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.
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!
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.
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!
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!
I love a small project for teaching new techniques. These Aspen Leaf Coasters are a perfect lesson in brioche increases and decreases.
They even include an optional syncopated edge for a pop of accent color. They’re knit in worsted weight wool, so they’re quick, too. These were knit with Malabrigo Worsted in Sunset and Malambo.
And these were knit with Anzula For Better or Worsted in Herb and Blueberry.
I’m looking forward to teaching increases and decreases with these. (Pint tumblers by JaMPDX)
The pattern is available through Ravelry and also through Payhip. The pattern is 15% off through January 30, no coupon code needed.
Or a hat. It’s both! I’ve designed this for my assigned/planned pooling class at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat next month. There are a couple spots left in class. Yarn is included in the materials fee. It’s A Wondrous Worsted from Yarn Snob, in the Times Square colorway. I’m in LOVE. Better pictures on a human soon; it’s finally stopped raining here.
In the meantime, please help me name this cowl/hat! I’ve been calling it Bossy Cowl Hat, in a nod to the yarn telling you when it’s time to do the exciting stitch, and the idea of Bossy the Cow(l). Ha! But it doesn’t sound very inviting, or very pretty. What should I call it?
If I pick the name you suggest, you’ll get a free copy of the pattern, which should work with any worsted weight color pooling yarn. Fire away!
Have you tried planned pooling or assigned pooling? What did you think of it?
Unrelated PS: The Nautical Knitting cruise on the schooner Zodiac is sold out! But if you’re interested, sign up for the waiting list; there can be changes between now and the end of July. Ahoy!
I’ve just signed on to teach aboard the Zodiac, a schooner that sails out of Bellingham, Washington. This is in conjunction with Northwest Yarns of Bellingham. The 3 day cruise is July 31-August 2. It’s a nautical knitting cruise! And you get to learn to help sail the ship, too.
(photo from the Zodiac website, used with permission, copyright Taylor Hodges)
The trip includes 4 knitting classes. Two of them will be brioche! We’ll use my Whale Watch Cap and Cowl pattern to introduce brioche and then learn increases and decreases.
Our other two classes will explore fancy stitches and herringbone braids (and simple stranded colorwork).
I love that our (grown) kids love to cook. Their Christmas gift for us was eggs Benedict with smoked salmon, and of course mimosas. We moved it to this weekend so it wasn’t squished between Hanukkah brisket and Christmas prime rib. Ryan brought J. Kenji Lopez-Alt’s book over; he likes his science-based approach to cooking and wanted to try emulsifying!
We learned to make Hollandaise sauce, and how to properly poach eggs. It was all delicious.
Calvin was very interested in this box, even before I opened it. Did it smell like freshly dyed yarn? Or did it smell like Teddy, Keith Leonard’s orange tabby cat? (Keith AKA Yarn Snob)
Inside the box: 16 skeins of A Wondrous Worsted in the Times Square colorway. Keith usually dyes his pooling colors on fingering weight, but I like worsted for teaching. The knitting goes more quickly, so we can cover more in class. I find this worsted to be a little lighter in weight than the worsteds I usually knit with, more like a DK, which is great.
This yarn is meant to pool! I bought it for my Jump Into the Pool! Planned and Assigned Pooling class at Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat next month. All students will begin a skein of this yarn, so we can have a successful pooling experience together. I’m about to knit up a sample cowl using assigned pooling, and then write up a pattern that will work with any color pooling yarn.
Cabana Boy yarn
I had Keith dye Cabana Boy with a longer center color for my Knit Maine class last September. I wrote up instructions specifically for this hat and headband and this yarn, but I want to write more general instructions for a central colorburst of varying lengths.
There are a few spots left in my class. Red Alder Fiber Arts Retreat is in Tacoma, Washington February 16-19, and this class is on Friday afternoon. Come knit with me!
Find my patterns on Ravelry: Michele Bernstein Designs
Here are some of my favorites, and the newest. Many of my designs are also available through my Payhip store.
PDXKnitterati 