Tag Archives: kerfuffle cowl

Potpourri catch-up! Zoom classes, pickles, and more

Posted on May 4, 2020 | 5 comments

First, I have a Kerfuffle stranded colorwork cowl class on Wednesday evening through Weird Sisters. You don’t even have to be in the same time zone! Here’s the link.

It *is* possible to learn knitting techniques through Zoom, and if you’re missing your usual knitting circle, this is a great way to get your knitting fix. We had a Petite Brioche class on Saturday, and everyone was successfully knitting brioche by the end of class.

Second, I mailed off some goodies for the Minerva KAL participants this morning. If you’re out of the country, it could take up to 2 weeks to arrive. Otherwise, locally should be much quicker than that.

Third, my Fibonacci and Fan shawl pattern was just featured by Noble Knits. Check out this page for Fibonacci and Fan, and more great math geek knitting!

Fourth, I’ve been playing with quick pickles recently. My favorite so far are these spicy fish sauce pickles. Original recipe here, and my take below. Basically double the liquid ingredients, reduce the sugar and red pepper. And only one cucumber. That’s what fits in the jar!

Spicy Fish Sauce Quick Pickles

1/2 cup rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 small cucumber

Cut cucumber into 1/4” thick rounds. Whisk all other ingredients together in a wide mouth 12 oz canning jar. Add cucumber slices. Refrigerate for 3 hours/overnight. They get spicier the longer you soak them! I take them out the next day and store them in a covered dish.

5 Comments

Posted in classes, KAL, Knit, recipe

Tagged Fibonacci and Fan, kerfuffle cowl, pickles

Kerfuffle Cowl update, and Kerfuffle Zoom class

Posted on April 19, 2020 | 5 comments

Read to the bottom if you’re interested in class!

Large cowl

I’ve updated the pattern for my Kerfuffle Cowl to streamline it for classes. I’ve been saying for years that I was going to do this, and now I have a little time to get it done. Here’s what I’ve changed:

Changed the needles to omit the smaller needle for the ribbing. Now the ribbing and the body both use the same larger needle. It works fine, and makes class that much more accessible.
Omitted the purl stitches in the first 3 and last 3 rows of the charted pattern. I was concerned about the edge flipping, but blocking takes care of that, and it’s one less thing for a new colorwork knitter to think about.
Added a larger 30″ size to the original 24″ size. Knitter’s choice!

The Kerfuffle cowl is a great project for first time stranded colorwork. There are only two colors used per round, and I’ve taken care that the motifs don’t have long floats that need to be trapped.

To celebrate this update, you can purchase the Kerfuffle Cowl pattern for 15% off through April 24, 2020 using the coupon code FRESH when you purchase it through Ravelry. Newsletter subscribers will have a 25% discount in the next newsletter. Not a subscriber? Sign up here!

Small cowl

I’m teaching a Kerfuffle Cowl stranded colorwork class through Zoom on Wednesday May 6, 5:30 to 7:30 pm. The class is being organized by Fuchsia Troutman at Weird Sisters Yarn Shop. She’ll have class kits available, and a special pattern discount, too. Register here!

By the way, my May 2 Petite Brioche class is now full; thank you for your interest! This will be a great way to get into the swing of Zoom classes. I’m looking forward to being able to teach from home, and I hope you enjoy learning from home, too.

Three of my four Virtual Knitting Live classes are full (that was quick!). There are a few spots left in my Minerva Entrelac class, so if you’re interested in that, register now. VKLive link is here.

Let’s knit together, apart!

5 Comments

Posted in classes, Knit, pattern design

Tagged kerfuffle cowl, stranded colorwork

Virtual Knitting Live: Teachers gonna teach

Posted on April 18, 2020 | 6 comments

I’m so excited that I’m teaching at Virtual Knitting Live, Vogue Knitting Live’s new event, next month. Registration is now open! Class sizes are limited, so register early for best selection.

Classes are 2 hours long. I’m optimizing my offerings to work well as interactive classes through the Zoom platform. I’m teaching:

Petite Brioche: 2 color brioche in the round (sold out already!)
Herringbone Braids and Beyond: Braided Wristlets
Minerva Entrelac cowl or scarf
YO? YO! Fun and Fancy Stitches

Clara Parkes is giving the keynote speech at 9 a.m. on Monday May 11, which means 6 a.m. here. Not sure I’ll be awake for it, but she’d be worth it!

I’m also teaching a couple smaller classes beforehand, which is my opportunity to practice my Zoom skills before the event. I’m teaching Petite Brioche on Saturday May 2, and Kerfuffle Cowl (through Weird Sisters Yarn Shop) on Wednesday, May 6. More info on Kerfuffle in my next post, and info on Petite Brioche is in this previous post.

Let me know if you want to knit together, apart!

6 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit

Tagged kerfuffle cowl, Petite Brioche, Virtual Knitting Live, VogueKnittingLive

Color work, two ways

Posted on October 23, 2014 | 6 comments

I’m teaching two classes at Stash in Corvallis on Saturday. One is an introduction to stranded color knitting, and the other is slip stitch cowl design. Both techniques let you play with color, but in very different ways.

Stranded color knitting involves carrying two (or more) colors across the row/round with you. We’ll talk about how to manage your yarns without a tangled mess, among other things. How do *you* manage your yarns? One in each hand? Drop and pick up the working yarn as you go? Two on the left? Two on the right? It’s a little different for everyone, so I’m curious what works for you.

I’m a thrower; I carry my yarn in my right hand. I took a colorwork class with Anna Zilboorg at Stitches way back in the 90’s. In preparation, I taught myself to knit continental style (hold yarn in left hand, pick with right needle) so I could carry one color in each hand. I was pretty pleased with myself, although it was a bit awkward. When I got to class, Anna showed me how to carry both colors in my right hand, which was a lot easier for me. That’s what I do now. Here’s a video tutorial, if you’re interested.

Slip stitch knitting means you get to play with color, but you only work with one color per row/round. This can be a little more relaxing for the novice color knitter, and it’s very pretty. We’ll be swatching some of these patterns, and then designing our own slip stitch cowls. Here’s the one I’m knitting now: