Nightshift.

The knitters and crocheters who populate our shop are a diverse bunch, with all kinds of projects on their hands – any given week could find us suggesting yarns for striped shawls, intarsia cowls, granny square blankets, and all kinds of sweaters. When someone asks “What’s popular?” or “What’s everyone making around here?” I usually don’t know where to begin. Every once in a while, however, a particular pattern seems to appear on everyone’s needles.

Right now, that popular pattern is Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift.” This triangular shawl is decorated with bands of a simple slip stitch pattern, the background and foreground colors changing every so often. It’s trimmed with an attached i-cord edging, then finished off with a clever striped i-cord bind off.

I made one with Malabrigo Caprino, selecting a variety of dark, medium, and light colors. It was fun to watch how they interacted with one another, sometimes popping out in high contrast, other times receding when the color values were close.

Joanne and Sue have “Nightshifts” going in Caprino, too – I love seeing the variety that’s possible even when these knitters were choosing from the same small selection of colors!

Emily recently finished her “Nightshift,” also made with Caprino, and models it here, though she plans to gift it to a friend in need.

We’ve also had folks reach for worsted weight yarns to make “Nightshifts,” a natural choice since that’s what the pattern calls for. Nancy and Pam both used Malabrigo Rios for their shawls, below:

Andrea Mowry has more than one “Shift” pattern, of course – below is Toya’s “Shiftalong” hat in progress, and the next item on her to-knit list is “The Shift” cowl. She’s using Malabrigo Arroyo and Caprino for both projects, combining semi-solids with speckles.

I can’t wait to see these projects complete, and all the other “Nightshifts” I know are underway out there. Happy stitching to all of you, and special thanks to those who shared their projects on the blog today!

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted a bunch in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, which is currently 10% off as it’s featured in our BT Sample of the Month. With its sophisticated colors and superb stitch definition, Arbor is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Last year, Amy taught a couple of classes on Norah Gaughan’s “Geiger,” an intricately cabled and tailored cardigan knit with Arbor. Above is Amy in her completed garment, a perfect fit!

Leslie, Jane, and Linda also used Arbor for their own “Geiger” cardigans – bravo to all on completing these impressive sweaters!

Nancy also taught a sweater class featuring Arbor last year – above is her lovely “Newhaven” gansey, from Beth Brown-Reinsel’s classic Knitting Ganseys.

Above is April in her “#14 Arbor Cardigan,” another striking cabled cardigan designed by Norah Gaughan. She had some Arbor leftover and made the “Brioche Knots” hat below.

Emily recently made this pint-sized version of Andrea Mowry’s “Weekender” sweater for her daughter, taking advantage of Arbor’s smaller gauge to get the perfect fit.

Thanks to Amy, Leslie, Jane, Linda, Nancy, April, and Emily for sharing their Arbor projects with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their project with a trip to our shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next. If these talented knitters have inspired you, place an order during April to get Brooklyn Tweed Arbor at 10% off!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks! 

The Weekender KAL: show and tell.

Back in April 2019, Anne and I embarked on an informal knit-along, knitting Andrea Mowry’s “The Weekender” sweater and inviting anyone and everyone to join us. We were delighted that so many folks were inspired to make the sweater, each bringing their own style and taste to this simple design, each knitting at their own pace. Some finished right away and then had to wait patiently for sweater weather to arrive, others signed up for Amy’s Weekender class to have her guidance as they knit along through the fall and winter. Many are still knitting, and we’re looking forward to seeing their sweaters in use this winter or next. As far as I’m concerned, our KAL has no end-date, so consider this round of Weekender KAL show and tell the first of many!

Michele was the first to finish. She knit her “Weekender” with Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed she picked up on sale a few years ago, putting that sweater quantity to good use.

Here’s Debbie in her “Weekender,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Snowbound, BT’s softest gray. Something about the reverse stockinette seems to let the heathered colorway shine – flecks of dark gray and black pop out from the overall light color, giving a simple stitch pattern more interest.

Anne and I had our own “Weekenders” on display at the shop all through the fall, and in fact, hers is still hanging – I was excited to wear mine and brought it home last month! Anne’s is on the left, knit with Shelter in Soot, and mine is on the right, knit with Kelbourne Woolens Scout in Sunflower Heather.

Amy is well into teaching a handful of classes on “The Weekender,” and so finished hers in a productive flurry of preparation for teaching. She used Shelter in the marled Caraway color, a good match for this design, with its plain texture and simple shape. She also modified the neckline for a turtleneck, and opted to knit the entire body in the round and steek the armhole openings – very clever!

Many thanks to Michele, Debbie, and Amy for sharing their sweaters and knitting along with us! We know there are many other Weekenders in various stages of completion out there in our HYS knitting community – let us know how it’s going, we can’t wait to see you all in your sweaters!

Hello, Malabrigo Caprino.

This week, we welcome a brand new yarn from Malabrigo – meet Caprino!

Caprino is a DK weight blend of 80% merino wool and 20% cashmere, and just as you’d expect from those fibers, it’s soft as can be. Each 50 gram skein has 159 yards, enough for a pair of mitts or small hat; 2 skeins makes a larger hat or cowl.

Like many Malabrigo yarns, Caprino comes in a familiar selection of semi-solid, variegated, and speckled colorways.

We think of them as old friends, these colorways – it’s always nice to see the purplish gray of “Plomo,” or the deep navy of “Paris Night,” but equally nice to meet newer shades, like the spotty “Galaxy.” All three of those wound up in my latest project, Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” shawl.

I’m having such fun with this simple slip stitch pattern, watching the colors come together, the background shade seeming to shift as the contrast colors change.

I’ve seen lots of knitters make “Nightshift” and “The Shift” cowl, sometimes more than once, and now I totally understand the appeal of the project. We’re pleased to have print copies of these patterns in stock now!

Come by the shop to see and touch Caprino for yourself! You’ll find it in our DK weight section.

New colors in Malabrigo Rios.

Malabrigo recently released a bunch of new colors in their beloved worsted weight superwash merino, Rios. Meet the Tribeca collection!

Rios is beautifully hand-dyed in rich, memorable colors, soft and springy in the hand, and machine-washable, no less. A superwash worsted weight wool is a versatile kind of yarn, good for garments and accessories alike. We’ve seen it all in Rios over the years – sweaters for all ages, blankets large and small, hats and mitts and cowls and slipper socks and more.

These delicate pastel shades are semi-solid, ideal for showing off texture patterns. Try Tin Can Knits’ “Flax” and “Barley,” Stephen West’s “Dustland,” Joji Locatelli’s “Hipster Shawl,” and Andrea Mowry’s “Nurtured.”

With so many beautiful colors, it’s tempting to combine them, too – for colorful ideas, check out Shannon Cook’s “Bradway,” Lisa Hannes’ “Walk in the Woods,” Jennifer Steingass’s “Fern & Feather,” Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift,” and Tin Can Knits’ “Banff.”

Come by the shop to pick up some Malabrigo Rios for your next project! See you there.

Back in stock: Malabrigo Arroyo.

Malabrigo Arroyo is back in stock!

This sport weight superwash merino is a favorite around here, and its cubby was looking empty before this week’s shipment arrived.

Each 100 gram skein of Arroyo boasts 335 yards, enough for a scarf, cowl, shawlette, hat, tiny baby sweater, or pair of mitts. Here are a few pattern ideas, projects that knitters on Ravelry have used Arroyo for again and again:

We have two samples at the shop knit with Malabrigo Arroyo, as well – a newborn-sized “Baby Surprise Jacket,” and a “Drop Stitch Scarf.” Though the latter calls for worsted weight yarn on a US 8 needle, I made our sample with one skein of Arroyo on a US 7, casting on an extra pattern repeat to make up the difference in width.

You’ll find Malabrigo Arroyo in the sport weight section here at our shop, and check out our whole selection of Malabrigo yarns while you’re here!

Andrea Mowry patterns.

Happy to announce the arrival of some new-to-us print patterns, by the ever-popular designer Andrea Mowry!

PDFs of all of Andrea Mowry’s patterns are available through Ravelry, which is how we got our “Weekenders” going during our informal Knit-Along, but there’s something to be said for print patterns. It’s great to be able to read through a pattern before you buy it, to get a sense of what you’re getting into.

We’ve selected the Mowry patterns that have been the most popular here at our shop, all of which happen to call for Brooklyn Tweed yarns.

“The Weekender” is shown in a rustic marled shade of Shelter, “Tincture” calls for two colors in Arbor, and “Harlow” and “Wool & Honey” make beautiful use of Loft.

You’ll find all of these yarns here at our shop, along with many other substitutes. As ever, we’re happy to help you find exactly the right color, texture, and fiber for your project, whether it’s the yarn called for or not.

Come by to see our full selection of single patterns – we have many binders full of them. Ask us if you’re looking for something special, and we’ll be happy to help you find it!

Limited Edition colors in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor!

Something new has arrived from Brooklyn Tweed – two limited edition colors in Arbor!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor is a 3-ply DK weight yarn composed of 100% Targhee wool. Like Brooklyn Tweed Vale and Peerie, it’s worsted-spun, and skein-dyed in solid colors at the organically-certified Saco River Dyehouse in Maine.

These two shades bring a welcome pop of color to Brooklyn Tweed’s color palette, standing out from their closest neighbors on the Arbor color wheel.

Azalea is a vibrant pink, just like the flowering shrub it’s named for.

Viridian is a bright green somewhere between emerald and teal.

I’m looking forward to seeing them combined in multicolor projects, like Andrea Mowry’s “Tincture” hat, Shannon Cook’s “Atmen” shawl, Jared Flood’s “Bevel” scarf, or Caitlin Hunter’s popular colorwork pullovers, “Soldotna Crop” and “Tecumseh.” If you’re seeking a small one-color project, consider Emily Greene’s “Shear,” Jared Flood’s “Burnaby” hat or “High Pines Cowl.”

Look for Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in the DK weight section here at our shop, and hurry in if either of these colors is your heart’s desire – we have limited quantities available. See you soon!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Tulips.

The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu.

May’s special colorway is called Tulips, a riot of greens with flecks of other bright colors dyed on KPPPM, Koigu’s signature fingering weight superwash merino.

This highly variegated colorway has so many different colors in it! I had fun pairing it up with solid shades in other fingering weight yarns, thinking of Andrea Mowry’s brioche “Harlow” hat, which Amy is teaching in an upcoming class here at the shop. Brooklyn Tweed Peerie and Shibui Staccato are both wonderfully soft, come in a range of rich solid shades, and are the right gauge for pairing with Koigu KPPPM.

Peerie, with its stellar elasticity, is perhaps especially well-suited to the “Harlow” hat, if your interest is piqued by that pattern. Head to our Classes page to sign up now for a fun introduction to two-color brioche!

Other two-color projects that you might consider include Craig Rosenfeld’s “Drea’s Shawl,” Stephen West’s “All the Angles” and “Clockwork,” or Christy Kamm’s “ZickZack Scarf.”

Tulips and Riviera are a nice match to my eye – two limited edition colorways aligned!

Look for Tulips in our fingering weight section here at the shop. See you there!

The Weekender KAL: round and round, back and forth.

Our informal Weekender KAL continues! Anne and I are knitting “The Weekender,” by Andrea Mowry, and invite you all to join us, casting on and working at your own pace.

It’s been almost a month since I last shared our progress, and we spent most of that month going round and round on the bodies of our sweaters. Above is a photo of Anne’s sweater in that stage. We have both been smitten with the easy rhythm of stockinette in the round, punctuated by that slip stitch detail at the front and back of the piece.

Our friends Debbie and Nancy come by the shop now and then to work on their Weekenders, knitting, like Anne, with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in shades of gray. Debbie’s is above, in the Snowbound color, and at the same round and round stage. Nancy’s is below, in the Pumice color, just a bit darker than Debbie’s Snowbound. After the bodies of our sweaters reach our desired length, we begin working the front and back flat up to the shoulders, and that’s just where I caught Nancy in this photo.

There are a few short rows near the top, to shape the shoulders, then a bit of ribbing, a tubular bind-off at the neck, and a three needle bind off at the shoulder – a flurry of techniques after many peaceful inches of stockinette. As of now, we’re all at different points in this flurry, and hurrying quickly through them. Here’s my Weekender, made with Kelbourne Woolens Scout, just after I joined the shoulders, and before I blocked it to something close to the dimensions on the schematic.

Are you knitting along with us? Where are you in the process, going round and round, or back and forth, or well beyond what’s pictured here? Let us know in the comments, or on Instagram with the hashtag #hysweekenderkal !