Tag: brioche knitting

Posted in Uncategorized

Woolly Workshops

Posted on by Jackie B

After Saturday’s Embroidery with Sea Glass workshop I got to thinking about a couple of others I’ve been to over the last year. Almost a year ago. I went on a worship on Entrelac and Modular Knitting with Judith Schur of Needlecase at Amble Pincushion. At the time I fell in love with Judith’s beautiful modular shell cowl and started to make my own – I got it finished a while back.

I used West Yorkshire Spinners Signature Sock Yarn in Woodpigeon (variegated in mauve, grey and white) and some pink and purple sock weight yarn I got from a stash sale. I’m so pleased with it – and learning this technique has cured me of my dislike of picking up stitches.

I went on another of Judith’s workshops a few months back. This one was on 2-colour brioche knitting. If you’ve never come across brioche knitting before, it looks a bit like K1 P1 rib and in the case of 2 colour brioche, the knit stitches are in one colour and the purl in another to form stripes…. then you can make the lines cross and form waves. It’s double thickness, so each row is knitted twice (you have to slide the stitches back along the needle before you knot the second one so you need to use circular or double pointed needles.). It feels really squishy .

During the workshop we learnt the techniques and produced a sample square ( I must admit I made a bit of a mess of mine, mainly because I was chatting to the other participants. I had another go and perfected my sample when I got home. Brioche does require a fair bit of concentration.

Next I started a cowl using one of Judith’s patterns. This and two balls of James C Brett Aztec were included in the price. I chose a pale duck-egg blue and a deep green – brioche looks most effective when you use strongly contrasting colours. It’s a lovely aran weight yarn with some alpaca in the blend which makes it really soft.

I did make some mistakes, but I pulled them out and kept going until I got it right. The end result looks amazing and is so lovely to wear – the softness of the alpaca and the squishy brioche knitting makes it incredibly cosy.

Posted in Uncategorized

Blue Sky in Bamburgh

Posted on by Jackie B

It was a glorious day today: sunny and almost warm! We headed up the coast to Bamburgh, with Son at the wheel. He’s learning to drive, so it’s a good way for him to practice.

Bamburgh is a pretty village, with plenty of pubs and cafes to visit. There is a historic church and The Grace Darling Museum. Grace was a local heroine, daughter of the lighthouse keeper on Longstone, one of the Farne Islands, just offshore here. In 1838 father and daughter famously rowed out in high seas to rescue the passengers and crew of a stricken vessel, the Forfarshire. The village is dominated by the magnificent Bamburgh Castle.

We drove along The Wynding (the lane leading to Bamburgh Golf Club), where there is car parking, and stopped at the end of the bay, by Stag Rock.

No one knows why there is a white deer painted on the rocks here – there are lots of stories. It gets a regular coat of paint to keep it looking pristine. In the distance you can see Holy Island and Lindisfarne Castle.

There are usually eider ducks swimming by the rocks here, and oystercatchers feeding. In summer the terns that nest on the Farne hunt small fish here. Occasionally you can see dolphins further out. Today’s sign of spring was the sound of skylarks soaring above the fields behind here.

Son and K took Buddy for a walk from here.They had plenty of space – Bamburgh Beach is huge and stunning.

The Farnes looked really close today.

While they walked, I knitted. I’m working on brioche wrist warmers. I couldn’t have asked for a better view.

Any more signs of spring where you are?

Posted in Uncategorized

Brioche Breakthrough

Posted on by Jackie B

I hadn’t intended to post on the blog tonight but I can’t contain myself!

Back in January I set myself a list of knitting resolutions for the New Year. Learning how to do brioche was one of them. I’d seen so many pictures of the most gorgeous brioche knits, – those two colour ones and branching patterns are just to die for!

I’d mentioned it to a friend (who I refer to as a ninja knitter) and she actually showed me one of her brioche projects – a single colour scarf – I’d heard how squishy and cosy brioche stitch work is but when I felt that scarf I knew I’d have to try this and soon! It feels amazing! Tonight I sat down to watch some You Tube Tutorials (there are many).

I started with single colour brioche. First attempt went horribly wrong and I had to pull it out and start again. Second go went much better.

Apart from somehow acquiring a couple of extra stitches at one end, my little swatch came out ok. I love how it feels!.

That done, I thought I’d start another swatch and use two colours. This went even better at first attempt.

I love how it is reversible and it feels just as soft and squishy as the single colour version.

I’m feeling very pleased with myself and I’m so glad I had a go. The next step is to find a pattern I like and make something useful, maybe some fingerless gloves or wrist warmers?

Are there any knitting or other craft techniques that you are dying to try?