Tag Archives: yarn

Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival 2025

Posted on October 22, 2025 | 4 comments

I spent the weekend in Albany, Oregon teaching at Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival. I taught entrelac, Darn It! (mending), and log cabin knitting.

I think the mending was the most challenging for me, because it’s been a hot minute since I’ve taught it. But I was ready, and we had fun.

I didn’t have a lot of time in the market, but I managed to snag a few things.

Yarns for frog hats, and some sweet buttons for a baby sweater.

How do you start knitting a frog hat? Rib it! Rib it! 🐸 This super bulky is knitting up quickly on US 15 needles. I’m riffing off Pussy Hat for 4 gauges by Sarah Keller, pattern free on Ravelry. I’ll add buttons and felt for eyes.

Flock and fiber festival isn’t just for knitting. There are animals (I only saw the bunnies), spinning, weaving, crochet.

This wet felted hat with needle felted ornamentation was my favorite piece in the exhibition. It’s by Val Kinman, who was in my log cabin class on Sunday.

Needle felted pygora goats. I didn’t catch the name of the artist. If I find out, I’ll update here. Edit: Lester Nishimura is the artist, and he has only been needle felting since early this year!

Navajo style weaving by Bob Van Slyke

Saw lots of fiber friends over the weekend; it’s always great to catch up! You can see more of my pictures on Instagram, if you’re so inclined.

Karen’s frog hat is fabulous! I was going to use the green worsted for a brioche beanie and add eyes, but I really like the shaping on this one. We shall see…this pattern is Frog Hat by Annanitato Lolo, available on Ravelry. The eyes are crocheted.

It’s definitely knitting season!

4 Comments

Posted in classes, events, Knit, yarn

Tagged frog hat, Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival, yarn

Sweet Paprika Yarn Club

Posted on April 12, 2025 | 2 comments

collage of brioche knit accessories with designer Michele Lee Bernstein

I’m designing for Sweet Paprika Designs’ Skill Building Yarn Club! This club will have six project boxes over the next year, with yarn dyed by Sweet Paprika Designs. The projects include mosaic knitting, lace, colorwork, cables, steeking, and brioche. I’ll be designing an all new accessory (hat/cowl?) for this project.

Each box includes yarn, tutorials, and a pattern. And a little extra yarn so you can sample the technique before casting on.

You can sign up for an individual box, or the whole club at a discount. Use code NEW-SKILLS for $5 off your order. Sign up at Sweet Paprika Designs website here.

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Brioche knitting, knitting, sweet paprika designs, yarn

Nash Yarn Fest

Posted on March 22, 2025 | 3 comments

We had quite the time at the first ever Nash Yarn Fest, and it sounds like it will happen again next year. Sweet!

I had such a fabulous time chatting with so many knitters, listening to speakers and musicians, and shopping of course.

Me wearing a brioche and pooling shawlette, and holding a felted tote that features a sheep motif

I succumbed to the lure of the Julia Hilbrandt’s felted wool bags, and bought this tote bag. The sheep is an exterior pocket, and there are two interior pockets. I chose this shade of gray because it won’t show cat hair (such is my life). Julia customized the bag with the blue tiara for my sheep, perfect.

Two women wearing knitted shawls, standing in front of a display of yarn

I was so pleased to meet Tammy Pelfrey from A Chick that Knitz in person. She’s the dyer that dyed the yarn for my Starstruck Shawlette that I’m wearing in this picture. If you look between us, there’s a Starstruck WIP hanging above a Starfall cowl.

A little more yarn came home with me; I guess I’m not quite done with assigned pooling yet.

I posted a lot of pictures on Instagram; you can find them here.

With Kevin Martin of the Cowpokes at Acme Feed & Seed

DH came with me on this trip, so we saw some music and knocked around town a bit.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Michele Lee Bernstein (@pdxknitterati)

Thanks Nashville; we’ll be back!

3 Comments

Posted in events, Knit, travel

Tagged Nash Yarn Fest, nashville, yarn

Knitting, tinking, knitting Stardust Nebula

Posted on January 26, 2025 | 7 comments

it shawlette standing in a knit art installation by Sarah Divi — Posing at Sarah Divi’s art installation at VKLive

I finished my current design project in a hurry so I could wear it at VogueKnitting Live last weekend. But I had 15 g of my pooling yarn left, and I still needed to make a video tutorial on how to make the assigned pooling stars, and the shawlette needs re-blocking anyway so I can take product photos…

so I tinked the bind off and the last couple rows, and put it back on the needles. I added 18 more rows at the wide end, about 3 inches longer and 1.5 inches wider, unblocked.

tiny ball of yarn on scale, weighing 0.5 grams

Yarn chicken is so much better when you have a scale to keep track. I won!

I had great helpers. Caturday knitting in bed is great, even when it’s work!

Video tutorial is done. Shawlette is blocking, again. Pattern has gone to tech editor and test knitters. It’s still called Stardust Nebula for now. We shall see. If you’d like to be the first to know when this pattern is published, sign up for my newsletter here!

In the meantime, here are a couple book recommendations from me. I like to read while I knit; I can control the pace, unlike television. I usually read fiction, but the last two books have been nonfiction. First off, The Wide, Wide Sea by Hampton Sides. It’s the story of Captain James Cook’s final journey from England to the South Seas to Alaska to the South Seas again. I knew he died at Kealakekua Bay on the Big Island of Hawaii, but this filled it all in for me.

We were at Kealakekua Bay last month. I didn’t want to hike 2 miles down and 2 miles back up (you can also get there by boat), so I settled for seeing it across the bay from Hikiau Heiau at Nāpo’opo’o Beach, a place that Cook had visited (and been mistaken for a god). Apparently he was mortal, after all.

The other book is The Art Thief by Michael Finkel. It’s the story of Stéphane Breitwieser, who stole more than 300 artworks from museums and churches across western Europe in the 1990’s and early 2000’s. Fascinating true crime.

What are you reading and knitting? January is flying by!

7 Comments

Posted in book review, Knit, pattern design

Tagged book recommendation, Knit, knitting, stardust nebula, tinking, yarn, yarn chicken

Yarn review: MDK Atlas

Posted on January 8, 2025 | 2 comments

two skeins of Modern Daily Knitting’s Atlas yarn in shades of blue

I’m playing with Modern Daily Knitting’s Atlas, a worsted weight 3 ply Rambouillet. It’s bouncy and round and fun. The spin and ply aren’t particularly tight, which makes this a bit fluffy! It’s described as a light worsted weight so I thought it would feel thinner while knitting, but it feels substantial and squishy at the same time. Not quite as soft as merino, but nice and wooly.

brioche knitting in shades of blue, brioche pastiche hat

I need some new Brioche Pastiche samples, so what better way to test drive a new-to-me yarn? I’m loving it so far.

Atlas is USA grown and raised. I don’t see the words superwash anywhere, so I’m guessing it would also felt/full nicely. But I’m not about to try that with my brioche hat! Maybe something for a swatch later.

I have so much knitting and related work to do before VKLiveNYC next week! So I’ll be over here, knitting and writing and packing and…

Peekaboo Shawlette (brioche plus assigned pooling/algorithmic knitting) and assigned pooling yarn

By the way, if you’re planning to take advantage of the introductory discount for my Peekaboo Shawlette, use discount code PEAKING for 15% off through Ravelry or Payhip by January 10, 2025!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Brioche Pastiche, Knit, knitting, MDK Atlas yarn, Peekaboo Shawlette, yarn

Yarn, yarn, yarn

Posted on December 10, 2024 | 4 comments

I finished the knitting on this entrelac piece, but I haven’t decided if I want to seam the ends for a loop cowl, or keep it as a shortish scarf. The light and airy fabric doesn’t want to be a single loop, so I’d have to make sure it’s long enough to be a double loop. Or I could leave it as a shortish scarf, held with a shawl/scarf pin. I think that would show more of the little squares, which is the whole point of this piece! So I may have just talked myself into a scarf. Onward!

I’m still on my brioche + pooling kick. Yarn Snob’s Black Orchid is so pretty! I chose Silver Fox to go with it, but after I started knitting the two together, I’m not so sure about the combo. The black is really more like a deep dark purple, and the gray feels “cold” next to it. It doesn’t help that I haven’t actually seen my knitting in daylight! But I think I’d like it better with Winter (cream) to warm it up a little. I’ll have to take one more look in the morning before frogging. I do have Winter waiting in the wings.

In the meantime, I also have this yarn from A Chick That Knitz; it’s Hibernation, with a choice of either Caramel or Silver Fox (yes, another Silver Fox!) to go with it. I’m starting with Caramel, but as you can see, everything is up in the air until the swatching is done.

Are you gift knitting for the holidays? I’m shopping my samples; that takes a lot of pressure off!

4 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged A Chick That Knitz, assigned pooling, brioche plus assigned pooling, knitting, yarn, yarn snob yarns

Introducing: Peekaboo Cowl

Posted on October 21, 2024 | 2 comments

The Peekaboo Cowl is a 2 color brioche cowl, knit in the round. It features assigned pooling/algorithmic knitting motifs that peek between the brioche ribs. The pattern includes a video tutorial for the Peekaboo motif.

Peekaboo is reversible; the motif looks completely different on the inside. You can wear it with a bit of both sides showing, for maximum fun. I do!

Choose 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn, one of which should be dyed for assigned pooling. You can make the cowl close to the neck, longer for double looping, or anywhere in between. I knit a short cowl because I wanted a quick project!

The Peekaboo Cowl pattern is on sale 15% off through October 29, 2024 with coupon code PEEKING. The pattern is available through Ravelry, link here. This pattern is also available through Payhip, link here. You can use the coupon code on either site.

This pattern has been professionally tech edited. Thanks also to test knitters Ann Berg, Carolyn Crisp, Diane Kay Gelder, Rhea Kohlman, and Diane O’Brien. Thanks to Keith Leonard/Yarn Snob for the beautiful yarn for the design.

I’m working on more brioche plus pooling…can’t stop, won’t stop!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged assigned pooling, Brioche knitting, cowl, Knit, knitting, yarn, yarn snob yarns

Introducing: Trailing Leaves

Posted on September 2, 2024 | 2 comments

Trailing Leaves in Dream in Color Smooshy

Trailing Leaves is a brioche bandana cowl, knit in the round from the top down. It features a central double leaf motif in syncopated brioche against a background of MC brioche rib. Choose 2 skeins of fingering weight yarn in coordinating colors to knit this beauty.

Trailing Leaves in Knit Picks Chroma Fingering

A gradient yarn will add an interesting color play to the brioche rib background, as shown here in Knit Picks Chroma Fingering. Knitter’s choice! This pattern is easily adjustable for neck circumference and length. This is one of my favorite cowl shapes; it looks like a shawlette but doesn’t fall off. So easy to wear.

Trailing Leaves in Yarn Snob A Good Fingering

I’ve knit four samples of this, to get it just right. The sample above featured some assigned pooling, but it doesn’t show, so it’s not in the pattern.

And this sample was a little too long due to a different increase rate. But you get the idea!

The Trailing Leaves pattern is now available on Ravelry at this link, Payhip at this link, and is also available through Knit Picks at this link. The coupon code WILLOW will give you 15% off at Ravelry and Payhip through September 10, 2024.

I hope that you love knitting this as much as I do!

2 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged Brioche knitting, Knit, trailing leaves, trailing leaves cowl, yarn

Will it block out?

Posted on June 28, 2024 | 4 comments

As I said in the previous post, yarn still surprises me.

This is where I left you in the last post. The further I knit, the more the ribbing biased. I think it’s because this yarn is a single ply, rather than a plied yarn. It wanted to lean hard to the right. I didn’t have another project going, so I soldiered on, figuring it would block out…or not. A science experiment!

Fresh off the needles. Quite a lean, and also a loose column at the beginning of the round.

The front was quite askew, and the the leaf pattern was wonky at the bottom, too. Place your bets!

Blocking is magic. This project is essentially a big swatch. It’s longer than I want it to be, but it’s the right general idea. I did some math, and I’ll knit another one. Remember, as a designer I make the mistakes so you don’t have to!

I’ve been knitting outdoors all week; the weather has been spectacular. Not too hot.

The hydrangea is coming into glory; it’s going to be a big year for these blooms.

I’ve been reading while I knit; it keeps me on task. I highly recommend Things Past Telling by Sheila Williams (I also read her Dancing on the Edge of the Roof which was good, but not as good as Things Past Telling). I also read The Paris Novel by Ruth Reichl; her descriptions of food are incredible. I just finished First Lie Wins by Ashley Elston…so twisty! I enjoyed all of these. Now I’m starting Barbara Kingsolver’s The Poisonwood Bible. Our library system uses Libby, and I read all these as e-books on my kindle.

What are you reading? What are you knitting?

4 Comments

Posted in Knit, pattern design, yarn

Tagged blocking, blocking is magic, Knit, knitting, yarn

Introducing: Fuzzy Memories

Posted on February 14, 2024 | 2 comments

I’m back from VKLiveNYC, playing catch up, and on the move again. I’m now in Tacoma for Red Alder Fiber Arts Festival. I’ll catch up later! For now, here’s a little something to amuse you. And I’m offering a buy one/get one deal!

Fuzzy Memories is designed to use one precious skein of souvenir laceweight yarn. My souvenir yarn was a one ounce skein of qiviut (muskox yarn) purchased on the Vogue Knitting Alaska Cruise in 2023. This fuzzy yarn needed an unfussy stitch pattern to complement the dreamy fluffiness, so I chose a stockinette variation of Old Shale Lace.

Fuzzy Memories in Manos del Uruguay Cabrito

This cowl will also work with a 25g skein of laceweight mohair such as Rowan KidSilk Haze or Manos del Uruguay Cabrito. A fuzzy yarn will help keep the cowl’s shape at this loose gauge. Savor your warm fuzzy memories!

The pattern is available on Ravelry, link here. I’m having a BOGO sale; put Fuzzy Memories and one other pattern or ebook in your cart, enter the coupon code FUZZ at checkout, and the Fuzzy Memories pattern will be free. This offer is good through February 21, 2024.