Malabrigo Freelance Pattern Project 2011

I wanted to finally share with you the lineup for our MFPP pattern e-book series. These can be purchased via their original designers on Ravelry, and are linked as they come up on our Patterns page here on the site. As these are released they will each have a feature post on the blog -- I just wanted to let you know what to look forward to!

January: Nina Machlin Dayton; The Best of Times: A Dickensian Winter Collection

March: Elizabeth Elliott

April: Kristen Hanley Cordozo

May: Tori Gurbisz

June: Kristi Holaas

July: Amy Duncan

August: Jennifer Dassau

September: Mary Catherine Black

October: Nichole Reese

November: Heidi Kirrmaier

December: Veera Valimaki

BONUS: Breean Miller

Malabrigo March in Full Swing

If you haven't hit up the Malabrigo Junkies group on Ravelry, this would be the time to go! With another annual Malabrigo March in full swing, the Junkies are ready to knit up a storm of super-soft goodies in the chance to win some major prizes.

This year's contests include a Badge and Banner Design contest, Be Scrappy (knitting with scraps), Best Duet (two Malabrigo yarns together), Best Use of Color, Most Cast On, Most Creative Photo, Most Interesting Project, Most Junkie Designs Finished, Re-Up (re-up your stash with winnings based on how much yarn you use), Show Your Devotion (last year this resulted in an awesome Malabrigo theme song), and Yummy Stash Photos.

Knit-A-Longs include many popular patterns on Ravelry, and the standard General Sweater, Accessory, Crochet, and Baby/Child KALs. You can join in on these at any time and if you are a member of the Malabrigo Junkies group, you might even win a random prize!

Festivities continue into the end of the month, and I will be showing you some of my favorite works in April from the Malabrigo March project pool!

-- Hannah

Introducing Arroyo

Introducing our newest yarn, Arroyo!

Specifications:

DK/Sport weight yarn

4 ply, superwash

Arroyo is a great choice for lots of different projects -- colorwork, baby and child's garments, and clothing and accessories that will be well worn and loved. You can be confident that this yarn will show off stitches, cables and still pop out of your washer and dryer vibrant and gorgeous!

There is no release date yet for Arroyo but samples have been spotted at Stitches shows -- keep an eye out for further information as we have it for you!

-Hannah

Weekly Color Feature - Jamie Johnson

I was remarkably inspired by this work by artist Jamie Johnson. Jamie is from Edinburgh, Scotland, and his mixed-media pieces are full of color -- something we at Malabrigo can really value! For this color feature, I pulled most of the colors from the work and added a current favorite 'pop' color -- Rios in Glazed Carrot. I am in love with the bright happiness that is tangerine orange!

[caption id="attachment_974" align="aligncenter" width="442" caption="Chunky in Polvoriento, Dark Earth, Applewood; Sock in Chocolate Amargo; Worsted in Burgundy; Rios in Purpuras; Silky in Green Gray; Rios in Glazed Carrot"][/caption]

Knitter's Magazine K101

Name of Project: Dappled Blues
Designed by Julie Gaddy
Skill Level: intermediate
K101 Pages: 48 - 49

An intricate panel adds character to a simple ribbrd vest. Try it in a stunning handpainted monochrome for serene beauty.

Yarn Info: Malabrigo Twist in color 416 Indiecita

Turner Color # 851

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Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775 – 1851) is famous for his storm illustrations. He used to use these colors.

"Turner" color is a tribute to him and I love how the colors seem to be a texture.

The number of the color 851 is a funny coincidence.

Antonio

David Nelson, American Ambassador with us!

 

He arrived with a delegation and take a walk around our facilities and the PTI (Technologic Industrial Park) where we are located.

January MFPP Release!

We are so excited to announce the first e-book release in a whole upcoming year of patterns. Who better to start out the year than the delightful Nina Machlin Dayton, who has long provided lovely, popular Malabrigo patterns to Ravelry members and her blog readers alike?

Nina's collection of accessory pieces is soft, luxurious, and sure to provide more than a few staples for your late winter wardrobe. She drew inspiration from the writer Charles Dickens for this collection, and his descriptions of winter. Part of the loveliness of this collection is the color palette -- soft, muted, frosty tones with the deep greens and blues of shadows on snow and under evergreens.

We hope you enjoy her collection as much as we do! Be sure to check out the collection here: The Best of Times e-book on Ravelry

New Year, New Features!

We're excited to announce some of the new features you'll see here on the blog in 2011! We are working hard to bring you a new, improved blog that you can visit for pattern ideas, inspiration, amusement and news about our yarns and our company!

The Malabrigo Freelance Pattern Project

This is a monthly e-book release from various independent designers! Exclusively online and through Ravelry, these e-books can be purchased with credit card or Paypal. You can buy the patterns in a group or solo, and each month will have an interesting, beautiful palette and theme! The e-books will be released sometime in the month and will always be announced here!

Weekly Color Features

We know you love your weekly color feature almost as much as I love writing them, so these will continue into the next year! It is always exciting to look through something lovely and find the colorways in our yarn palette.

Featured Knitting

For a long time, I've wanted to highlight particularly beautiful projects from Ravelry users. In the next year, we're going to be putting up small features that show off some of the most beautiful Malabrigo projects -- lovely photos, lovely knitting, and lovely people!

Designer and Blogger Interviews

I really enjoyed interviewing so many people in the last year and hope to double our knitting interviews in this year! There is something wonderful about exploring someone's projects, inspirations, and studio spaces, and I want to bring you more of this!

Stay tuned for more surprises and features as we think of them!