadi, Maybe Happy Ending, New York City, VogueKnittingLive

Onward!

Posted on December 2, 2025 | 5 comments

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!

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!

5 Comments

Posted in cat, Knit, pattern design, travel

Tagged cat, entrelac, white castle

July in the rear view mirror

Posted on August 10, 2025 | 3 comments

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?

3 Comments

Posted in piano, Pie Birds, travel

Tagged music, Seattle, Sisters Oregon

San Diego knits!

Posted on July 16, 2025 | 2 comments

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.

concession stand tacos — Not your usual concession stand hot dog

Moonlight State Beach and lots of people

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.

A collage of brioche shawls called Both Sides Now

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.

Anne brought her Sophie’s Rose shawlette. 2014!

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.

Woman wearing brioche knit cowl featuring assigned pooling petal motifs

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.

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!

2 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, travel

Tagged knitting, knitting guild, San Diego, travel

Whirlwind

Posted on July 2, 2025 | 5 comments

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.

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!

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!

5 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, travel

Tagged Scattered Petals, Simply Stellar, st louis

Sisters and cousins

Posted on June 5, 2025 | 9 comments

My sisters and I took a quick trip to Los Angeles to celebrate our cousin Stephen’s marriage to Lauren.

It was so nice to get together for a happy occasion. Lots of laughing and remembering, too.

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.

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!