PDXKnitterati

Away, time to play

Posted on April 6, 2024 | 3 comments

I’ve run away to the coast with friends. Apparently the unofficial first year for Crafty Moms was 2003 with kids and husbands, and the first year with just moms was 2004. This is the 21st year? Egad.

I have my knitting with me, but this is a great opportunity to explore some other fiber fun, too.

On the way to Rockaway, we stopped at Latimer Quilt & Textile Center in Tillamook to see the Homage to Audrey Moore, founder of the Damascus Fiber Arts School near Portland, Oregon.

Homage to Frida, Feeling Pink, Summer Days (Audrey Moore)

These are pieces from her series, The Ladies. They’re tapestry weavings on a Navajo style loom.

There are many pieces by Moore, and many pieces by her students. Reading their comments on their own pieces gave a good idea of her teaching style: Suggestions, comments, but she’d let you figure it out yourself. Perfect.

Besides the exhibit room (you can tell that it was a school auditorium at one point), there are two other large rooms. One is full of looms and other fiber fun, and the other is full of quilts and even more fiber fun. Some of it is for sale, and some are just for exhibit.

I found some beautiful hand painted roving for sale by Mary Torrey of Manzanita. It’s 75/25 BFL and silk.

Wait, I don’t spin! Why do I want roving? Well, I saw a reel on Instagram where someone was using a Lemonwood mini minder to hold her roving while spinning. I commented on it, and Veronica from Lemonwood offered to send me one. I love it. It’s so much more ergonomically friendly than throwing roving over your elbow and hoping to keep it out of the way of your spindle!

I love how the hearts look like knit stitches.

I think the Mini Minder is really meant for holding a cake of yarn so you can knit or crochet while you walk (or not); your yarn unwinds off the outside of the cake. I’m usually knitting 2 color brioche, so that wouldn’t work for me. For a one skein project, sure! Many of my assigned pooling projects would love this. And you can take it off the spindle at any time, too.

Thank you to Veronica for the Mini Minder. She offered it to me with no expectation of a review, positive or negative.

I thought I’d practice with old fluff on hand. The Mini Minder works great; it doesn’t unwind before it needs to. Clearly my cop winding skills could use some work; I got distracted and suddenly I was off. Oh well; this is practice, and my new roving awaits!

I also took some time to play with the Cordsmith that I bought at VKLive NYC. If you need yards and yards of 3 stitch i-cord; this may be your jam. It’s a little fiddly to get started, and then it starts rolling along. Occasionally I accidentally drop a stitch off the needle, and have to figure out how to get it back in sequence. Practice is helping, for sure.

I don’t actually mind knitting i-cord on double pointed needles. Also, I’ve made i-cord on any number of stitches on dpns, 3, 4, 6… And my usual fake way to make a cord is to cast on a big whack of stitches, and bind off on the next row.

It was lovely when we arrived yesterday; Carole and I walked up to the jetty and were pleased to see sea stars, and a seal frolicking in the waves.

Sea stars and anemones and barnacles, oh my!

There are several bald eagles hanging out here. They like this post outside the house. Sorry for the blur; I can’t get close!

I hope you’re having a fiber fun weekend, too. And food. OMG so much food when we get this crew together! Delicious.

3 Comments

Posted in Knit, Other craftiness, Product review, spinning, travel

Tagged cordsmith, crafty moms, damascus fiber arts school, icord, latimer quilt and textile center, lemonwood mini minder, navajo loom, Oregon Coast, sea stars, spinning, tapestry weaving, weaving

Knit for Food stats

Posted on March 26, 2024 | 3 comments

We did it! We sped right past our goal and raised $379,010 to fight hunger both here in the United States and abroad. This was our biggest year yet. In 2021 we raised $265,810, in 2022 we raised $271,761, in 2023 we raised $340,000. That means knitters have raised over $1.25 million with our knitting needles!

Thank you so much for your support. I’ve sent coupon codes for a free pattern to everyone who donated to my campaign. Everybody wins!

We had a great time at the Puddletown Knitters Guild Knit for Food party, too. We worked on our own projects, and we also knit hats for Rose Haven day shelter here in Portland. We had 3 hat cranking machines; they are quick and efficient! It was my first time using a knitting machine.

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A post shared by Michele Lee Bernstein (@pdxknitterati)

my pink/purple reversible double thick hat

It was a very busy weekend, but I also managed to finish a design project. More on that in the next post…

Thank you again for your support!

3 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, Portland area fun

Tagged knit for food

Knit for Food: Today’s the day!

Posted on March 23, 2024 | 3 comments

I’m knitting for food again this year! I’m participating in this 12 hour knitting marathon to raise funds and awareness for food insecurity. The money we raise will be equally divided among Feeding America, World Central Kitchen, No Kid Hungry, and Meals on Wheels.

Please support me by donating through this link. If you donate to my link, I’ll send you a coupon code for a free pattern from my Ravelry store. (If you’ve already donated, I have you on my list and will send out codes next week.) Today (Saturday) is the last day to donate this year.

Puddletown Knitters Guild is having a knitting party from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. We’ll have door prizes and activities. Come knit with us! RSVP here. Not local? Check the Knit for Food website for local watch parties, wherever you are! You can also sign up to fundraise yourself, if you wish.

Nobody should be hungry. Let’s knit for food!

3 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, Portland area fun

Tagged knit for food, puddletown knitters guild

Red Alder acquisitions

Posted on March 1, 2024 | 4 comments

I don’t stash a lot of yarn, which means I don’t shop for a lot of yarn while I’m at fiber festivals. But here’s what followed me home.

Red Alder 2024 colorway from Greenwood Fiberworks

Organizers John and Becky gave me a sweet goodie bag that included Red Alder stitch markers and two half skeins of Red Alder 2024 sock yarn from Greenwood Fiberworks. This was a thank you for redesigning my Aspen Leaf Coasters into red alder leaves for my brioche class. I also made coasters for John and Becky. I’ll be adding the red alder leaves to the pattern eventually, in case you need red alder leaves, too.

I’m never quite sure what to do with variegated yarns unless I add a tonal or speckle to tone them down, so I went to the Greenwood Fiberworks booth to find something suitable.

Carolyn (Greenwood) suggested this beautiful Violet semi-solid.

I was also looking for something to go with this set of minis in Sandpiper; I traded a copy of my Brioche Knit Love for the minis at Oregon Flock and Fiber in 2022, maybe? She suggested this Contempo variegated. I think it might end up as brioche, somehow.

Although these two skeins look pretty nice together, too! I’ll let all those ideas sit for a bit while I work on other things.

Knit stitch necklace from Birdie Parker

I may not stash a lot of fiber, but I can’t resist knit-adjacent lovelies! This is my new necklace from Birdie Parker. So many beautiful things to choose from, but I finally did.

I love my new entrelac print leggings. They go perfectly with my 31 year old sweater that’s still going strong!

The last thing I brought home: 2 copies of Myrna Stahman’s book, Stahman’s Shawls and Scarves, which are a masterpiece of lace knitting. She is downsizing the last of her print copies, giving them away. I have 2 signed copies, one for me and one for the Puddletown Knitter’s Guild.

Okay, that’s my Red Alder takeaway. Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival is a lovely event that includes knitting, spinning, weaving, and more; save the date for next year: February 13-16, 2025.

Reminder: Puddletown Knitter’s Guild is having a get together as part of Knitting for Food. We’re raising funds and doing some charity knitting, as well as enjoying the company of other knitters. And we have great prizes, including the Myrna Stahman book.

RSVP through Puddletown’s page here if you’re coming to knit with us. You can also donate through my link, or sign up to fundraise on your own. There are get-togethers all over the country, if you’re not local to us. Food insecurity is a top issue for me; I’m happy to be part of this.

I’ll get to January’s VKLive wrap-up…soon?

4 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, travel, yarn

Tagged birdie parker, greenwood fiberworks, knit for food, makers mercantile, myrna stahman, Red Alder Fiber Arts

I’m here, I’m there…

Posted on February 28, 2024 | 4 comments

I’m every fiber-where…

including in other people’s media content! That’s pretty fun. And a great way to discover new podcasts/people to follow.

Erica of the “Bootie and Bossy Eat Drink Knit” podcast was a test knitter for Whale Conga Line, and talks about it in this episode of her podcast at about minute 26. This podcast series is lovely. This episode about a family gift stole my heart; I’ve subscribed and really enjoy the series.

I was interviewed at VKLive NYC by the fabulous people at Gosadi, a big sponsor of VKLive this year, also about Whale Conga Line. I’ve pinned the bit on my Instagram here.

Kim’s Brioche Pastiche hat with taller crown

And Kim of “Knit Together with Kim & Jonna” talked about taking my Brioche Pastiche class at VKLive NYC (I’m at about minute 36). It’s a great recap of her entire time at VKLive; she does a great job of making you feel like you’re there. Here’s a link to the episode on her YouTube channel. I watched it while working on my newest design; it’s like having a knit group in your iPad. Wonderful! I just subscribed.

Where am I next? Trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake for Rose City Yarn Crawl on March 7, 10 am to 3 pm. Hope to see you there!

4 Comments

Posted in Blogging, events, Fame, Knit, Portland area fun, travel

Tagged Knit podcasts, rose city yarn crawl, VKLive, VKLive NYC, Whale Conga Line

Introducing Prosecco Pop!

Posted on February 25, 2024 | 2 comments

When Shannajean (Shannon Squire and Lorajean Kelley) asked if I’d like to collaborate on a design with Knitted Wit Summer Slubbing to feature during Rose City Yarn Crawl, my answer was a big YES.

The slubby texture of Knitted Wit’s Summer Slubbing fingering weight yarn shines with simple stitch patterns in this triangular shawlette, knit on the bias. Alternating waves of nubbly stockinette and lacy eyelet bubbles make this chic piece perfect for warding off summer’s air-conditioned chill.

Prosecco Pop in Aquamarine, photo by Shannon Squire

The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. It’s also available through Payhip, link here. Use coupon code FIZZ for 15% off through March 11, 2024.

If you’re local, come visit me and Shannon at For Yarn’s Sake from 10 am to 3 pm on March 7, the first day of the Rose City Yarn Crawl. We’ll have trunk shows with design samples including Prosecco Pop and Starfall, my book Brioche Knit Love, and some Knitted Wit Summer Slubbing so you can make your own Prosecco Pop!

2 Comments

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

Tagged for yarn’s sake, knitted wit, knitted wit summer slubbing, Prosecco Pop, rose city yarn crawl

Upcoming events and classes

Posted on February 25, 2024 | 6 comments

Rose City Yarn Crawl is just around the corner! We celebrate our yarn shops in the Portland metro area with a 4 day extravaganza. There are 8 shops on the crawl, and I hope to visit all of them. I’m hoping to at least visit the two I’ve never seen. One is Knotty Lamb in Forest Grove (a ways out), and the other is Ritual Dyes in inner SE Portland.

I’ll be having a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake from 10 am to 3 pm, along with designer Shannon Squire and dyer Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit). I’ll bring all my designs since the last crawl, including my newest design (coming out Monday, February 26), Prosecco Pop! I’ll also have copies of Brioche Knit Love to sign, if you still need one.

Prosecco Pop features Knitted Wit’s Summer Slubbing fingering weight yarn. The slubby goodness shines in this easy to knit shawlette. Come see us at For Yarn’s Sake on March 7 to get your hands on this fun yarn; we’ll have it there for the trunk show.

Also in March at For Yarn’s Sake, I’m teaching Brioche Pastiche. This choose your own adventure class starts with learning 2 color brioche in the round. You can add increases and decreases when you feel ready; the class pattern lets you choose headband, hat, or cowl, plain or leafy. This class is 2.5 hours in person, March 24, 2-4:30 pm, register here.

Not local? I’m teaching Whale Conga Line (brioche increases and decreases, and syncopated brioche) and Tink Drop Frog (fixing mistakes) for Virtual Vogue Knitting Online on March 15 & 16. These classes are recorded and available for 2 weeks after the class, so you always have the best seat in the house…YOUR house!

Rounding out the spring, I’m teaching Tink Drop Frog April 20 and Sheepy Steeky Coasters May 18 at For Yarn’s Sake (class listings soon) and Petite Brioche April 13 and Whale Conga Line May 25 at Hook and Needle in Vancouver WA (right across the bridge).

I love teaching, and would love to help you take your knitting to the next level!

6 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, Portland area fun

Tagged brioche knitting classes, for yarn's sake, Hook and Needle Fiber, knitted wit summer slubbing, knitting classes, Prosecco Pop, rose city yarn crawl, vogue knitting online

Red Alder Classes Wrap Up and Eastern Uncrossed Brioche video

Posted on February 24, 2024 | 2 comments

I had a great time at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat. I taught 4 classes, took 2 classes, and learned a lot from all of it! I was pretty brioche- and pooling- centric for all of it.

Let’s talk stitch mounts!

With conventional western style knitting, the right leg is on the front of the needle. This is true for both English throwing and continental picking methods. Both stitches are worked through the front loop, and the yarn wraps counterclockwise around the needle.

With eastern combined knitting (usually continental, yarn in left hand), the knits are formed conventionally, and the purls are wrapped/caught clockwise, resulting in the purl stitches mounted with the left leg on the front of the needle. For knitting in the round, the purl stitches would need to be purled through the back loop so the bottom of the previous stitch isn’t twisted. If knitting flat, the back of the purl stitch is a knit stitch, and it would need to be knit through the back loop to untwist the stitch.

Amanda in my beginning brioche class is a continental Eastern Uncrossed knitter. This means that she makes her all of her stitches with the yarn going clockwise around the needle (both knits and purls), which results in the left legs of all her stitches mounted on the front of her needle.

It took a little thinking, but we figured it out, and I made a video for 2 color Eastern Uncrossed brioche in the round.

Eastern Uncrossed brioche rib in the round

That helps me teach, and that helps knitters not have to change their knitting style when learning brioche. Win-win! Now I’m thinking about eastern combined knitting in the round; there are a couple ways to think about that purl stitch. I’m saving that for another day.

I took 2 classes from Xandy Peters. The first was Color Blocked Brioche. If he had named it Brioche Intarsia, would I have signed up? Probably not! But color blocked intarsia in brioche is fun. Food for design thought.

The other class was Stitch by Color. I didn’t bring the right yarn for this; my yarn just has one pop color, and sprinkles (not enough) of other colors. I’ve been on the pooling train for a year, and that’s the way I was thinking. What I really should have brought is a space dyed yarn that has longer stretches of several colors. Then I could pull out one color to accentuate, or eliminate (by concentrating it on the wrong side of the work). Here’s an example from Xandy.

All of these colors are in the yarn; the pink and red you see on the left edge of the work are emphasized on the wrong side behind the yellow and gray, and vice versa. A great way to accentuate what you like, or hide what you don’t like! We learned some fun pooling stitches, too.

I helped my classmate recreate her dye skein so she could see where the color repeats were made.

That’s the teaching/learning part of the wrap up. There’s still the shopping! I came home with a few treasures. Still trying to catch up from Red Alder AND VKLive NYC!

2 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, travel, tutorial

Tagged Brioche knitting, brioche knitting tutorials, eastern uncrossed brioche rib, knitting, Red Alder Fiber Arts

Knitting for Food

Posted on February 21, 2024 | 1 comment

Please support me by donating through this link. You can also sign up to participate yourself, if you’re interested. Come knit with us!

Puddletown Knitters Guild is having a watch party from 9:30 am to 12:30 pm at Rose City Park Presbyterian Church in Portland, OR. We’ll have door prizes and activities. Come knit with us! RSVP here. Not local? Check the Knit for Food website for local watch parties, wherever you are! You can also sign up to fundraise yourself, if you wish.

Nobody should be hungry. Let’s knit for food!

1 Comment

Posted in events, Knit, Portland area fun

Tagged knit for food, puddletown knitters guild

Introducing: Fuzzy Memories

Posted on February 14, 2024 | 2 comments

I’m back from VKLiveNYC, playing catch up, and on the move again. I’m now in Tacoma for Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival. I’ll catch up later! For now, here’s a little something to amuse you. And I’m offering a buy one/get one deal!

Fuzzy Memories is designed to use one precious skein of souvenir laceweight yarn. My souvenir yarn was a one ounce skein of qiviut (muskox yarn) purchased on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise in 2023. This fuzzy yarn needed an unfussy stitch pattern to complement the dreamy fluffiness, so I chose a stockinette variation of Old Shale Lace.

Fuzzy Memories in Manos del Uruguay Cabrito

This cowl will also work with a 25g skein of laceweight mohair such as Rowan KidSilk Haze or Manos del Uruguay Cabrito. A fuzzy yarn will help keep the cowl’s shape at this loose gauge. Savor your warm fuzzy memories!

The pattern is available on Ravelry, link here. I’m having a BOGO sale; put Fuzzy Memories and one other pattern or ebook in your cart, enter the coupon code FUZZ at checkout, and the Fuzzy Memories pattern will be free. This offer is good through February 21, 2024.