I’ve been a fan of the Bootie and Bossy Eat Drink Knit podcast for a while now. These two sisters talk about knitting, cooking, and life. Recently they’ve been on a read-through of Anne L. Macdonald’s No Idle Hands: The Social History of American Knitting. I read this when it first came out (in hardback!). I think I’ll read it again, on my Kindle.
I was honored when they invited me to have a chat with them for their podcast. It was a fun and rambling conversation about all things knitting, and more.
I think my suggestions for snacking while knitting really captured their fancy. Have a listen here, and giggle along with us! (Link is for Apple Podcasts, but you can also find them on Spotify.)
I forgot to add the biggest knit thing I did in 2023, which was also a second chance: I re-published my sold out, out of print book, Brioche Knit Love: 21 Skill Building Projects from Simple to Sublime! It’s for sale through Amazon.com and through select yarn shops including For Yarn’s Sake and Northwest Yarns and Mercantile. Get a copy and enjoy brioche knitting!
To ring out the old year and ring in the new, I’m having a sale on my 2023 individual self-published patterns on Ravelry. These are the eight designs you see above (not the book, which is not on Ravelry). Here’s a link to the Ravelry bundle so you can find them easily. Get 20% off any of my 2023 patterns from now through January 5, 2024. Explore assigned pooling, play with brioche, or just have a simple knit and let a gradient yarn walk you through Ebb and Flow! (If Ravelry is not accessible for you, message me and we’ll work it out.)
Happy new year…are you doing something fun for New Year’s Eve? We’re staying home with the cats. That’s enough excitement for us!
October marks the second anniversary of the publication of my book, Brioche Knit Love. I wrote it in 2021, as an extension of my love for designing and teaching brioche knitting. It’s still my favorite kind of knitting!
I’m so glad I had the opportunity to write this book. It was first published by Marie Greene’s Library House Press, which no longer exists. Since then it sold out, and I had to figure out how to keep it going.
Printing 1000 copies and running a warehouse from my home? I didn’t have the mental bandwidth for that. In May I finally figured out how to sell it via Amazon/Kindle Publishing Direct, and that works really well for me. I don’t have to mail anything myself, which is great. I also sell the books wholesale to local yarn shops, if it works for both of us. Winner!
I’ve been enjoying all the Brioche Knit Love Facebook Memories posts this month, so I wanted to share that bit of fun.
Seagull Flight
If you want a book that takes you from beginning to more advanced brioche, Brioche Knit Love is the book for you. I made video tutorials to go with the book, too, for a complete brioche experience.
Currently on the needles: more brioche! It’s all about the syncopated brioche edges on this piece. I’m knitting with this gorgeous Anzula Lucero DK which has a bit of sparkle in it.
I’m finding that I’m on a roll with wooden needles; I really like them for a little more control than my usual stainless steel. These needles are Knitters Pride Ginger. I like the finish on these birch needles; they’re not overly slick. But not sticky, either!
Do you have a favorite type of needle? I find it depends on the yarn. For this project, these needles are perfect!
It’s back! I’ve just re-published my book, Brioche Knit Love, through Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon’s print on demand service). You can order your copy here. The book is also available through For Yarn’s Sake, the LYS where I teach. Support a local business!
Brioche Knit Love is also available as an ebook. Some of you have asked me for an ebook version, and here it is! You can view it on the Kindle app for phones, tablets, computers, and on the Kindle Fire tablet. It’s a print replica (works like a pdf), so it’s not for the Kindle e-reader. Here’s the ebook link.
The book is also available in other countries through other Amazon marketplaces, like amazon.uk. Search for it if you aren’t in the US.
If you’ve previously purchased Brioche Knit Love and enjoyed it, I’d love it if you’d leave a review on the Amazon page.
I’m really pleased to be able to offer this book again. It’s been a long journey figuring out how to make it happen, and I’ve learned all sorts of things along the way. Many many thanks to Carlee Wright, the designer of the original book, for working with me to get everything formatted to republish.
And I’m so glad that I don’t have to warehouse books and ship them out. I’d rather be knitting and designing and teaching.
Now I can get back to my knitting…on a plane! I’m headed to Buffalo, NY to teach for the guild this weekend. Happy spring!
I’ll be re-publishing Brioche Knit Love through Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon). This way makes the most sense for me. The prospect of ordering 750 – 1000 copies, warehousing them, and being the distributor for them was overwhelming.
I uploaded my files, and we’re soooo close! The cover needs a little adjustment (it’s riding high; that white stripe at the bottom doesn’t belong there).
That’s especially true on the back, where our heads are floating out of the frame. But it’s all been sorted, and I just ordered a final proof copy to make sure everything looks right. Soon!
I’m not quite as far along on the e-book. I uploaded a file for that, and it’s not doing what I want. We’re working on it…
I’m so happy they liked it! I sent the book for review last fall. After that I found out that my publisher was closing, and the book was close to sold out. I bought the last 120 and have sold most of them via my two LYSes. (Those are gone now.) I have about 8 books left…If you want one right now, I can sell them as long as I have them.
I’m learning all sorts of things about self-publishing, including that I don’t want to have them printed myself (750 books at my house, and I would have to manage and distribute.) I’d earn more money that way, but I thought about it and realized I’d rather be knitting and designing. I’m working on having the book reformatted so I can use a Print on Demand service (my book isn’t a standard size for POD), and I’m also planning on publishing this as an ebook. I’m hoping there are physical books available by the end of May, and ebooks sooner than that. I’ll also be publishing individual patterns from the book, if that’s more your jam.
Step by step, and I’ll get there. But for now, I’m THRILLED by the review in Vogue Knitting!
If you’d like to keep current and know when the book is available again, including the ebook, sign up for my email newsletter. It comes out once or twice a month and includes knitting news, tips, and a 25% discount on my new pattern releases. I promise I won’t spam you…I don’t have the time or energy to send more often than that! Here’s the sign up link.
I was looking at a Knit Picks call for design submissions, and it said that the designer needs to have a USA, Canada, UK, or Australia shipping address. I knew they shipped to USA and Canada, but the rest was news to me. Hello!
Knit Picks is carrying my book, Brioche Knit Love, and where it would cost me $80 to ship to Australia via the post office, their rates are much better. So if you’re in the UK or Australia and want my book; check it out. My publisher doesn’t have distributors there, so this is a great way to get access. And it works for Canada, too. We do have a Canadian distributor (Julie Asselin), but I don’t know if books are in Canadian LYSes yet.
Currently sold out, but they’ve ordered more!
Knit Picks featured me in their email newsletter last month; that was thrilling.
It’s supposed to go on their blog this month; I’ll post a link if/when that happens. For now, I’m chuffed that my book can get to some other countries! It can travel internationally, even if I can’t, yet.
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 