Category Archives: yarn

Berroco Wizard yarn review, Minerva entrelac

Posted on December 29, 2024 | 2 comments

Minerva entrelac scarf knit with Berroco Wizard yarn — Minerva entrelac scarf

I’ve enjoyed playing with this new-to-me yarn. This is Berroco Wizard, 85/15 Superwash Wool/Nylon. It’s a very light and lofty chainette, classified as bulky. Recommended needle size is 10-10 1/2 (6-6.5 mm), but I’m using a US9 because I like the fabric better. I knit til nearly the end of the ball, and the result is a short scarf, but long enough to cross over my chest. Based on the light and lofty fabric, I decided that this version would be a great Minerva scarf instead of a cowl. You get to see more of the entrelac fabric if it’s not doubled up around your neck.

I’m planning an entrelac class at Hook and Needle in Vancouver, WA on March 29, and I wanted to see if this yarn they carry is appropriate. Why yes, it is. If you’d like to learn to knit entrelac with me, you can do so in person at Hook and Needle, and also at Vogue Knitting Live in New York City on Sunday, January 19. Minerva is bi-coastal! You can use this lovely yarn for a scarf, or you can use a gradient yarn for a different effect. The pattern gives instructions for both scarf and cowl.

Or a different color changing yarn for a short or long cowl. Knitter’s choice!

About the Berroco Wizard: I loved knitting with it. It’s very airy, so the fabric is pretty fluffy in hand. That’s the other reason I wanted it as a scarf rather than a cowl; it wants to drape itself artfully. Sometimes you have to let the yarn tell you what it wants to do! I highly recommend it; it’s fun to knit.

Are you looking forward to learning new things in 2025? I know I am!

PS: The Wizard colorway is called Fluorite.

2 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Berroco Wizard, entrelac, entrelac knitting, knitting classes, minerva cowl, Minerva entrelac, minerva scarf, vkl nyc

Yarn, yarn, yarn

Posted on December 10, 2024 | 4 comments

I finished the knitting on this entrelac piece, but I haven’t decided if I want to seam the ends for a loop cowl, or keep it as a shortish scarf. The light and airy fabric doesn’t want to be a single loop, so I’d have to make sure it’s long enough to be a double loop. Or I could leave it as a shortish scarf, held with a shawl/scarf pin. I think that would show more of the little squares, which is the whole point of this piece! So I may have just talked myself into a scarf. Onward!

I’m still on my brioche + pooling kick. Yarn Snob’s Black Orchid is so pretty! I chose Silver Fox to go with it, but after I started knitting the two together, I’m not so sure about the combo. The black is really more like a deep dark purple, and the gray feels “cold” next to it. It doesn’t help that I haven’t actually seen my knitting in daylight! But I think I’d like it better with Winter (cream) to warm it up a little. I’ll have to take one more look in the morning before frogging. I do have Winter waiting in the wings.

In the meantime, I also have this yarn from A Chick That Knitz; it’s Hibernation, with a choice of either Caramel or Silver Fox (yes, another Silver Fox!) to go with it. I’m starting with Caramel, but as you can see, everything is up in the air until the swatching is done.

Are you gift knitting for the holidays? I’m shopping my samples; that takes a lot of pressure off!

4 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged A Chick That Knitz, assigned pooling, brioche plus assigned pooling, knitting, yarn, yarn snob yarns

International Springsteen trip

Posted on November 25, 2024 | 5 comments

We went to Vancouver BC to see The Boss.

We had seats on the floor, Row 19. But if you’re short, the floor is not ideal for actually seeing the performers. Thank goodness for the monitors!

The show went 3 hours, 20 minutes. Lots of great music, and the band was in fine form.

This was our Airbnb. The heater in the main area wasn’t working properly, so it was a bit chilly. We had a good time anyway.

The view was great, and we were right by Rogers Arena, the concert venue.

Good friends, good times!

And I got to play with a new-to-me yarn. I’m planning an entrelac class at Hook and Needle on March 29, and I wanted to see if this yarn they carry is appropriate. Why yes, it is. This is Berroco Wizard, 85/15 Superwash Wool/Nylon. It’s a very light and lofty chainette, classified as bulky. Recommended needle size is 10-10 1/2 (6-6.5 mm), but I’m using a US9 because I like the fabric better. Based on current progress, I’m guessing this 100g ball will result in a 36 – 40” length. Perfect for a light and lofty Minerva cowl. If you’d like to learn to knit entrelac with me, stay tuned!

5 Comments

Posted in travel, yarn

Tagged Berroco Wizard, entrelac, hook and needle, minerva cowl, springsteen, Vancouver BC

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