I’m Brioching

Mr. Canada Post brought us two boxes this morning. The first was from Atenti. This is the Viola Maxi Tote.

Atenti bags are lovingly made in the US. The workmanship is amazing. I have many Atenti bags (with a few more being added to my collection soon 😘) and they stand up to use and abuse.

You can fit a lot of yarn in this bag.

The Flora Sophia is so cute. It will fit your wallet, phone, car keys and a ball of yarn. It can be a knitting bag or you can use it as a purse.

What a bag. Meet the Flora Overnight bag. I am obsessed with this fabric. It looks great in the pictures and even better in real life.

Lynn thought that she was going to make it without me finding out.

The second box was a restock of Addi needles. We have some needle sets back in stock. The original Addi Click Turbos and Addi Click Short Rockets. We also have a new set of Addi cords. 

There are 6 lengths in the package.

I started my Cinnabar yesterday afternoon. I should have listened to my instincts and gone down a needle size. I knit just a bit loose and Brioche needs to be knit tighter. I’m going to start again from the other end of the balls to see what it looks like on a 3.5mm needle.

The top piece (with purple) was the original on 4mm needles. You can see that the garter stitch edging is loose and ugly. The Brioche is loose as well. I’m much happier with the 3.5mm needle - below.

The increases (circled in green) are much neater on the smaller needle. Since these lines are going to run through the whole shawl I don’t want them to be loose and sloppy.

Andrea writes a great pattern that is easy to follow. After a while Brioche becomes very instinctive. Take a few minutes and look at Nancy Marchant’s website. She has great instructions on Brioche. I learned a lot by reading through her information on 2 coloured Brioche.

Now it’s time to knit!

Flower Garden

There were a few rows knit today while watching the golf. This is the perfect project. There are only 2 rows to memorize. I like how the colours are playing together. It reminds me of a garden.

There were thoughts about starting Brioche today but I wasn’t feeling it. Maybe tomorrow when I can pay a bit more attention.

We had breakfast at dad’s this morning. Then it was a fight to get the pills in Lucy but we did it. I snapped a picture of her lying quietly with ice on her leg. This reminds me of baby Lucy - she would lie like this all the time.

What?!

Thank you Jennifer for sharing pictures. Your shawl is beautiful. This pattern has been in my library since Andrea introduced it as a mystery shawl in 2017. You have inspired me to start thinking about colours.

When I read your blog re wanting to knit brioche again, I thought I would send you photos of my recent brioche venture.  It is Andrea Mowry's What the Fade.  This is the second time I knit this shawl, (very unusual for me to knit the same shawl twice).  It is 100% from my stash.

HH Coral

HH Leibling 

HH potluck

Mad Tosh Night in Chile 

Mad Tosh Caledon 

Life in the long grass Barefoot 

Something I learned on this knit, according to Andrea, you shouldn't block brioche!! Apparently blocking it will make it grow too much.  So I steamed it as she says to, and it looks great.

Here is Andrea’s What the Fade?!

Photos © Andrea Mowry

Quadruple your fading fun!! This shawl starts off with back to back fades thanks to beautiful, bouncy two color brioche! We then end with an epic band of all 6 colors faded together with some relaxing garter stitch! To celebrate this amazing fade, we’ll finish it off with faded tassels, and then wrap it around and wear it all year long! Included in the pattern are links to helpful video tutorials!

You can purchase the pattern on Andrea’s website. 

Some of you might be afraid of Brioche. Grab some needles and scrap yarn and try it. There are free patterns on Ravelry.

Andrea has many YouTube videos for brioche.

I looked at some finished What the Fade?! Shawls on Ravelry and one caught my eye. The knitter used Skinny Singles. I should have reversed the order in my picture. It starts with 

Deja Vu (bottom left), Cereal, Bloom, Taffy, Leibling and Ozone.

Then I continued looking and fell down the Ravelry rabbit hole. I saved 9 different shawls that called to me. 

Thanks Jennifer - I thought I was set on Cinnabar (the yarn is sitting beside my knitting chair) but now I might want to make this first. 

New Patterns

Brian Smith has a new shawl pattern that is designed in worsted weight yarn. He used 5mm needles for this shawl. We put the air conditioning on in our house and I could use a shawl this weight while watching TV. The main floor is very cold because it gets really warm upstairs.

This cosy crescent shawl is worked in four stitch patterns and has a generous length.

You can purchase the pattern for Cascade Shawl 41 on Ravelry.

Photos © Brian Smith

The shawl would look amazing in Malabrigo Rios.

Stephen West has a new pattern as well.

This semi-circular shawl is knit with fingering weight yarn striped with lace weight mohair silk for a large lightweight fabric. Seven colors stripe together as bands of brioche stitch mix together with simple striped sections. The textural changes yield an entertaining project with exciting color changes. You can customize the stripes and colors as you knit or follow the recommended color placement using seven colorways.

You can purchase the pattern for the Brioband Shawl on Stephen’s website.

Photos © Stephen West

Dad and Lucy came for dinner tonight. It was Lucy’s first time leaving the house since surgery. Dad and Beth made a ramp for her to use when getting in and out of the truck. She is starting to put weight on her leg which is a very good thing. We’re having fun getting her pills into her. Before surgery cheese worked for her pain pills. Since surgery we have had to try a few different things. Right now it’s hamburgers. Yes, Lucy is very spoiled. But it’s getting the pills into her.

Easy to Remember

I pulled out a project that I started last year. This is Luverne by Amie Opie. You can purchase the pattern on Ravelry. There are only 2 rows to the pattern which makes it an easy knit. Perfect for this weekend - there is a lot of golf on TV.

Luverne is a randomly striped, simple chevron shawl with a knit as you go “mock” icord edge. Once established, the two row pattern is easy to remember. The sample shown is knitted in fingering weight yarn, but it can readily be adjusted for a sport or DK weight. Luverne is also a small town in south Alabama, and is self acclaimed to be the “friendliest city in the south”!

I’m using different single ply yarns from Hedgehog and Uschitita. This is a great project for using up those special skeins of yarn that you purchased but don’t know what to use them for. Most of us gravitate to the same colours so your skeins probably go together.

The picture makes the piece look short - I’m about 1/3 of the way through the shawl.

My Flicker & Flame hat is almost finished. If I would remember to bring home double pointed needles I could finish it.

 

This is how I found dad and Lucy this morning when I stopped on my way to work. Lucy has a bag of corn on her leg.

Dad was working until I brought him a newspaper. 

Now back to my knitting. 

Fading Point

We were moving things around today and came across kits for Fading Point. This is an amazing shawl designed by Joji Locatelli. We used SweetGeorgia Tough Love Sock and kits are available.

You can purchase the pattern on Joji’s website.

I love wearing a shawl cuff with this shawl. This is from Knox Mountain - the Original Ring Shawl Cuff in Rocket Blue with a Copper Ring.

From Joji

Last year I designed a pattern called Starting Point, and it was a Mystery KAL. I loved that pattern so much, and it was truly nerve-wracking to present it as a mystery. Would people like a big rectangle wrap as much as I did? 

Fortunately, I think many did! Which encouraged me to keep exploring that construction, and it also gave me the confidence to design more maxi-scarves or wraps. And when La Bien Aimée created these colors for me to design with, all I could picture was this wrap. I just knew it. The moment I saw it, I knew what it had to become! 

Fading Point is constructed from both ends towards the centre, and then both pieces are connected with triangles to achieve a seamless rectangle.  

The pattern is completely different than its predecesor: It has sections where you blend 2 colors together and then sections with lace. The instructions are WRITTEN AND CHARTED.

Take a look at this Fading Point on Ravelry. The colours are amazing - it is kit #9 on our website.

This is my first Fading Point.

My second is very close to being finished. I better pull this out and get it done! This is a shawl that I could knit again and again. The pattern is so well written and easy to follow. You also get to play with 5 colours which adds to the fun.

Linda also likes knitting the shawl. The pink version is her second.

This is her first - I love the combination. It is very close to kit #1. So close that the kit has 4 of the 5 colours that Linda used.

Lucy is home. She’s very sore and a bit dopey but it’s good to have her back.