Rose City Yarn Crawl begins Thursday

Posted on February 21, 2023 | 1 comment

We always begin the Rose City Yarn Crawl with a trunk show at For Yarn’s Sake; it’s a tradition.

Here’s last year, and we hope to see you this year, too! Pictured with me left to right: Debbie Stone, Lorajean Kelley, shop owner Anne Lindquist, and Shannon Squire. Our trunk show is Thursday February 23, from 10 am to 4 pm. The shop is open from 10 am to 6 pm that day.

I’ll have copies of Brioche Knit Love to sign for you; this is a great last chance to get a copy before they’re gone! I don’t know if there will be a reprint, and we’re down to the last few boxes. I’ll also have samples of my applied pooling adventures, and samples for upcoming classes. Come say howdy!

Helpful links: Rose City Yarn Crawl

Rose City Yarn Crawl Backup Instagram account, because the real one got hacked (ugh). Follow this and post using hashtag #RoseCityYarnCrawl

Starlight Knitting Society backup Instagram account, because the real one got hacked (ugh again). The internet is a wonderful and terrible place…

For Yarn’s Sake Rose City Yarn Crawl page

PDXKnitterati For Yarn’s Sake Rose City Yarn Crawl page

Hope to see you Thursday!

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Yarn chicken hijinks

Posted on February 15, 2023 | 7 comments

I’m just back from Vogue Knitting Live in NYC. I’ll catch up with pictures from that eventually, but right now I’m packing to go to Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat in Tacoma, Washington. I’m leaving today, so…I’ll catch up when I catch up! You can see some of my pictures on Instagram.

I worked on this assigned pooling design on my flights to and from New York. I have a very small digital scale for travel, but it’s not very accurate on a bouncy airline tray table. I waited until I was in my hotel room to carefully weigh my yarn to see how many grams it took to knit a round. Then I figured the number of rounds I needed to complete my project, and added a buffer. That yarn there? That was calculated to be enough to bind off, and knit a cord to cinch the top of this cowl/hat, just like the finishing on Pooling is a Cinch.

Almost done…and it’s clear that the bit of yarn left is not going to be enough to finish binding off the stitches on the needle. So much for math! I need about the equivalent of one more round, but I’d have to frog 10 rounds to get to the place where I would shorten this piece. Blergh.

Luckily, I remembered this trick, so here is this tutorial for you.

Binding off when you’ve lost at yarn chicken…

I win! And I like this narrower cord; it will fit in the eyelets better. That’s serendipity!

Have you ever had to resort to binding off without yarn?

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Knitting for Food

Posted on February 13, 2023 | 4 comments

I’m knitting for food!

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.You can also sign up to participate yourself, if you’re interested.

We’re working on getting space for local PDX knitters to knit together on March 26. I’ll keep you posted!

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Introducing Pooling is a Cinch!

Posted on February 6, 2023 | 1 comment

Pooling is a Cinch is a convertible piece that will please both hat and cowl lovers. The stockinette stitch body is a perfect canvas for playing with assigned pooling. Worsted weight yarn knits up quickly for a fun introduction to this technique. Choose a yarn that is meant to pool; you’ll want 6 to 8 inch (15-20 cm) runs of your pooling color.

Knitting begins and ends with a reverse stockinette rolled edge. A knit cord is threaded through a round of eyelets near the top. The cord is tied in a decorative knot on the cowl. The cord can also be cinched to convert the cowl to a hat.

The pattern is now available through Ravelry here, and through Payhip here. It’s 15% off through February 14, no coupon code needed. If you’re in my Pooling class at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat, the yarn and pattern is included in your class packet. (I think there are 2 spots left; come knit with me!)

I used Yarn Snob’s A Wondrous Worsted in the Times Square colorway, and it pooled beautifully. Calvin approves!

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Assigned pooling mania

Posted on February 5, 2023 | 7 comments

Help! I’ve fallen down the pooling rabbit hole, and I’m not sure when I’m coming up for air. The ideas are flying.

I had so much fun with the yarn for Pooling is a Cinch (publishing tomorrow), I had to play with one more design. This cowl doesn’t have a name yet, but I think it will be out later this month.

Dream in Color has pooling yarns in worsted weight, too! We’ll be using this yarn (choice of colors) for an assigned pooling Zoom class via For Yarn’s Sake in April. I’m working on this pattern right now; it will also be out later this month. I love this stitch, and it’s very adaptable for the length of your colorburst.

If you have an idea for naming either of these, let me know. If I use the name you suggest, I’ll send you a copy of the pattern.

Have any new-to-you techniques caught your fancy lately? Do tell!

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Posted in classes, Knit, pattern design

Planning ahead to September

Posted on February 4, 2023 | 3 comments

I worked summers at a cannery on Kodiak Island, Alaska to pay for college, way back when. I worked in the egg house, sorting and packing salmon roe to send to Japan.

That’s me, with a handful of salmon roe. I’ve always wanted to re-visit Alaska, without the fish eggs.

Guess who’s going to Alaska? This cruise with Vogue Knitting is going to be spectacular. I’m not sure what I’m teaching yet, but I think brioche and Whale Watch Cap and Cowl would be perfectly appropriate.

We shall see! Come knit with me!

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Brioche Knit Love update

Posted on February 2, 2023 | 6 comments

Good news, bad news, stuff to chew on?

Good news: Brioche Knit Love is nearly sold out. I’d consider that to be a successful project!

Bad news: There are no more books with the distributor. I was sad to learn that Library House Press, my publisher, has closed its doors. It was so exciting to work with them to bring this book to life.

Good news: I’ve obtained the remaining copies from Library House Press, and you can purchase a copy through For Yarn’s Sake in Beaverton, Oregon (yes they sell online) or Twisted Yarn Shop in Portland, Oregon (online only).

I’ll also have books at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat this month in Tacoma, Washington, in the Northwest Yarns booth. We’re having a book signing that Saturday, February 18, noon to 1:30. If you’re at Red Alder, pop by and say howdy!

And I’ll be signing books at For Yarn’s Sake on Thursday February 23, the first day of the Rose City Yarn Crawl. We’re having our traditional trunk show yarn crawl kick off featuring Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit), Shannon Squire, Debbie Stone, and me.

I’m looking at options to see if I can make another printing happen. Wish me luck!

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Happy Fiberuary!

Posted on February 1, 2023 | 1 comment

Or February, if you’re traditional. This is a jam packed month for me. Who knew you could have this much fun knitting? I have three in-person weekends coming up. I hope to see you at one of these events!

At Vogue Knitting Live NYC Feb. 10-12 I’ll be teaching Petite Brioche (beginning brioche), Deep End (brioche increases and decreases), Syncopation (syncopated brioche), Sheepy Steeky Coasters (steeks!), and my new Embellishment Cowl (elongated stitches, slip stitch quilted lattice, and beads).

At Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat Feb. 16-19 I’ll be teaching Petite Brioche (beginning brioche), Whale Watch Cap and Cowl (brioche increases and decreases), Sheepy Steeky Coasters (steeks!) and Assigned and Planned Pooling.

Rose City Yarn Crawl is Feb. 23-26. I’ll have a trunk show and book signing at For Yarn’s Sake on Thursday Feb. 23, along with Lorajean Kelley (Knitted Wit), Shannon Squire, and Debbie Stone.

Oh, and Bruce Springsteen is coming to town! Should I go see him? He held my sock, you know…

How is your February shaping up?

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Introducing Ebb and Flow

Posted on January 31, 2023 | 1 comment

Ebb and Flow is a bandanna cowl, a scarf-ish cowl, a cowlish scarf, but definitely not a scowl. Waves of lace and stockinette alternate from the neck down to a triangular point. You can knit the cowl to be taller and the triangle shorter, as in this version.

Or you can knit the cowl to be shorter and the triangle longer, as in this pink version. As one ebbs, the other flows, keeping it within the limits of a single skein of fingering weight yarn. If you have extra yardage, you can have both the taller cowl and the longer triangle. I suppose if you’re impatient or short on yarn, you could also knit a shorter cowl and a shorter triangle. You do you!

This design was inspired by a glorious weekend teaching at Haystack School of Arts and Crafts for Knit Maine last September. Gabriela of Moss Fibers made this beautiful souvenir yarn for us in The Maine Event colorway. I knew it would be a water-inspired design of some sort!

The pattern is now available through Ravelry here, and also through Payhip here. It’s 15% off through February 6, no coupon code needed.

Thank you to tech editor Jen Lucas, model Sharon Hsu, and test knitters Ann Berg, Debbie Braden, Jody Brostrom, Rowan Frost, Iris Mondri-Kish, Melissa A. Rowe, and Nan Wagner. It was a fun and lively test knit group!

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Everybody into the pool!

Posted on January 30, 2023 | 5 comments

What’s in a name? You may recall that I asked for help naming this pattern. There were a lot of suggestions on the blog and Facebook and Instagram! I didn’t want the name to be color specific, because the piece is meant to work with many color pooling yarns. And the color may or may not spiral, depending on the individual knitter’s stitch count and gauge.

Sue suggested Pooling’s a Cinch, which honored both the pooling and the cinch detail from cowl to hat. Winner! I ultimately decided that “Pooling Is A Cinch” would work better on the internet, and here we are. Congratulations to Sue; I’m sending her a pattern when it’s published next week.

I had so much fun with this yarn from Yarn Snob/Knits All Done. I wasn’t ready to stop, so I’m designing one more piece with it. I absconded with one of the skeins meant for my pooling class at Red Alder, which means there are only 2 spots left. Come knit with me and this amazing yarn! Register here, class is Friday February 15.

You’ll note from the yarn wrapped around the yarn in the yarn bra (do you use these? I love them) that there has been some frogging and re-knitting as I decide how I want this to look. I think I’m on track now, but I thought that the first three times, too. That’s how I design…try it, frog it, try it, frog it, BINGO!

Have you played with color pooling yarn?

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