Category Archives: travel

2023 knit recap, second chances, aloha

Posted on December 30, 2023 | 5 comments

These are my finished designs of 2023; there are still 3 in the hopper that will be published in 2024. Assigned pooling was definitely a big part of my year! Pooling is a Cinch, Firefly Trails, Fanfare, Starfall, and the Star Flower Shawl were my pooling pieces.

I started the year with the Aspen Leaf Coasters, which were a brainstorm off my re-worked Aspen Leaf brioche scarf for Knit Picks. Because what if you only had to knit one leaf instead of a whole scarf?That was a fun idea, and I designed them so I could use them for a class on brioche increases and decreases. (I’m teaching it at Red Alder on February 16.) I finished the year with the Aspen Leaf Brioche Cowl (center bottom) because I love that leaf motif. I’m back to my beloved brioche and leaves after my assigned pooling detour.

I counted up all my projects for the year, and there were 25 FOs. Two were from other designers, the Sink Mates mini washcloths by Lorilee Beltman, and the Buggiflooer cowl adapted from the Buggiflooer Beanie by Alison Rendall (for Shetland Wool Week). The other 23 were from my own designs.

I knit several of these pieces more than once while developing or revising the designs. I love second (and third) chances, don’t you?

Ebb and Flow in variegated, long gradient (pink), mini skeins (blues/greens)

I designed Ebb and Flow to use a souvenir skein of Moss Fibers yarn from Knit Maine 2022. Then I knit it again with the long pink gradient. I loved the color, but I think the yak/silk blend doesn’t have enough bounce to help it hold its shape (it didn’t help that I made the neckline wider, but that was a good thing to learn for the design). And then I knit it with mini skeins, and that was awesome.

I knit two more Starfall cowls for the upcoming knit along with Knits All Done/Yarn Snob, and found that a bigger, fuller star was ideal based on Keith’s dyeing patterns, along with an extended lace edging due to his generous yardage. (I had to knit through an entire skein to make sure there would be enough.)

Second chances can add a lot to an experience, whether it’s knitting or something else. While we were on vacation this month in Hawaii, we took advantage of two second chances. I had gone rock hopping with the kids at Wawaloli Beach in 2018, but we never came to the wave crashing tide pools that were pictured in our guide book.

These are great for wading, if you’ve got kids. The calm pools that we saw before were full of interesting sea life, including shingle urchins.

We hiked the the 1871 Trail at Pu’uhonua o Hōnaunau in 2021, but missed the Coastal Trail that intersects with it.

It was definitely worth going back and doing it again for the short Coastal Trail; the tide pools were full of interesting fauna. Why do sea urchins put things on themselves? Camouflage, maybe?

Looking back from 1871 Trail at lava shelf/tide pools

I was a little sorry to learn that we were going to be on vacation during the new moon, which meant no moonsets. But after several days of waking at 5 AM by accident, I decided to have my coffee in the dark on the lanai.

Orion, December 15 (amazing to capture with iPhone)

The sky was perfectly clear, and I saw Orion setting over the ocean. A green shooting star dropped from his shoulder. I saw six more meteors in the next half hour as Orion sank to the sea. Apparently the Geminid meteor shower happens at this time of year, who knew? Gemini is near Orion in the night sky. There is also an Orionid meteor shower, but that one peaks in October.

Do you knit/do things more than once? I do! And learn a little more each time.

Happy new year!

5 Comments

Posted in KAL, Knit, pattern design, travel

Tagged Aloha, assigned pooling, big island, geminid meteor shower, hawaii, knit design, kona, meteor shower, tide pools

Alaska cruise part 2: Salmon and totems

Posted on September 25, 2023 | 2 comments

(I don’t have the photoshop skills to make it look like this orca is leaping from the water behind DH, so I’ll just let you imagine that it’s happening, while he obliviously checks his social media accounts. It’s a running joke.)

Icy Strait Point is at the lower end of Glacier Bay; you pass by going in and out. There used to be a cannery there dating from 1912, run by the Hoonah tribe. The town of Hoonah is about a mile away. Icy Strait Point as a cruise port was built specifically for the cruise trade, and is only open when a cruise ship is in port. There are three restaurants and a gondola ride to a higher gondola for a zip line tour. And a cannery museum and gift shop (of course). I was particularly interested in seeing the cannery museum, so I could show DH just what it was I was doing way back when.

This photo felt nostalgically like cannery home…

Our cannery on Kodiak Island canned mostly red (sockeye) and pink (humpies!) salmon. I never knew what the fish looked like; I worked up in the egghouse processing and packing salmon roe to send to Japan. I could identify which kind of salmon the eggs came from, though! The chum/keta eggs were the biggest, and you could sample the brined eggs right off the conveyor belt.

There was no reference to salmon eggs in the cannery museum, so I had to be satisfied with the fish cannery displays.

After the salmon heads were removed by machine, pullers removed the egg/milt sacs, and then the slimers cleaned the inside of the fish (oh, the sliming knife…). The butchering machines were known as Iron Chinks, because they replaced Chinese workers at the beginning of the 20th century and made the canning work much faster. Yes, it’s an offensive term. That’s history. I heard it when I worked in the cannery, and we heard it referred to in a cannery documentary that we watched at a museum in Ketchikan.

We (my friends and family) always called them lines: How many lines are we running today? We could process anywhere from 40,000 to 120,000 fish per day, given enough overtime. We made our money on overtime, and there was nowhere to spend it. The cannery was the only thing on Alitak Bay at the end of Kodiak Island; we arrived for the summer by seaplane from Kodiak, and lived in bunkhouses and were fed in mess halls. We made friends and had dance parties! I worked in the egghouse for five summers, and that’s how I paid for college.

It’s a very far leap from egghouse girl to knitting designer/teacher!

On to Sitka!

Sitka was the capital of the Russia’s Alaska colony from the 1700’s until 1867; it was called New Archangel. This building is a reconstruction of the original 1848 building which burned in 1966. Sitka is still the Seat of the Diocese of Alaska for the Russian Orthodox Church. This building is part of the Sitka National Historical Park, as is the Totem Trail we visited.

The Bicentennial Pole stands in front of the Visitors Center. It was carved by Duane Pasco, who won a contest to depict 200 years of Pacific Coast Indian cultural history. Read from the bottom up: The Native people before the arrival of Europeans, Raven and Eagle (the Tlingit moieties or clans), the arrival of Europeans (see the firearms?), and the top figure representing the Northwest Coast Indians of today.

History Pole depicting the first people to occupy the Sitka area.

I thought this was a raven, but further research indicates that it’s most likely a cormorant. It’s a recarving by Tommy Joseph; the original pole was obtained in 1903 from a Tlingit village (that sounds ominously colonial, and it probably was).

We actually went the wrong way on the Totem Trail loop, so we didn’t see as many totem poles as we had planned to. But it took us to a footbridge over the Indian River, which was full of salmon headed upriver to spawn. Or perhaps they were spawning right there.

Walking to and from the Totem Trail, we saw salmon jumping in the water.

Back to the boat!

The VK knitters joined the Holland America knitters meet up in the art studio. This is on the 11th floor, off the Crow’s Nest lounge which looks out front.

The next day we visited Ketchikan, which was my favorite town. (Glacier Bay was my favorite stop overall.)

I liked that you could see how the town had grown up on the creek, and that they have tried to preserve it. The green house is a preserved bordello, Dolly’s.

We saw salmon heading upstream, and a hungry seal planning its dinner.

I had a great visit at the yarn shop, Fabulous Fiber Arts and More. We also visited the Tongass Historical Museum, which showed Alaska’s history as a Native fish camp, mining hub, salmon canning capital, and timber town.

Can you tell that I like science, history, and museums? The National Parks app was a great help on my phone. Cruise ports are full of souvenir and jewelry shops, which don’t interest me. But I can figure out how to have a good time anyway!

We spent the rest of that day cruising to Victoria, British Columbia. We were in port from 8 to 11:30 pm, so we opted to stay on board and pack. The next day we spent at sea headed back to Seattle, so it was time for another knitting class. Ana and I swapped students, and we now have more brioche knitters, and Portuguese-style knitters too.

Dutch 75 (French 75 with Dutch gin and a sexy ORANGE twist)

This bit of brioche was my social knitting for the cruise. It’s not hard, basically brioche rib with just a little bit of thinking at the edge. It turns out this is just a swatch; I’m playing with a design idea and the rib needs shaping, and a different needle overall. But it was great to have on this cruise.

I really enjoyed this trip! I hope you enjoyed the travelogue. Onward!

2 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, travel

Tagged Alaska, Alaska cruise, alaska knitting cruise, Knit, Vogue Knitting Cruise

Alaska cruise part 1: Glaciers!

Posted on September 20, 2023 | 3 comments

A travelogue post! With a bit of knitting…

I had the pleasure of teaching on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise earlier this month. I hadn’t been to Alaska since working five summers in a Kodiak Island cannery to pay for college, so I was looking forward to seeing more of the state, and not being covered in fish slime.

We sailed on the Holland America Eurodam, which can accommodate 2000 passengers. This is a nice sized ship, not overwhelming, but big enough to have lots of options for dining and amusements.

DH came with me on this trip. Can a marriage survive a week sharing a room this size? Sure! Just don’t make me share a closet! One of us is tidier than the other…

It was still summer when we sailed out of Seattle, and we made the most of it!

The next day was spent at sea, which meant there were no distractions from knitting class. Except for the orcas that we missed because we weren’t watching for them.

Laura began the increases and decreases by the end of class, and she finished her hat before the end of the cruise. Well done!

This was the one day that the seas were a bit rough (because we were on the ocean rather than in the Inside Passage), so I treated myself to a lovely lunch of ginger ale and some random pretzels from my travel bag (Alaska Airlines, maybe?). And Dramamine. Yum! Things smoothed out a few hours later.

Juneau was our first stop, the next morning. Friends Tim and MJ were on this cruise with us too. Tim was in our wedding 41 years ago. Time flies! My two goals for Juneau: To visit a yarn shop for qiviut, and to see the Mendenhall Glacier. I’m a science nerd.

It takes 200 years for ice to move from its beginning as as snow on the Juneau Icefields to the terminus of the glacier at Mendenhall Lake.

Stunning. It really is a river of ice. And it’s huge.

It’s an easy walk to Nugget Falls. The visitors give you a better sense of how big the glacier and falls are. I met a man the next day who had taken a dip into the lake below Nugget Falls; he’s a fan of ice baths. Brrrrrr no thank you! But he did help me spot mountain goats with my binoculars.

It’s someone’s job to put glacial ice samples under the sign every day. These are the things I think about…

The next day we cruised Glacier Bay. This is a national park and preserve, and park rangers came on board to narrate the day. This was my favorite day of the trip.

Gilman (left) and Johns Hopkins Glaciers

The face of the Johns Hopkins Glacier is 250 feet high.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=tusbgKbN_Jk%3Fsi%3DxVcmw1F_heQpobOZ

We saw several calvings (ice falling from the face of the glacier)

The Johns Hopkins Glacier has been off limits to cruise ships for most of the summer, to protect the harbor seal pupping grounds. The pups spend their time on ice floes, safe from predators. This visit was the first for the Eurodam since the beginning of summer.

See the pups? (hi-res photo so you can zoom in)

I took this last photo through my binoculars, and cropped it. All for you, dear reader!

Selfie (ussie?) on the veranda with Johns Hopkins Glacier

All in all, a spectacular day. But the fun wasn’t over. The Eurodam serves tea every afternoon at 3 pm, so we had a Knitters’ Tea. Bonus points if you decorated a hat (supplied by VK) for it.

And it happened to be my birthday, so there was a bit of cake, too.

Happy birthday to me, with an Indonesian happiness song from the wait staff

This post has gone long, so I’m going to end with this glacier day, and begin another post with salmon, another Alaskan treasure.

Onward!

3 Comments

Posted in Knit, travel

Tagged Alaska, Alaska cruise, alaska knitting cruise, Vogue Knitting Cruise

Alaska cruise: Yarn shop hop

Posted on September 14, 2023 | 8 comments

I had a great time on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise on the Holland America Eurodam. I taught brioche classes, had fun with other knitters and DH (my plus one), and visited some cool towns and glaciers. But I know you’re here for the yarn, so I’ll start with my three yarn shop visits.

Display case at Changing Tides, and is that a JaMPDX yarn bowl?

Our first stop was in Juneau. I made a quick scouting trip as DH waited for me in a coffee shop before our tour to Mendenhall Glacier. Changing Tides (Instagram link, formerly Seaside Yarns) is right in the port area. They have yarn and lots of fabric for quilters, too. Local dyers Juneau Woolies and Alaskan Yarn Co. are featured here.

I try not to stash a lot of yarn; I’d rather shop for each project as I go. But I knew I wanted to get a skein of qiviut, musk ox fiber, while on this trip. You can buy qiviut yarn in its natural brown color, but this lovely Violet called my name. Qiviut is very soft with a lovely halo. Stitch definition won’t be great, but that’s not the point. It’s lightweight, warm, and cozy, and it packs down to nearly nothing. This skein is 200 yards of fingering weight, and it will be a simple cowl, eventually.

Changing Tides also had a little goodie bag for VK cruisers: a mini skein, postcard, and tea. Sweet!

In Sitka I stopped at the Raven’s Hook, a small arts and crafts store with yarn and other craft supplies. No qiviut here.

My favorite thing here was the yarn dyed by Raven Frog Fibers in kits for the Glacier Bay Beanie by Nancy Bates. I resisted because I knew I’d never knit the hat (I don’t wear them very often), but oh how I coveted that blue yarn! I’d love a whole skein of it, please.

In Ketchikan I visited Fabulous Fiber Arts and More (formerly The Hive on the Creek). This is an easy walk from the dock.

They have an inspiring wall of yarn from Raven Frog Fibers (and more twisted hanks in the cubbies below), including the Glacier Bay Beanie kits. I still resisted the beanie, but I swear it was following me!

Raven Frog’s Garden Wall colorway was swoon-worthy.

Fabulous Fiber’s other featured indie dyer is Robin’s Nest Fiber Arts; Robin is one of the owners of the shop. She dyes very pretty yarns on interesting bases.

I fell in love with this Robin’s Nest color on a sparkle base, but Rhoda found it first. Clearly it’s her palette; it goes with what she’s wearing! And no, Rhoda wasn’t on my cruise; she and Jen were on a different ship, the Royal Princess. We ran into each other in both Juneau and Ketchikan. (I first met Rhoda and Jen at VKLNYC last February.) Like the beanie kit, I think they’re following me!

They were out of qiviut here, so I’m glad I bought some in Juneau while I had the chance. That’s my lone Alaska yarn souvenir.

My other cruise souvenir? Covid-19! After we got home, I poured myself a glass of bubbly. It didn’t taste like anything. Nor did the cherry tomato, chocolate chips, and pistachios I tried after that. Uh-oh. (Breakfast on the ship was delicious that morning.)

Guess which one is mine? I feel like I have a cold; it’s not terrible. I’m hoping I can taste/smell things again soon!

8 Comments

Posted in travel, yarn

Tagged Alaska cruise, alaska yarn shops, qiviut, Vogue Knitting Cruise, yarn shops

Buggiflooer musings

Posted on August 31, 2023 | 3 comments

I started the Buggiflooer Beanie a few days ago, adjusting the stitch count based on my known gauge with this yarn.

Katie’s Kep, da Crofter’s Kep, Bonnie Isle

I’ve knit 3 previous Shetland Wool Week hats with Jamieson’s Spindrift, which means I have 3 existing gauge swatches!

I did some math so I could reduce the main stitch count by one flower motif (which would make it an inch smaller than the previous hats), but I goofed up my math between the ribbing and the pink zigzag sections. I only realized it when I got to the next motif (flower), and was off by 4 stitches. Math, blech. I could go back and fudge it, but I I took it as a sign that I should knit a cowl instead of a beanie, anyway. I don’t wear hats very often.

You can see that I shortened the corrugated ribbing a bit when I restarted; I took out one row of each of the colors (white/gray/white) because the ribbing will repeat at the top of the cowl (symmetry!), and I don’t want it to overpower the lovely buggiflooer.

It’s going swimmingly. Look at all those pretty heathered colors in the background color, Mirry Dancer! So much more interesting than flat black. And I made a little braid with my yarn ends, so I don’t accidentally knit with a tail. I know I could weave in ends as I go, but I’m still not completely committed to the project yet.

I recently bought myself a little present…a knitting light. It’s helpful with the black yarn if I’m tinking (I don’t have to see to knit) in bed; the lamp on my nightstand isn’t quite enough. It will also be a hands-free camping light. I tried a different one earlier this month, but it was heavier and clunkier, and prone to accidentally turning on in my bag. I like this one much better!

I need to start packing for the Vogue Knitting Alaska cruise. And of course that means deciding what knitting project will come with me! I’m enjoying Buggiflooer, but I don’t want it to be my main cruise knitting next week. Cruise knitting is social knitting, and counting charted colorwork isn’t conducive to chatting.

My little DK brioche project from the schooner trip isn’t panning out the way I hoped. It was great social knitting, though. I have about 4 inches done, and it’s lovely, but my yarn scale and math are telling me that two skeins won’t get me across the finish line. It won’t be a cost-effective cowl design if it requires 4 skeins of sparkly luxury yarn, so I’ll use this beautiful yarn for a something else later.

I do have an experimental version of this shape under way in fingering weight yarn, and I think that can be completed with two skeins. But I’m not completely committed to it yet, either. I need a backup plan.

Ever since MDK Summer Camp, I’ve been thinking of the elegant knit-in i-cord edging that we put on our mini washcloths (thank you Lorilee Bateman). So tidy! I’m planning to re-knit my Slip Away Cowl before upcoming classes, and play with that i-cord edging. If I like it, I’ll update the pattern to include it. This should be a reasonable social knitting project. Except that I’m monkeying with it a bit…

When you go on trips, what do you pack first? Knitting? Or clothing? I think you can see my priorities all over this page!

3 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, travel, yarn

Tagged buggiflooer, Jamieson Spindrift, keps, Malabrigo Rios, shetland wool week beanies, travel knitting

Seeking the Perseids

Posted on August 16, 2023 | 4 comments

Back from a weekend camping trip with the Gal Pals. We went over to central Oregon for clear dark skies, anticipating water fun by day, and the Perseid meteor showers by night.

We live on the west side of the Cascade Range, so we drove over to the east side going around Mt. Hood. It’s pretty bare in the summer.

It’s drier on the east side of the mountains. The views of the mountains in the Cascade Range are stunning from that side.

The setting sun cast a shadow of the mountaintop against the slight haze in the air…

followed by an allover orange glow. That’s Haystack Reservoir in the foreground, where we were camping. Unfortunately, it had a toxic algae bloom going on, so we couldn’t play in the water. Pivot and adapt!

We went to Sisters (the town) on Saturday, shopped at a couple favorite stores (Bedouin and the Stitchin’ Post), had an impromptu visit with friends there (hi Becky & Lisa) and swam at their community pool, and then went for music and wine at Faith Hope and Charity Vineyards.

Three Sisters: South, Middle, and North, or Faith, Hope, and Charity

What a beautiful setting! It wasn’t quite the day we had planned, but it was lovely.

The next day we set up at Tumalo State Park to play in the water, either floating down a short stretch of the Deschutes River, or just wading. Delightful! No pictures; we were having too much fun.

We stopped at Smith Rock State Park on the way back to camp. I had always imagined that Smith Rock is a single monolith that rock climbers love, but I guess not!

It’s an austerely beautiful place in the summer.

We enjoyed the starry skies, the Milky Way, and the streaking meteors each night. On the last night we took off the tent’s rain fly so we could skywatch through the mesh roof. Perfect!

So grateful to have friends to play with!

4 Comments

Posted in travel

Tagged camping, central oregon, haystack reservoir

Nautical Knitting Cruise on Schooner Zodiac

Posted on August 9, 2023 | 8 comments

Home is the sailor, home from the (Salish) Sea…

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!

That was the question, and my answer was “Not me!” Mainsail crew was the first to volunteer.

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.

The second morning was foggy and a bit chilly.

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.

Moonrise; 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…

8 Comments

Posted in cat, classes, Knit, Other craftiness, travel

Tagged northwest yarns, sailing, schooner zodiac

Brioche weekend away

Posted on July 17, 2023 | 5 comments

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.

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.

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.

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 right

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.

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.

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.

And I even had time to knit! More about that in another post. How was your weekend?

5 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, travel

Tagged Brioche knitting, Oregon Coast, Sitka Center for Art and Ecology

Knit with me at the Oregon Coast!

Posted on June 20, 2023 | 2 comments

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!

2 Comments

Posted in classes, travel

Tagged brioche classes, Brioche knitting, Sitka Center

Upcoming Brioche Pastiche update

Posted on May 31, 2023 | 1 comment

This is the original Brioche Pastiche (Ravelry link); I designed it to be a quick start introduction to brioche in the round for a 3 hour class back in 2018. It begins with a bit of 2 color brioche rib to learn and get comfortable with the technique. Increases and decreases happen next, to form the leafy pattern.

Last year I added a different crown shaping to the pattern, just for fun.

And now I’m planning to add a cowl to the pattern. This one is pretty short; I’m hedging my bets to make sure that two 100g skeins of worsted weight yarn can make a cowl and hat set. I’m keeping careful track with my handy yarn scale! (Some would call it a kitchen scale, but I know better.)

So I’m re-knitting the hat with the alternate crown, too. I want the pattern to look more cohesive, so I want new pictures for hat and cowl in the same color set, with the same yarn as the original (Malabrigo Worsted). Three color sets and two yarns is too jangly in one pattern.

While I’m at it, I’m making the pattern “choose your own adventure” style. I like offering both hat and cowl in a class, because not everyone wears hats, and not everyone wears cowls, either. Also, in class, a student can choose to complete a project in plain brioche rib, if they’re not ready to tackle increases and decreases. Lots of options! Those options are also good for knitting at home.

That’s a lot of updating! So I’m going to make these all these changes to the pattern, and make it stand alone. It will no longer be part of the Brioche Hat Trick (Ravelry link) collection when the updated pattern is released. If you already purchased Brioche Pastiche (Ravelry link), or the Brioche Hat Trick collection, you’ll get this updated pattern for no additional charge. If you want the updated Brioche Pastiche pattern, buy it now at the current price (pattern or collection), and you’ll get the update without paying the new price.

This pattern will be my teaching pattern on the Vogue Knitting Cruise to Alaska in September. That’s what’s driving this update! We had thought about using Whale Watch Cap and Cowl, but we have some repeat cruisers and wanted to do a different brioche project. We’ll pretend that those leaves are sea kelp, and stay on theme. I’m really looking forward to this cruise; I haven’t been to Alaska since working at a salmon cannery to pay for college.