Tag Archives: Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival 2022

Posted on October 19, 2022 | 4 comments

Or OFFF, as we fondly call it. We missed 2020 and 2021, and lost our venue at Clackamas County Fairgrounds. This year found us at the Linn County Expo Center in Albany, Oregon. It feels a lot further away, 66 miles vs 20 miles, but I was glad it happened.

It was great to see so many fiber friends! (There were more, just not all pictured)

Scarlet, Kirbie, Seth, Rachel, Mary, Stefania, Shannon, Alice, Wanda

Lots of animals, and 450 fleeces for judging, and then for sale.

Upper left: Valentino, Breed Champion Romney, Topaz (Icelandic), lower left

Beautiful prize-winning knitting (4194 beads in the purple shawl, in 2 colors)

Both gourd art and coiling were new to me, but coiling is an old indigenous technique.

Gourd art + Coilng = WOW from Jane A. Wilson

Felted dolls by Carolyn St Clair Hibbard

This weaving by Jane Herbst features wool from 131 different sheep breeds.

I taught Petite Brioche, and the classroom was a definite upgrade! This is how I like to teach since the pandemic: Overhead camera so everyone sees my hands demo at the same time, and then I get to go around the room to fine tune with everyone.

You can see all of my OFFF pictures in this Instagram album here. There are a lot!

The other nice upgrade: All the vendors were indoors, in climate controlled splendor. Not quite as charming as being out on the lawn, but the possibility of being overtaken by a monsoon doesn’t exist, either. The weather was gorgeous this weekend, but that’s not always the case for OFFF.

I don’t generally buy yarn until I’m ready to use it. That keeps my stash tidy, and is moth avoidant, too. So I generally buy other goodies at festivals. I came home with dryer balls (what pretty colors!) from Compass Moon Creations, an RBG-themed notions bag from Kirbie at Change Your Fate Creations (love that I can see what’s in it), a notions tin from Miss Purl so I can give it away as a bead tin at my Embellishment Cowl class at Vogue Knitting Live NYC in February, and a cute sheep necklace from Sheep Lady Charms (she was with Valentino the Breed Champion Romney, above).

I also bought this bookmark/bracelet loom from Craft Emporium PDX (Shannon and Lorajean). It’s a very teeny way of experimenting with weaving. In my copious spare time. But I’ve been dreaming about it ever since I saw it last month!

I did bring home a little yarn. It’s a slippery slope, isn’t it? At least it’s not yarn support, which sits around making me feel guilty that I haven’t designed with it yet. This was just a trade (and I think it will be a little brioche confection). Or just something to dream with! Carolyn mentioned she wanted to learn brioche, so I traded her a copy of my book for this set of minis.

Speaking of my book, Brioche Knit Love is one year old today! Happy birthday, baby!

Have you been to any fiber festivals this fall? What was your favorite thing?

4 Comments

Posted in events, Portland area fun

Tagged OFFF, OFFF 2022, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

A belated OFFF report

Posted on October 22, 2019 | 5 comments

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival was fabulous, as always! This late September event never fails to delight.

I had a full class for my Brioche Pastiche hat on Saturday morning, very fun. The power of group learning is strong! And then I met friends for lunch and zipped around to see the sights.

I love the real-ness of Icelandic wool, and you can’t get more real than this! He’s from Ten O’Cock Farms in Beavercreek, OR.

A bunny parade brought some bunnies out of the barn so they wouldn’t be overlooked. So soft.

View this post on Instagram

A mesmerizing lazy kate at #oregonflockandfiberfestival

A post shared by Michele Lee Bernstein (@pdxknitterati) on Oct 22, 2019 at 9:27am PDT

And there was shopping. This lazy kate was strangely mesmerizing. The woodworker, Dave Yocom, has been coming to OFFF for a long time; I’ve been admiring his bowls for years.

I bought this DK weight gradient (Practical Tactical Brilliance) and speckle (When You Said Hi, I Forgot My Dang Name) from Scarlet Tang of Huckleberry Knits. I’m having a grand time trying to make an idea come to life; we’ll see if it pans out.

And I bought two more shawl pins from One of a Kind Buttons. I love these little clay pins; they stay nicely in my shawls and help keep me together.

The day was swiftly drawing to a close, so I went to see the kids running their kids (ha!) through the goat obstacle course. Very fun. How had I missed this event for so many years?

At this point in the afternoon, the skies darkened and the thunder and lightning began. I made it to my car in time for torrential sleet-filled rain. Whoa. September fun!

I went back on Sunday afternoon because I wanted to see the judging results upstairs in the pavilion. This was the Grand Champion winner, and I think it won by a mile.

A 100% silk knitted lace shawl. Coleen Nimetz raised the silkworms, unreeled the silk cocoons, spun and plied the yarn, dyed it, and knit this masterpiece.

The tiny size 11 delica beads are almost gilding the lily, but they’re perfect, too. Congratulations to the winner!

Also? I loved this felted fox by Dana Nishimura. And I just noticed the flowers on its chest when I zoomed in to look more closely.

Also not to be missed: The ladies in the Knitted Wit booth! They had been shopping together, clearly. Hi Shannon, Maria, and Lorajean!

It was a grand weekend, and it feels like a long time ago, but it’s been less than a month. Tempus fugit!

5 Comments

Posted in events, Portland area fun

Tagged OFFF 2019, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

Time jump! Fall knitting and events

Posted on September 8, 2019 | 5 comments

Well, the rest of August went by in a flash! It’s time to catch up and think about fall.

I have a new shawl coming out soon; it’s syncopated brioche and I’m in LUV. So squishy. It’s being test knit now, and I plan to have it out before Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival later this month. If you’d like to know when it’s out, and get a discount on this and other new releases, sign up for my newsletter here!

I just celebrated my birthday; my friend Carole made me this beautiful (and delicious) cake for a gathering with friends. And I had a great dinner out with the family, too. September is my celebration month: birthday, anniversary, back to school, back to knitting (not that I ever stopped). But the festivals and retreats start up again!

I’m so excited about teaching at Vogue Knitting Live in Columbus, November 1-3! As part of the preparation for that, I’m doing an Instagram takeover of the VKLive account on Tuesday, September 10. Follow me on Instagram, pdxknitterati, and VK Live, vogueknitlive to be in the loop. I’ll be doing a giveaway on my Instagram page for a Buckeye Daytripper Package, so follow me and comment to win!

The last day of VKLive Early Bird registration is Tuesday September 10; prices go up at midnight EDT. Registration info is here.

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is September 28-29 (some classes are on Friday the 27th, too). Today (September 8) is the last day of online registration. My Brioche Pastiche class is full, but there’s still room in my Slip Stitch/mosaic class if you’d like to come knit with me. You can register on-site for classes that still have space, but registering early is better, as classes can be canceled if there aren’t enough people signed up for them. It pays to plan ahead!

My Seeing Stars Fall Shawl Retreat is October 11-13. It’s a very small retreat, so if you want to come, please sign up soon! We sold out last year. I have room for 7 knitters max. We’re knitting Lucky Star with very beautiful yarn from Mosaic Moon.

Oh! I’m speaking at the Tigard Knitting Guild meeting on Thursday, September 19. Social knitting is at 6, and I go on at 7 pm. Come hear about my design process! It’s evolving, just like me. Not a member? You can visit for two meetings before deciding if you’d like to join.

Back to my knitting…happy fall!

5 Comments

Posted in classes, giveaways, Knit, pattern design

Tagged Fall Shawl Retreat, Lucky Star shawl, OFFF, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, Syncopation, VKLive, VogueKnittingLive

Planning for fall knitting classes

Posted on July 16, 2019 | 7 comments

It’s the dog days of summer, but I’m busily planning for fall. (This is my friend Sissy at Lost Lake, Mt. Hood National Forest, last week.)

First off, I’ll be teaching at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September. This local festival is just the right size, with lots of things to do. I’m teaching my Brioche Pastiche Hat, and Slip Stitch Knitting on Saturday, September 28.

And right after that, I’m doing another fall shawl retreat with crochet designer Laurinda Reddig, October 11-13 at Quinn Mountain in the Columbia River Gorge. I’m teaching my Lucky Star Shawl, with ways to embiggen those stars. Laurinda was inspired by it to design her new Star Bright Shawl, which just took 3rd place for accessories at the Crochet Guild of America last week. Knit or crochet, you’ll be seeing (and making) stars! Registration is open now.

In November, I’m teaching in Columbus, OH at Vogue Knitting Live. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity! I’ll tell you all about it in a separate blog post in just a bit.

But summer isn’t over yet, so I’ll also be showing you my linen project…soon!

7 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit

Tagged Fall Shawl Retreat, Lucky Star shawl, OFFF, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, VKLive

Knitting for the near future

Posted on September 20, 2018 | 5 comments

I’ve been knitting up a storm.

Here’s a sneak peek of my newest shawl, coming soon. It’s called Lucky Star. You may now have a Madonna song running through your head. You’re welcome.

You know that hump that happens at the center neck of top down crescent shawls? I didn’t want that on Lucky Star, so I’ve worked on minimizing it. I’m making a tutorial on how to do that. It’s coming soon, too. I’m debuting it in my Favorite Shawl Shapes class at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival this Saturday morning.

I’ve been knitting little samples for class, too. We’re going to have fun talking about shape and design.

You can still register for this class on-site. You can knit these little shapes, too!

What are you knitting now?

5 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, pattern design, Portland area fun

Tagged Lucky Star shawl, OFFF 2018, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, shawl shapes

Flock and Fiber? Yes Please!

Posted on August 20, 2018 | 2 comments

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is just around the corner! This local fiber festival has something for everybody: yarn, fiber, classes, animals, cooking, shopping, and more.

I’m teaching two classes this year. Brioche Pastiche is sold out; I’m really looking forward to introducing more knitters to two color brioche in the round!

There’s still room in my Favorite Shawl Shapes class. We’ll make mini samples of four of my favorite shawl shapes, and talk about how to incorporate your design ideas into them. You’ll have a better understanding of how shawls are made, and a good basis for designing your own. Come join me on Saturday morning, September 22. Registration link is here; pre-register by September 8 to make sure you get the class info you need.

I’m judging the knitting entries at OFFF again this year. It was educational for me last year, and I hope my comments on lasts year’s entries were educational for the knitters! You can enter your knit, crochet, felted, woven, and other fiber projects at OFFF, as well as spinning. Last year’s winners were stunning, and all of the entries were worthy of praise.

One more class! A reminder that registration is happening now for the Nymphaea Shawl Retreat that I’m doing with Laurinda Reddig at Quinn Mountain Retreat in the Columbia River Gorge (near Camas), Nov. 9 – 11. There are only 4 knitter’s spots left. Come get a jump start on knitting or crocheting this beaded shawl with us! Gradient yarn by Fierce Fibers and beads are included in the registration price. Registration link here.

Fall is coming; make plans to get your knit on!

2 Comments

Posted in beading, events, Portland area fun

Tagged Nymphaea Shawl Retreat, OFFF, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

OFFF report, belatedly

Posted on October 3, 2017 | 11 comments

September flew right on by! A birthday, an anniversary (35 years!), a pattern in By Hand Serial #4, and Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival.

I had the great good fortune to be the knitting judge at OFFF, and it was challenging and fun. I worked with two scribes, and made my way through a vast number of knitted goods. You may wonder what gets submitted most, and the answer is “shawls!” Which is right in my wheelhouse. There were also sweaters, scarves, cowls, and some doll clothes. One small blanket and a couple toys. My job was to make categories, comment on all submissions (thank you, scribes!), and then choose the best in each category. The laceweight shawl above was the best (in my opinion) knitted item.

The crochet judge chose this filet crochet dragon shawl as the best crochet piece.

And the felting judge chose this piece as the best felted piece.

Our job after that was to confer and decide best overall. They were all stunningly beautiful pieces, but in the end we chose lace, partly because that was this year’s theme, and then it came down to “how does it wear?”

This was perfect. Light, airy, floaty, and the stitch pattern was well displayed when worn. Congratulations to the winner! (I don’t even know her name…)

I did a little shopping, and was astounded by the tiny Bee Hummingbird spindles Ed Jenkins is making, even smaller than his Kuchulus. I haven’t spun with the Kuchulu I picked up at Sock Summit 2011, so no new spindle for me! Good thing, because you had to enter a drawing to win the chance to puchase one. My friend Leigh got one, and she’s very pleased.

Chatted with Stacey at Fierce Fibers about an idea for another gradient shawl, inspired by some things I saw at OFFF that were NOT knitted. Cross-pollination of ideas, right?

And bought some notions from Maria from A Needle Runs Through It in the Knitted Wit booth. I love useful little things!

Don’t forget the animal barns! I never made it to the bunny barn, but my goddaughter E joined me in the main barn.

And I taught two classes, Fixing Lace Mistakes and Elongated Novelty Stitches. It was a very full weekend! Still trying to catch up.

Onward!

11 Comments

Posted in events, Portland area fun

Tagged OFFF, OFFF 2017, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

Cast on tricks, fixing mistakes, and classes at OFFF

Posted on June 20, 2017 | 1 comment

The Go Tell the Bees KAL is underway, and we’re having a grand time chatting over in the Ravelry thread. It’s not too late to join the KAL; we’re knitting at our own pace and just having fun. Some of the tips that have come out of the cast on thread are particularly helpful, so I thought I’d share them here.

I chose the cable cast on for the beginning of this project, which starts at the lower edge. Why not use a long tail cast on? Because the cast on is huge, 350-400 stitches. I’d hate to run out of yarn just before my goal.

Why not use the two ended long tail cast on? Because I’m using a gradient/ombre ball of yarn, which means that the other end is a different color. I thought it might be pretty that way, but I tried it and it wasn’t at all pretty.

Also, the first row after a long tail cast on is the purl/bumpy side, which is part of why it wasn’t pretty, for this particular pattern. The first row after a cable cast on is the knit/smooth side, which is what I wanted.

The tip for any long cast on is to use markers to help you count. You can place them after every 20, or 50, or whatever number of stitches, and then not have to count all the stitches at once after you’re done. Much better than long counting, and coming up with a different number several times.

If you think ahead while you’re casting on, you can place the markers at your stitch repeats. Figure out how many stitches are outside the repeat and add them to the first section, then place the following markers to note your repeats.

A very common error is either missing or dropping a YO. You don’t notice until you’re on the next right side row, when you don’t have enough stitches between markers to work your repeat. I posted this in the last post, but I think it bears repeating. Here’s how to fix it:

I once took a class in fixing mistakes, and that teacher said you should count on the WS rows to make sure you have the right number and kind of stitches. Me, I’d rather relax on those WS rows and deal with mistakes on the next RS row. Both ways work, but I use those WS rows for reading or chatting!

I’m going to be teaching two of my favorite classes at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in September. This year’s festival runs from Friday Sept. 22 (classes only on Friday) through Sunday Sept. 24. The theme at OFFF this year is lace, and you know I love that!

I’m teaching Tink Drop Frog, Fixing Mistakes: Lace Edition on Saturday Sept. 23 from 9:30 to 12:30. We’ll be learning ways to fix lace mistakes when you’ve noticed them in the same row, a row or two later, or even later than that! This is an empowering class; you are really the boss of your knitting when you can use these techniques.

I’m also teaching Be Manipulative, Elongated Novelty Stitches on Sunday Sept. 24 from 1:30 to 4:30. The honeybee stitch from Go Tell the Bees is just one of the stitches we’ll be practicing. If you like the lacy look of these stitches, come learn them with me!

1 Comment

Posted in classes, events, KAL, Knit, tutorial

Tagged Go Tell the Bees, Go Tell the Bees KAL, OFFF, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival

OFFF 2014 is just around the corner

Posted on August 31, 2014 | 2 comments

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival is coming right up! September 27-28, and there are workshops on Friday, September 26, too. I’m teaching two classes, Blocking on Friday afternoon and Tink Drop Frog: Fixing Mistakes on Saturday afternoon. These are expanded versions of classes I teach in yarn shops, and we’ll have three hours to go through even more fun and demonstration on both of these topics. I hope you’ll join me.

If you’ve already mastered these knitterly topics, there are a lot more fiber-related classes available; you can see the full list here. Taking classes at OFFF is fun, and encourages the organizers to keep offering them from year to year. If you want more knitting classes, sign up for knitting classes! The same goes for spinning, weaving, felting, livestock management…The early registration deadline requires a postmark by September 5. This is the make or break day; if a class doesn’t have the minimum number of students by the registration deadline, the class won’t be offered. You can sign up for classes at OFFF, but only if they make the minimum by the early deadline, so why wait?

What else is fun at OFFF? Well, there are the adorable animals.

And the vendors! I love shopping the booths at OFFF. I’ve purchased spindles, yarn, fiber, books. There are vendors both outside on the lawn, and in the exhibition halls. (These pictures are from previous years.)

Knitted Wit on the lawn

Sincere Sheep, on the lawn

StitchJones inside

And you can always find people to knit and spin with.

So mark your calendar, and I’ll see you there, either in class, or shopping, or on the lawn spinning or knitting, or?

And here’s a teaser for you: My Snowy Woods Cowl KAL casts on September 1. I’m extending the discount on the Snowy Woods pattern through Thursday September 4; use the discount code FROST when checking out to get $2 off your pattern. Here’s the link to the pattern page on Ravelry. You can join the KAL on my Ravelry page for chatter and support.

Check back tomorrow, September 1, to learn how to avoid running out of tail for your long tail cast on!

2 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, spinning, yarn

Tagged OFFF, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, snowy woods kal, teaching

Oregon Flock and Fiber…Overload!

Posted on September 27, 2008 | 7 comments

Wow. I’d never seen so much fiber in one place! Mostly animal, some still on the hoof, all gorgeous! It was a perfect autumn day. The Clackamas County Fairground was a sea of fiber-related booths, inside the buildings and outside on the lawn.

The PDXKnitbloggers were out in force, with lots of knitting, and spinning wheels, too. (That’s my Central Park Hoodie in the foreground.)

KnittedWit‘s booth was a riot of color! And e was sleeping like, well, a baby…

Deb bought this sweet angora bunny. Two months old, 1/4 French, 3/4 German angora. Soooo soft!

I was quite restrained, and only bought a wooden shawl pin. I’ll have to show you in my next post, because I didn’t take a picture of it in daylight. It’s worth the wait! I bought it from Toolman, DH of TiggywinkleKnits. It’s made of bubinga. The drop spindles were calling my name, but I don’t really want *another* hobby; I’m trying to keep up with the ones I have!

I met up with Michelle; we first met at the February Lady Sweater knitalong at Twisted. She’s almost done with her sweater; I was wearing mine. They’re similar colors, both Dream in Color Classy. My colorway is Night Watch, hers is Deep Seaflower, a little more green and purple. But the funny part was when I pulled out my Central Park Hoodie to knit. Her sweater and yarn are pictured on the left, mine on the right.