Tag Archives: eclipse

Brioche knitting for all!

I’m teaching three beginning brioche knitting classes at Northwest Wools. The classes are full, but I’m also teaching it at Twisted on Saturday March 23. This class features my Petite Brioche pattern, which you can download for free here.

I love teaching, and I love brioche knitting. I think two color brioche is easier to learn than one color brioche, and knitting it in the round is easier than knitting it flat. No sliding back and forth.

Look at all the new brioche knitters!

Everyone was off to a good start. We diagnosed and fixed some mistakes, too. Learning to read your brioche knitting is a valuable skill.

Being around all that brioche knitting kick started me into more brioche.

This is my first foray into designing with flat two color brioche. I’m starting with a half-pi shawl construction, because there aren’t any increases in the brioche field, so I can just figure out what’s happening at the edges. I like it so far! I have a plan for the rest of it, too.

I’m knitting with Knit Picks Hawthorne Fingering. It’s a fabulous workhorse yarn for design experimentation; I knit nearly an entire shawl with it for a design submission last summer because it was so fun I couldn’t stop at the little swatch sample. It doesn’t mind frogging, either, which is good. Trial and error, knitting and frogging are part of my design process! At 357 yards it’s a bit shorter than my usual 400 yard/100g skeins, so I’m not sure I’ll use it for the whole design. We’ll see how things go.

What’s exciting you in the knitting world? Do you want to learn something new? What’s on your bucket list?

Last night’s lunar eclipse, in the clouds. Not as exciting as the solar eclipse, but very pretty. Did you see it?

Eclipse 2017: Path of Totality

Well that was stellar! And lunar. And solar…definitely awe inspiring!

Pinhole camera made with knitting needle and paper on hand

I trekked down to Salem to view the eclipse from Willamette Valley Vineyards. They were in the path of totality; Portland was at 99%. That tiny, tiny 1% makes a big difference.

DH stayed home; he’s not as geeky about these things as I am. I wanted the sun to disappear completely. It did not disappoint.

It was so uplifting to share this awe-inspiring event with an enthusiastic group of people. So much positivity. We wrote and sang “Path of Totality” to the tune of Age of Aquarius. Fun and funny.

Of course I brought my knitting. Bag by Chicken Boots (Saremy), needle keeper by A Needle Runs Through It (Maria), bead needle by Bead Aid (Sarah), bead tin by Miss Purl (Danielle), yarn by June Pryce Fiber Arts (Cheryl), beads by Bead Biz (Jean)! It’s like another group of friends beyond the ones I was actually sitting with.

People’s phones kept going off with emergency alerts. Turn off your ringers, please! Yes, rock climbing. Check out this link for an amazing photo; it’s not mine so I don’t want to publish it here. Rock climber silhouetted by eclipsed sun at Smith Rock.

I don’t pretend to have a camera good enough to get a picture of what it really looked like; I’m leaving that to the professionals. This is what it looks like from an iPhone.

So cool to see Venus out during the day. The sun is completely eclipsed here, but the phone camera can’t catch it. It was a dark circle surrounded by intense twinkling light. It was easy to tell when totality hit; a collective gasp went up and our eclipse glasses didn’t let any light through. It was equally easy to tell when it was time to put the glasses back on. So bright! Those two minutes of totality went by all too quickly. Just a tiny sliver of sun seemed like complete daylight.

The sun was about halfway back for this picture. Hard to tell.

Traffic home was a bear. But it was worth it. Biscuit and I caught up with Game of Thrones the next day. She likes dragons; I think because they sound like her. Kind of raspy and squeaky. Bisqueak!

Did you chase the eclipse, too?

OFFF 2015, SuperMoonEclipse

Well, that was quite the weekend! Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival was wonderful, as always. I taught two classes on Friday: Athena Entrelac Cowl and Fern Lace Shawlette (sideways shawl construction). My students were all great, and they all got it. I’m looking forward to seeing pictures of their lovely finished projects someday.

I went back on Saturday and Sunday for shopping, hanging out, and general mayhem. Here’s a whirlwind tour:

OFFF 2015
The weather was perfect, sunny and cool enough to show off your favorite knitwear.

Lots of friends to catch up with:

Lorajean Kelley Knitted WitLorajean Kelley of Knitted Wit

3 Ms3 M’s: Me, Michelle, and Melissa in the Knitted Wit booth

Leigh Anne spinningLeigh Anne in the Carolina Homespun booth, trying to decide whether she should take up spinning

Twists and TurningsSari Peterson with her grands at her booth. Her DH makes beautiful spindles. Sari teaches spinning, and I think I may need some lessons! First to refine my spindle technique, and second to try a wheel. Not that I want one. Just curiosity about how they work. Honest. (Heading down the rabbit hole? Over to the Dark Side?)

Christina and laceChristina making lace on the lawn

LaurindaLaurinda Reddig, crocheter extraordinaire and fellow OFFF teacher

Cindy Fern ShawletteI love it when I see my designs in the wild. This is Cindy with her beaded Fern Lace Shawlette.

Jenkins WoodworkingBeautiful Turkish spindles in the Jenkins Woodworking booth

Some new things I fell in love with:

Francisco BautistaFrancisco Bautista’s beautiful hand dyed, hand woven rugs. Read more here.

young weaverHis son was weaving on Sunday.

Jodie McDougall lampworkJodie McDougall’s beautiful buttons.

Jodie McDougall cowgirl buttonI bought this single cowgirl button for a special project (how could I not, since I was wearing my cowgirl boots?). Jodie explained how she makes her buttons, and had samples to show the process. Gorgeous.

There were animals, of course. This is my favorite look.

pygora?Good hair day, or bad hair day?

The weekend was capped by the eclipse of the full harvest moon supermoon.

pdxknitterati supermoon harvest moon eclipse 2015
I took these with my point and shoot, which has the best zoom in my limited collection of two cameras. A little blurry, but I was really happy to get any pictures at all. These were taken from the new Tilikum Crossing bridge (I just realized I’ve been spelling it wrong. One L!) My kids and I had a delightful evening chasing the moon.

PIe Birds mimosasThe weekend was made complete by music and mimosas with friends.

How was your weekend? Did you go to OFFF? See the eclipse? Do tell!