I’m teaming up with Shaina Bilow and Keith Leonard to bring you Brioche Buddies! We’ll spend a month exploring the loveliness that is brioche. Weekly classes will be via Zoom, and are limited to 40 participants. Registration went live yesterday, and there are 18 spots left. If you want to be part of this brioche extravaganza you should register now.
Classes will be recorded, and you’ll have access for a year. We’ll also have an option for recorded classes only. That’s a great option if the schedule doesn’t fit your schedule, or if the Live Zoom classes are sold out.
For the Brioche Buddies event, I’ll be teaching fixing mistakes,
and brioche increases and decreases, which is how we get the lovely patterning in 2 color brioche rib.
Shaina and Keith are engaging, experienced teachers. I met Keith at VKLive Columbus in 2019, and I met Shaina at VKLive Seattle 2022. Shaina and I taught at Knit Maine last month, and that’s where I learned that they’ve been buddies ever since she taught Keith to knit. All three of us will be teaching at VKLive NYC in February 2023. I’m thrilled to be joining this dynamic duo!
If you’re brioche-curious, and want to really get it down, this series is for you. You’ll have plenty of time to practice during the week between classes, and just keeping it rolling will help you gain the muscle memory for the rhythm of brioche. I hope you can join us!
I recently signed up to try out Knitcrate. This is a subscription yarn service, and they have several different clubs: Sock, Stash, Knit and Crochet. My first package from the Knit and Crochet Club arrived yesterday.
This club has a monthly delivery of yarn and two patterns, one for knit and one for crochet. This month’s yarn is a bulky weight alpaca/tencel blend from Audine Wools. It’s soft, and will definitely be drapey with those fibers. The patterns are downloadable with a QR code from the card. This month’s knit pattern is a pair of textured mitts. They’ll be a quick knit!
Yarn detailsThe full crate
There’s also an extra goodie in each month’s delivery. This month’s goodie is a notions pouch. It has a main zip compartment, and a front zip compartment. And a list to remind you what you need. You know I like organizational tools!
If you’re interested in trying Knitcrate, use this link and my code MICHELE (if needed) and you’ll get $40 on your first crate (basically a free first month), and 20% off anything in the Knitcrate shop. After 3 months, you’ll get another $40 coupon. You can cancel at any time.
Full disclosure: Knitcrate has provided this package to me to review, and if you use my link I earn a commission.
But with a free first month, why not check it out?
What makes a good project bag? It needs to be roomy enough to carry the yarn and the project. And I like an inner pocket to corral my essential tools. The project bag needs to fit in my tote, which also carries everything else I would otherwise carry in a handbag. I swap project bags in and out of my tote, depending on what kind of project I want with me.
This cat-themed bag from Grace’s Cases holds one of my current projects, the beginnings of an Embellishment Cowl. It’s a class sample. I love that the colors on the bag coordinate with the yarn. A happy accident?
Peek inside the Small Double Sack Divided Project Bag. It has a snap pocket between two sections that can each hold a 100g cake of yarn. Grace Fross makes beautiful bags; I have two of her totes, too. And she does custom orders!
This RBG-themed bag currently holds the beginnings of another Bonnie Isle Hat. I need to get a sample set up for class. The bag is from Nerd Bird Makery, and it has two pockets on the back wall inside.
As well as a little inspiration above the pockets. I’m pretty sure the bag is no longer available, though.
Knit Fit kit
But let’s get down to business! I loved reading all your comments on why you should be the winner of this bag full of goodies. And the winner of this Knit Fit kit is postmandeb! I’m sending you an email; please reply by October 10 with your mailing address. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll pick another winner.
I have one more bag to give away, but the winner will have to fill it on their own. This fun bag was a prize during knitting bingo at Knit Maine with Peacetree Fiber Adventures! The long handle loops through the short handle, and it makes a perfect wristlet. Pamela Howard is the winner of this bag. Please also reply to my email with your mailing address by October 10.
If you’re not the winner, that doesn’t mean that you can’t try to walk and knit at the same time. You just need a small project bag that hangs on your wrist, and a small project that doesn’t take too much attention. A plain stockinette hat on circular needles would be perfect! I’m guessing that you have some things that might fit the bill.
What kind of bag do you like for your knitting project?
See how smooth and even my stitches are? They weren’t when they came off the needles! Stranded colorwork isn’t finished until it’s been blocked. This hat is currently drying after a soak. You may also wonder why there’s a string hanging off the bottom. The designer suggests putting a strand of “a strong yarn” through the ribbing and pulling it in a bit while it dries. This helps make the brim lie flat and a bit more snug.
I usually block my keps over this bowl, so the top lays out flat.
Like this. But this time I just laid the folded hat on top of the bowl (top picture), because I didn’t want it to stretch lengthwise, and I didn’t want to leave a ridge where it hits the edge of the bowl. I kept rearranging it as it dried, so it didn’t get any creases in it.
I bought the yarn pack for this from For Yarn’s Sake; I’m not the best color combiner on my own! I love this particular combination. There are five different colorways, in case you’d like a little help with your colors, too.
I’m teaching a stranded colorwork class for For Yarn’s Sake via Zoom on Sunday, November 6. We’ll talk about stranded colorwork knitting, managing multiple yarns, yarn color dominance, and blocking. We’ll use this pattern as a jumping off point, but the techniques are applicable to all stranded colorwork. I’ll also talk about how I adjusted the size of my hat via stitch count (because I don’t like tiny needles, and I like the fabric I get using a US3). Register here if you’re interested!
Most horrifying moment? After I had sewn in the ends, wondering why there was one really loose purple strand inside the hat, and then discovering that I had dropped a stitch and it the whole column was running. It was one of those dark purple lines going in to the center. I fixed it (hooray for sticky yarn that doesn’t slip-slide away too quickly!). I can tell which line it is, but I don’t think it’s too obvious.
Now…does this hat need a pompom? I’m probably too lazy to ever get around to making one!
After the Vogue Knitting Cruise and a few days in New York, DH headed for Portland, Oregon and I headed for Portland, Maine. Knit Maine (from Peacetree Fiber Adventures) was held at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Deer Isle, a 3 hour drive from Portland. It was like going to camp! North Coast Maine is a magical place.
It’s probably good that I didn’t know beforehand that I’d be taking my suitcases (2!) down these stairs to my room.
And back up again at the end of our stay. And that I’d be up and down them repeatedly every day. I got my 10,000 steps every day, and a stairmaster workout, to boot!
With Louis, Shaina, and Christine Walker (Knit Maine organizer!)
Happy to be settling in!
Gathering area outside the dining hallMorning yoga
My classes? In the wood studio. I taught Petite Brioche and Whale Watch/Brioche Increases & Decreases, as well as 3 other classes.
YO? YO! Fun and fancy stitches to dress up your stockinette.Thrumbelina thrummed slippersSo much floof!
Jacquie didn’t love making the thrummed butterflies, and I mentioned that some people use the roving as a carry-along strip. Worth a try! As long as you get the result you want, you’re doing it right.
The days were packed with classes, but we also had time to shop in the market that was set up in the clay studio. Casey Ryder from Port Fiber had some beautiful yarns from Cashmere People, Spin Cycle and Harrisville Designs (and more?).
Madder Root Trundle Bag
Madder Root had beautiful bags. I couldn’t resist this one. You know I love the night sky!
Louis choosing colors from North Light Fibers
and Sven from North Light Fibers brought beautiful yarn, including Water Street, a DK weight 40/60 cashmere/merino blend that is making me dream of cushy brioche accessories. There was more, the offerings changed from day to day. I’m sure I didn’t see everything.
The weather was perfect, and there was time to explore the campus.
At Picnic Rock with Shaina, Kristin, and CalStacked stones at Picnic RockTrail…Found the beach!Across from the flagpoleMoonrise, full harvest moonEven the stumps are beautifulTeachers!
Louis Boria, me, Shaina Bilow, Kristin Drysdale, Casey Ryder, Christine Walker (Peacetree Fiber Adventures), and Cal Patch. Knit Maine featured classes in knitting, drop spindling, embroidery, sewing, needle felting…a nice mix of fiber arts.
Happy campers!swag
Christine is such an excellent organizer. She had Knit Maine tote bags ready for each participant, with supplies for their classes. Also in the bags? These mugs, and a center pull ball winder from Katrinkles. ETA: T-shirts, and a copy of Taproot magazine. (I had partially unpacked, and things got separated!) A skein of yarn from Moss Fibers, specially dyed as The Maine Event colorway, was the parting gift. I’m looking forward to making something special with it.
The fun didn’t stop when we left Haystack; we still had to get back to Portland.
That’s a wrap on my epic east coast adventure! I’m so happy I had the opportunity to teach in such a variety of settings. What a great way to start autumn knitting. Now I’m gearing up for virtual and in-person teaching. Looking forward to a fiber-filled fall!
I only had 3 days between the Vogue Knitting Cruise before heading to Maine. Going home would have turned two of those days into travel days, so I made a plan to stay in NYC instead. It was also my birthday, so DH came out to celebrate with me.
We took walks, explored parks, relaxed, and saw Hamilton and Six. Six is the story of the wives of Henry VIII, reimagined as a sing off in which each wife tells why her lot was the worst. I love Tudor history, so that was very fun. The music is very catchy, and I’m still listening to it and singing along with the soundtrack.
Hamilton was all that fun and more! It’s a masterpiece. I hadn’t seen Hamilton or listened to the soundtrack before attending, but it wasn’t a problem. Also, I recognized many main characters from Outlander, haha! Washington, Lee, LaFayette. The Battle of Monmouth (and General Lee’s retreat). No Jamie Fraser in the musical, though.
Empire State Building from Bryant Park
I loved knitting in Bryant Park; it was just the relaxing afternoon I needed. Bryant Park is right behind the flagship New York Public Library.
A couple days before I left for my epic East Coast adventures, DH came to me and said that he had been planning a surprise for our anniversary, but had been persuaded to make it not a surprise. Confusing? He wanted us to renew our vows, and had been talking to my pastor. (He doesn’t do church, but he’d met her once a few weeks before.) She recommended that he ask me, because vows should be consensual and not a surprise. Makes sense! So we had a phone chat with her while we were in New York, planning for a small ceremony in a favorite park in Portland on our anniversary, the day after I’d get home from Maine. (Nonstop fun, right?) We didn’t want a big to-do; my September was full enough!
These are not the rings we seek
Since we were in New York, I got a wild hair to see if the jeweler that made my anniversary band (7th anniversary a very long time ago) was still in business. (We lived in Queens back then.) He had passed away, but his grandson now runs the business. We had a nice visit, and ordered white gold bands, each with a single tiny diamond. They wouldn’t be ready for the ceremony, but we borrowed their ring sizers as stand-ins.
It all worked out. The kids came to help us celebrate. DH and I had lovely tributes for each other. (I called him a romantic hidden inside a curmudgeon.) We renewed our vows with updated versions of the original ones. It was a small and perfect event!
Peninsula Park Rose Garden
But that happened after Knit Maine, so I’ll head back to the east coast…in the next post.
We had two stops in Canada: St John, New Brunswick and Halifax, Nova Scotia.
St. John had two yarn shops in walking distance from the port. First stop? Cricket Cove, in Brunswick Square.
Norah and the Hand Maiden display
So much beautiful yarn, a lot of it Canadian-dyed. This Hand Maiden Yarns display was gorgeous! It had several interesting kits set up, some for thrumming and some for color pooling, both of which I’d be teaching in Maine the next week. But I already had yarns for those classes, so I didn’t indulge. (I like my yarn acquisitions to have a plan.)
Sweet mouse overseeing the desk
Our second stop was Good Fibrations, which had a good selection of hand-dyed yarns, and spinning and weaving supplies.
And goodie bags for us, including this sweet notebook set and hand balm.
I bought this skein of hand-dyed super bulky; I need a new demo yarn for my Brioche Entrée scarf. I’ve been using the same bit of yarn for years, and it’s time for a refresh. This will be perfect against my white demo needles.
I also bought a new circular for my Petite Brioche class; I wanted a metal needle that would contrast better than my dark wooden needle against my dark demo yarn. No 16” circulars in sight! LYS owner Elizabeth Miller told me that she likes 20” (who am I kidding, 50 cm because we’re in Canada) circulars for hats, so that’s what she carries. I didn’t even know that Hiya Hiya stainless circulars came in 20” lengths. I bought one, and it’s perfect.
Felted shop dragon by Margaret Pitre
On to Halifax!
Another port, another charming lighthouse…or several
I met up with fellow blogger Brenda Solman. We walked the boardwalk and visited The Loop yarn shop, where I finally bought yarn that didn’t have a plan. Oops.
Flyss in Arctic
Can you blame me? This is Flyss from Hand Maiden Yarns. It’s 65% silk, 35% linen. I don’t know what it wants to be, but it’s stunning.
Some of the cruisers went on an optional wine and fiber tour. I wish I could have been in two places at once!
Halifax was the last stop on our cruise. The next day was a full day at sea. We had the second of our classes in the morning, and a get together in the afternoon. A few more cruise pictures below.
Carla Scott, VK host, Kat, and Kathy Bunbury, tour specialist
Lots of knitting, and lots of fun!
Relaxing after touring Halifax, with yet another lighthouse
It was a very fun trip; I’m so glad I was a part of it!
Our Vogue Knitting Cruise also made a stop in Portland, Maine.
One of the many lighthouses…
Unlike Newport, Rhode Island, and Bar Harbor, which involved a tender (small boat to get from cruise ship to port), Portland has a deep water harbor that accommodates cruise ships. We could just walk on and walk off! With proper documentation, of course.
Windy!
We had a trolley tour of Portland, which ended at Port Fiber yarn shop. Port Fiber is owned by Casey Ryder, with whom I’d meet up again the following week at Knit Maine.
Mary Jane Mucklestone and Bristol Ivy
Designers Mary Jane Mucklestone and Bristol Ivy came to show samples and talk about knitting in Maine. Seeing and touching samples in real life is always so compelling!
Selfies were taken, of course.
Mary JaneBristol
You know I’m not much of a yarn stasher. But I love a yarn with a story, and couldn’t resist this.
Casey imports and distributes yarn for Cashmere People Yarns. These yarns are ethically sourced, handspun and hand-dyed by women in Tajikstan and Afghanistan.
Each skein has a picture and bio of the spinner, which I find charming. My skein is a two ply fingering weight cashgora, which isn’t a blend of cashmere and angora fiber. It’s actually from cashgora animals, which are a cross between Russian fiber goats and cashmere-type goats in Tajikstan. My skein is in the Atlantic colorway, which I thought was appropriate for this cruise souvenir. I’m planning to knit a Zephyr shawlette, which starts at the skinny end and I can knit til I run out of yarn. Or if I get wild, I’ll design a new thing that’s similar. (If you want your LYS to carry this luscious yarn, have them contact Casey Ryder at Port Fiber.)
Kathy and me
I also took the opportunity to meet a longtime friend from my piano forum. I’ve met up with other piano and knitting friends after knowing them online. It’s fun to meet in real life; you just pick up the chat where you left off. (The first time I ever did this, DH was worried that I was meeting up with an axe murderer. Hasn’t happened yet!)
We went to Gritty’s so I could fulfill the lobster roll on my bucket list. It was delicious! But spendy. I think I enjoyed my unphotographed lobster Cobb salad at Stewman’s in Bar Harbor even more. Less guilt…it’s a salad, right? (And split with a friend…with fries…)
Pilot boat guiding us out of PortlandKnit Fit kit
Don’t forget I’m giving away my Knit Fit kit; see this blog post for details on how to enter to win! We got these in Bar Harbor, which I previously posted about in order to get this party underway. My next post: O Canada! Two more ports…
The Norwegian Breakaway was huge! Lots of indoor and outdoor places to explore; it’s like a floating city with lots of restaurants, lounges, pools, and hot tubs. And a casino, if that’s your thing. You get to visit lots of places on and off the ship, and your hotel room just moves along with you. Tidy.
People do play with this outdoor chess set!Rose Island Lighthouse, Newport RI
So many charming lighthouses on this trip! This one greeted us at our first stop, in Newport, Rhode Island.
We visited Knitting Needles, a sweet shop not too far from the tender dock. She was ready for us with goodie bags, and a visit with the dyers behind Hugs With Shrugs, a charity that supports moms that have children with pediatric cancer.
I bought a couple mini skeins that are Newport-themed. I’ll find a use for them with another worsted. A little brioche accent, maybe?
I met John Brennan, author and pirate. He came to chat about his book, Newport Live, which is a history of Newport.
first class
I taught my first brioche class that afternoon; we had fun! I taught beginning 2 color brioche in the round, with the option to learn increases and decreases to knit my Whale Watch Cap and Cowl. I designed these accessories especially for this cruise! And I also used them the following week at Knit Maine.
Whale Watch Cap and Cowl. See the Whale Tail?
The other half of our group had class with Vogue Knitting’s editor-in-chief Norah Gaughan; they learned techniques from Norah’s new book, Knit Fold Pleat Repeat. We swapped groups at the end of the week, so everyone had a chance to take both classes.
I’m adding miscellaneous cruise pictures to this post; this blog is my pictorial journal, too!
Closing gathering, with new stash!Cruise knitters!Verrazano Narrows Bridge
I woke up early on our return day; the lights of this bridge were reflecting in my mirror! Apple Maps told me that it was the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, and that the Statue of Liberty was coming right up. Which it did.
I flew into NYC the day before boarding for the Vogue Knitting Cruise. On the non-stop Portland to JFK flight, I inhaled a book called The Boys by Katie Hafner. It’s about relationships, pandemic isolation, parenthood, and more…with a great twist that I never saw coming. This is Katie Hafner’s fiction debut; she’s the author of several non-fiction books, and when I met her at Sonata piano camp in 2002 she was writing for the NY Times. I loved this book, and I highly recommend it.
Dinner at Ichiran
Late in the book, the protagonist has dinner in New York city at a ramen restaurant that is known for solo dining. I was alone, so I googled and found Ichiran. The restaurant has long counters with folding side panels, so you are alone at a booth with your food. If you’re with a friend, you can fold the panel back and be side by side, together. The curtain goes up, you place your order (written), and never see the server’s face. The ramen shows up, and the curtain goes back down. The idea is to concentrate on your food, but I think for introverts and solo diners, the point is to be alone without feeling like a weirdo! At least it was for me. And the tonkotsu ramen was delicious.
I had time for a bit of a walkabout on Sunday morning before boarding, so I’ll share some favorite sights.
St. Patrick’s CathedralAtlas at Rockefeller Centerabove a doorway at Rockefeller CenterWindow shopping on Fifth Avenue, love those animal printsIn the window at Bergdorf Goodman
I loved this dress. I want it. Dolce & Gabbana. $7800. I don’t want it that badly, and it would have to be shortened, anyway. Nope. But isn’t it gorgeous?
Me, in my $20 dress, ready to sail on the Norwegian Breakaway
Don’t forget, I’m giving away my Knit Fit kit on this post over here. Leave a comment there to enter!
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 