Sunday, September 3, 2017

Brioche Knitting

This June I went back to Squam Lake for my fourth Squam Art Workshop.  It was as wonderful as it always is - four full days filled with creativity, friendship, fresh air and that amazing cold, clear New England lake that I love so much.  

In work - right and wrong sides

This year, I signed up to take a Brioche knitting class from the charming and talented Andrea Mowry.  She has become somewhat of a social media superstar in my instagram feed, and her prolific and beautiful designs are something that I've enjoyed watching for some time now.  I was thrilled to get the chance to take her class, and excited too to learn a new knitting technique.  

"Right" side
"Wrong" side
Her class was really, very well organized and she was very well prepared to teach a new technique that isn't necessarily difficult, but does require some new skills in interpreting patterns and "reading" your knitting differently.  She brought along a projector that was attached to her iPad and she was able to project an image of her own hands knitting, which was so very helpful for the dozen or so of us that were in the class.

Reminds me of an aerial view of row crops...
Navy row

We swatched and then moved on when we were ready to the Briochealicious shawl pattern.  It is a really pretty half moon shaped shawl  with three fairly wide bands of brioche stitch.  There were so many lovely color combinations.  I chose a blue green palette and an off-white/natural color as the "base" because I think I will get a lot of use out of this when the seasons change.  

Finished
This was also my first time knitting with Plucky Knitter yarn and I loved it.  The twist is good, and the yarn is soft.  I have great hopes that this will wear well and become a staple of my winter wardrobe.

"Wingspan" shot