In Case You Missed It

Melissa Leapman is no stranger to our Guild. She has visited our Guild at least twice (2005 and 2008) and knew many of our members personally. Ironically, she was making her Zoom presentation from a hotel in Carlsbad where she was visiting a longtime friend who lives in the area.

We spent our time working through Melissa’s handout on Faux Brioche. Faux Brioche looks and acts very much like Brioche but is easier and less complicated. Melissa has mastered Brioche, but she just does not enjoy the process. Faux Brioche is based on the alternation of K1below and K1.

Melissa demonstrated the Faux Brioche stitch as guild members knitted their own swatches. Melissa was endlessly patient, relating to individual members personally. She demonstrated exactly how to knit one below and how to ladder down to fix a mistake. She described how to do faux brioche in the round and the best way to cast on and bind off.

She inspired us with swatches using variations of Faux Brioche. By alternating the placement of the K1below and K1, and by changing colors, there are myriads of possibilities.

Two of her patterns featuring Faux Brioche are available on Ravelry: Mistura (both as a pattern and a kit) and Lineae. Her website is melissaleapman.com and she can be found on Ravelry here .

It was a delightful and informative presentation and Melissa managed to use technology to make us all feel personally connected.

— Mary Barranger