Category Archives: yarn

You’re not the boss of me

Posted on November 12, 2024 | 9 comments

You know I love assigned pooling. And I love brioche. Test knitting is under way for my new shawlette.

I’m designing another shawlette using brioche and assigned pooling, and the pooling was starting to…pool! At the ends of the row, over and over again. This left a big center with no stars.

Highly annoying.

So I frogged back to where there were just two stars at each end, and then I skipped a bunch of yarn so that the next star would be in the middle of the row.

It took me two tries to get it right, so I’m glad I didn’t cut the yarn first. I’ll leave this big loop on the back until I’m fully committed.

I think of assigned pooling as a dance between the yarn’s suggestions and what I want. But ultimately I’m the boss. If we have a disagreement, I WIN. I make the rules for this game!

Have you tried assigned pooling? Who’s the boss of YOUR knitting?

Oh, one more thing!

I’m teaching Thrill of the Thrum, my Thrumbelina thrummed slippers, this Sunday at 2 pm at For Yarn’s Sake in Beaverton. Come learn how to make and knit fluffy thrums into your knitting! This is an in-person class, the better to get a feel for those squishy thrums. Register here.

9 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged assigned pooling, Brioche knitting, thrumbelina, thrummed knitting

Introducing: Peekaboo Cowl

Posted on October 21, 2024 | 2 comments

The Peekaboo Cowl is a 2 color brioche cowl, knit in the round. It features assigned pooling/algorithmic knitting motifs that peek between the brioche ribs. The pattern includes a video tutorial for the Peekaboo motif.

Peekaboo is reversible; the motif looks completely different on the inside. You can wear it with a bit of both sides showing, for maximum fun. I do!

Choose 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn, one of which should be dyed for assigned pooling. You can make the cowl close to the neck, longer for double looping, or anywhere in between. I knit a short cowl because I wanted a quick project!

The Peekaboo Cowl pattern is on sale 15% off through October 29, 2024 with coupon code PEEKING. The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. This pattern is also available through Payhip, link here. You can use the coupon code on either site.

This pattern has been professionally tech edited. Thanks also to test knitters Ann Berg, Carolyn Crisp, Diane Kay Gelder, Rhea Kohlman, and Diane O’Brien. Thanks to Keith Leonard/Yarn Snob for the beautiful yarn for the design.

I’m working on more brioche plus pooling…can’t stop, won’t stop!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged assigned pooling, Brioche knitting, cowl, Knit, knitting, yarn, yarn snob yarns

A little more Nashville

Posted on September 30, 2024 | 1 comment

I know I said that I didn’t knit a stitch while I was in Nashville, but that doesn’t mean I completely ignored all things knitterly.

I had a nice visit with Ann Shayne at Modern Daily Knitting Headquarters. We talked about Jane, their beautiful new DK weight yarn. It’s made in Yorkshire, England from Falkland merino and Masham wools. I came home with the three sample skeins above, in Yorkshire, Peony, and Cameo. Ann is dreamydreaming of a Pressed Flowers cardigan with this yarn, and I’m dreaming of a Pressed Flowers Cowl (patterns by Amy Christoffers).

I was so blown away by the lovely colors that I forgot to do the phone trick. There’s not much tonal contrast between the Peony and Cameo, so I’ll use the Yorkshire and Peony together. I may need to downsize the pattern to make it work with these two 50g skeins, which is easy to do.

But what about that tote bag? Nash Yarn Fest will be MDK’s first foray into hosting a fiber festival. It’s happening March 14-15, 2025, and tickets go on sale TOMORROW, October 1. There are lots of ways to participate: Festival only, opening night party, after party, workshop with Arne and Carlos, or a longer destination travel getaway. Read all about it here.

Last goodies: Two MDK field guides; one for brioche, and Renewal, which is a collection of textural sweaters and accessories by Norah Gaughan. I don’t have time to knit a sweater, but I may knit these lovely mitts!

Austen Mitts, photo from Renewal field guide

Norah has such an inventive mind, and she’s a delightful person, too. She was the other teacher and my cruise buddy on the Vogue Knitting cruise to Canada and New England in 2022.

All right, back to my knitting…for real!

1 Comment

Posted in events, Knit, travel, yarn

Tagged Jane yarn MDK, Nash Yarn Fest, nashville, Norah Gaughan

Peekaboo Cowl, test knitters wanted

Posted on September 12, 2024 | 10 comments

Who says you can’t have it all? I’ve been dreaming of combining brioche knitting and assigned color pooling since January. After working through many design ideas, I’ve finally found one that lets both of these techniques shine.

This is my new Peekaboo Cowl. It’s 2 color brioche rib, knit in the round with fingering weight yarn. It features assigned pooling peeking out between the ribs. The Peekaboo stitch is reversible, and the inside of the cowl looks completely different! You get two looks with one knit.

I knit this with yarn left over from one of my Trailing Leaves cowls. The small cowl only uses 165 yards/38 grams of each color. You can easily adjust the pattern for length and height if you like longer/taller cowls.

The pattern is back from my tech editor and is ready for test knitters. Let me know if you’re interested in test knitting this lovely little cowl! (Or bigger cowl, if that’s your jam.)

10 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged assigned color pooling, assigned pooling, Brioche knitting, brioche plus assigned pooling, peekaboo cowl

Introducing: Trailing Leaves

Posted on September 2, 2024 | 2 comments

Trailing Leaves in Dream in Color Smooshy

Trailing Leaves is a brioche bandana cowl, knit in the round from the top down. It features a central double leaf motif in syncopated brioche against a background of MC brioche rib. Choose 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn in coordinating colors to knit this beauty.

Trailing Leaves in Knit Picks Chroma Fingering

A gradient yarn will add an interesting color play to the brioche rib background, as shown here in Knit Picks Chroma Fingering. Knitter’s choice! This pattern is easily adjustable for neck circumference and length. This is one of my favorite cowl shapes; it looks like a shawlette but doesn’t fall off. So easy to wear.

Trailing Leaves in Yarn Snob A Good Fingering

I’ve knit four samples of this, to get it just right. The sample above featured some assigned pooling, but it doesn’t show, so it’s not in the pattern.

And this sample was a little too long due to a different increase rate. But you get the idea!

The Trailing Leaves pattern is now available on Ravelry at this link, Payhip at this link, and is also available through Knit Picks at this link. The coupon code WILLOW will give you 15% off at Ravelry and Payhip through September 10, 2024.

I hope that you love knitting this as much as I do!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Brioche knitting, Knit, trailing leaves, trailing leaves cowl, yarn

Dream fulfilled, and upcoming design

Posted on August 29, 2024 | 12 comments

Remember this? It was worth frogging, re-skeining, soaking, rewinding.

I’ve been dreaming all year about a way to combine brioche and assigned pooling/algorithmic knitting in a way that pleases me. I’ve done a lot of knitting and frogging along the way.

I love this color pooling yarn from Yarn Snob/Knits All Done; the green/purple is Bellina, which is named for an orchid. I wanted to make it sing! Bisquee thinks it looks good, too. Do you see peacock feathers? Flames?

I had first used some of this yarn to design Trailing Leaves (coming soon!). It’s lovely, but you can’t see the pooled stitches, so Trailing Leaves will be just brioche. And no, I didn’t frog this cowl!

I frogged this one, that I knit with the remaining yarn. And I’m glad I did.

Side note: Test knitting for Trailing Leaves is wrapping up, and I’m planning to publish it next week. I have a wonderful group of test knitters; we’ve had a great time working on this. I’ve knit two more samples along with them. Stay tuned!

12 Comments

Posted in cat, pattern design, yarn

Tagged algorithmic knitting, assigned pooling, Brioche knitting, Knits All Done, trailing leaves, trailing leaves cowl, yarn snob yarns

Reclaiming my yarn

Posted on August 14, 2024 | 2 comments

This colorway, Bellina from Yarn Snob/Knits All Done, is one of my favorites, ever. It made me want to try to combine assigned pooling with my favorite technique brioche.

The assigned pooling doesn’t really show up in Trailing Leaves (currently in test knitting phase). The brioche leaves are beautiful, but where’s the assigned pooling? I thought the issue was because the leaves are front and center, and the pooling is on the side, so I knit a small cowl with the same theme.

I know I’ll never wear the little cowl shown above, so why not reclaim the yarn?

The yarn was pretty kinky since I had wet blocked the cowl, so I wanted to smooth it out. (The last time I knit with previously blocked yarn, it really showed in the finished object. Lesson learned.)

I wound it on my niddy-noddy (had to google how to use it; it’s been a while). Look at that kink! I tied it off and soaked it, then squished it in a towel and gave it a nice snap to straighten it up.

Much better! It’s currently drying (not on the mannequin; that’s just for a nice picture). And then I’ll move on to attempt number 365 or so to see if I can successfully combine brioche and assigned pooling, without bobbles (not my fave look). Wish me luck!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Bellina orchid colorway, Knits All Done, trailing leaves, trailing leaves cowl, Yarn Snob

Decisions, decisions

Posted on July 9, 2024 | 10 comments

I’ve been playing with some ideas, zeroing in on what to keep, and what to toss. This first version (Knit Picks Chroma Fingering) was my attempt to spare my pooling yarn from the tenth frog/restart. It’s pretty good, just a bit longer than I wanted. I’ve got it figured out, and I’ll be looking for test knitters soon.

This pooled version (Yarn Snob Fingering) is the right length, and I changed the increase rate to get to the number of stitches I wanted for the edging. But you can’t really see the pooling, because it’s on the sides and back of the green brioche section. Why do all that extra work, if you’re not going to see it when you wear the finished object? The leaves are really the star of the show. So I don’t plan to release a pooled version as a pattern; it’s a unicorn.

That doesn’t mean I want to give up the idea of combining brioche with pooling/algorithmic knitting.

Places you can knit: Bon Bon Vivant sound check!

There’s enough yarn left over for me to design another piece. It features that lovely syncopated edging, too. I’m halfway done…

Places you can knit: Margo Price at the Blues Fest

We had a great time at the Waterfront Blues Festival this weekend. It was HOT, so we were mostly there during the evenings. Of course I brought my knitting.

And my Lantern Moon fan, which I’ve had since 2009 (Sock Summit!). Make your own breeze!

Local great Curtis Salgado and 11 more fabulous musicians

Hawthorne Bridge lift for the fireworks barge to get through

Doing our part! (We take this picture every year)

Bisquee hopes you’re keeping cool! We have central air conditioning, so she’s not as hot as she looks. She’s enjoying her bit of sunshine.

Do you knit when it’s hot? It’s always nice indoors here! But I did knit outdoors at the festival, too. At least it was a small, not very woolly project!

10 Comments

Posted in cat, Knit, pattern design, Portland area fun, yarn

Tagged algorithmic knitting, assigned pooling, bon bon vivant, briioche cowl, Brioche knitting, trailing leaves cowl, waterfront blues festival

Orenburg Lace class at Black Sheep Gathering

Posted on July 3, 2024 | 7 comments

I took a little road trip down to Albany, Oregon on Saturday to visit Black Sheep Gathering. This year is the 50th year of this fiber festival, but it was my first time ever. I wanted to take a class with Galina Khmeleva, master lace knitter. We’ve been at many of the same festivals, but I’m usually teaching instead of taking classes. This was my chance!

Orenburg lace is knit with 10 different motifs, combined in many ways. It’s usually on a garter stitch background. Some motifs have patterning only on the right side rows, and some have patterning on both right and wrong side rows. All the stitches are either knit, yo, k2tog, or k3tog. There’s no directionality to the decreases; the work is so fine that it really doesn’t show.

We didn’t have time to knit through all the motifs, but the magic is really in the combining. We knit our swatch samplers with Jaggerspun Zephyr, a laceweight blend of wool and silk, 1120 yards/100g. Skinny, but not hard to knit with. I knit my swatch on US 2 needles, and I loved the stitch definition.

Galina gave us enough handouts to keep us busy for years to come. And she regaled us with many stories of the history of Orenburg lace, and more.

Gossamer web, indeed!

The Warm Shawl is a heavier version of Orenburg lace. Simpler patterning, but it’s not really that heavy, either. It’s knit in pieces and grafted together with a special grafting method, which was the subject of the next day’s class. Alas, I was not staying over.

I did visit with the sheep in the barn, and also viewed the fiber work exhibits.

Look at this beautiful wool! This is Sorpresa, a Valais Blacknose sheep from Honey Hoof Ranch.

Even horns are beautiful.

There was a sheep to shawl exhibit from 9 am to 2 pm.

And the fiber work exhibits were beautiful.

This shawl by Lucy Swift was my favorite piece in the exhibits.

All right, back to knitting! I’m knitting another sample of the leafy brioche cowl now that I have it figured out. I need to decide if I want to publish an assigned pooling/algorithmic knitting version in addition to the regular one. More on that later…

7 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, travel, yarn

Tagged black sheep gathering, galina khmeleva, knitting class, lace knitting, orenburg lace

Will it block out?

Posted on June 28, 2024 | 4 comments

As I said in the previous post, yarn still surprises me.

This is where I left you in the last post. The further I knit, the more the ribbing biased. I think it’s because this yarn is a single ply, rather than a plied yarn. It wanted to lean hard to the right. I didn’t have another project going, so I soldiered on, figuring it would block out…or not. A science experiment!

Fresh off the needles. Quite a lean, and also a loose column at the beginning of the round.

The front was quite askew, and the the leaf pattern was wonky at the bottom, too. Place your bets!

Blocking is magic. This project is essentially a big swatch. It’s longer than I want it to be, but it’s the right general idea. I did some math, and I’ll knit another one. Remember, as a designer I make the mistakes so you don’t have to!

I’ve been knitting outdoors all week; the weather has been spectacular. Not too hot.

The hydrangea is coming into glory; it’s going to be a big year for these blooms.

I’ve been reading while I knit; it keeps me on task. I highly recommend Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams (I also read her Dancing on the Edge of the Roof which was good, but not as good as Things Past Telling). I also read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl; her descriptions of food are incredible. I just finished First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston…so twisty! I enjoyed all of these. Now I’m starting Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Our library system uses Libby, and I read all these as e-books on my kindle.

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

4 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged blocking, blocking is magic, Knit, knitting, yarn