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

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

1,000,000 Ravelers!

Congratulations, Ravelry -- our favorite place to find knitting patterns and excellent examples of knitter's handiwork, the home of the Malabrigo Junkies, and the source of the great community, family feeling that the knitting world has -- gained their millionth member today! We are so happy to see one of our favorite websites getting much-deserved attention. We also want to congratulate Ravelry on their award at this year's Rubicon (a convention based around the Ruby systems that Ravelry is built with.)

Sock Contest Winners!

It's finally time to announce the winners of our Sock Design Contest. We got close to 20 really fantastic, beautiful entries, from so many talented designers -- it was so hard to pick a winner or even a favorite! Luckily, first, second, and third prize winners all get something really fantastic for their efforts!

First Prize Winner -- Sea Wreaths by Sarah Griffiths

Sarah Griffith's Sea Wreaths includes not only one, but two patterns -- inspired by a poem about mermaids by T.S. Eliot, in combination with one of our favorite colorways, Indiecita. The hat and fingerless mittens set are both adorned with a mix of interesting basketweave and cable patterns, broken up with stockinette.

We chose Sarah's pattern not only because it was beautiful and well-written, but also because of how easily it highlights and works with one of our complicated, multi-color colorways. Since colorways like Indiecita, Archangel, Primavera and Candombe are some of our most popular, we felt that Sarah's pattern was a wonderful addition to any knitter's pattern library. It provides enough complexity for an advanced knitter to find it enjoyable, but is not outside the reaches of an ambitious beginner.

Congratulations, Sarah -- thank you for submitting such a lovely pattern to our contest!

Sarah wins a full bag of any available Malabrigo Yarn, as well as a bag of Malabrigo Dos (an unreleased test yarn) in a colorway of the factory's choosing. A few paper copies of her pattern will also be given away at a future Stitches Event with test skeins of Malabrigo Yarn, and be linked on the Patterns section of our website.

Second Prize Winner -- Heart of the Mesa by Grace Schnebly

Grace's Hear of the Mesa was an easy choice for a finalist pattern. The mittens themselves are stunning -- the incredible contrast of an excellent color choice, the clear photographs and interesting geometric pattern -- all these contribute to a real 'wow' factor for a simple colorwork mitten. Grace's inspiration comes from the woven designs of the Navajo, and pteroglyphs of the Anasazi Native American tribes.

In addition to being pretty on the outside, the pattern is clear, beautifully laid out, and well-written. It would be an excellent choice for someone starting to feel confident in colorwork, and in our buttery-soft Sock, as pleasurable to wear as they are to look at and knit. Grace's conversational tone creates a pattern that is easy to follow and understand.

Grace wins a full bag of any available Malabrigo Yarn of her choosing, in any colorway. Her pattern will be featured here on the blog and also linked on the Patterns section of our website.

Third Prize Winner -- Damask by Kitman Figueroa

Kitman's pattern Damask might look complicated, but the designer assures us that this lovely, lacy shawl is not as difficult as we might think. After looking over the pattern, which comes complete with written instructions, charts, and step-by-step instruction, even the most timid lace knitter (namely, me) would be willing to attempt this.

Of course, the beading and structure of the actual shawl would be enough to tempt anyone into knitting it -- in Malabrigo Sock, you would be creating something really wonderful to wrap around your neck! We especially loved the beautiful edging, and it's obvious that Kitman really cares about the quality of her patterns, making her an easy choice for a finalist designer in our contest!

Kitman wins a mixed bag of skeins direct from the factory, hand-picked by Antonio. They could be test yarns, test colors, or single skeins of well-known favorites. Her pattern will also be linked in the Patterns section of our website.

We want to say a huge thank you to everyone who entered our contest -- there were so many quality submissions, and you can see many of them on our Facebook page!

Malabrigo + Woolgirl

Woolgirl, a yarn store that specializes in hand-dyed yarns, has recently invited Malabrigo's Head Dyer, Antonio, to be a part of a very exciting project! Antonio will be designing a colorway exclusively for the August 2011 edition of Woolgirl's new 'Victorian Writers' themed Knitting Club.



Antonio is going to be dyeing to a garden theme, inspired by Virginia Woolf's "Mrs. Dalloway," a short story that is full of delightfully colorful visual imagery. Who knows what part of the story Antonio will draw his colorway from? I pulled out a few samples from an online, public-domain edition that I felt would be especially inspirational:

"... wrapped in the soft mesh of the grey-blue morning air, which, as the day wore on, would unwind them, and set down on their lawns and pitches the bouncing ponies, whose forefeet just struck the ground and up they sprung, the whirling young men, and laughing girls in their transparent muslins who, even now, after dancing all night, were taking their absurd woolly dogs for a run... and the shopkeepers were fidgeting in their windows with their paste and diamonds, their lovely old sea-green brooches in eighteenth-century settings to tempt Americans ...and she, too, loving it as she did with an absurd and faithful passion..."

"There were flowers: delphiniums, sweet peas, bunches of lilac; and carnations, masses of carnations. There were roses; there were irises... And then, opening her eyes, how fresh like frilled linen clean from a laundry laid in wicker trays the roses looked; and dark and prim the red carnations, holding their heads up; and all the sweet peas spreading in their bowls, tinged violet, snow white, pale — as if it were the evening and girls in muslin frocks came out to pick sweet peas and roses after the superb summer’s day, with its almost blue-black sky, its delphiniums, its carnations, its arum lilies was over; and it was the moment between six and seven when every flower — roses, carnations, irises, lilac — glows; white, violet, red, deep orange; every flower seems to burn by itself, softly, purely in the misty beds; and how she loved the grey-white moths spinning in and out, over the cherry pie, over the evening primroses!"

Antonio's month, August 2011, can be purchased for $70 on the Woolgirl website. This includes not only the yarn and pattern to make a very lovely pair of themed socks, but each month also comes with several other goodies -- a themed stitch marker and an assortment of knitting notions, from project bags to vintage and boutique items. Each kit will also come with a little information on how Antonio chose the colorway, and you can participate in an official Woolgirl Club KAL, too!

This is such a fun way to get an inside look at a great writer -- and a great dyer's interpretation of her work!

Chau, Hannah

Coming Soon -- Malabrigo Book 3 Preview

Malabrigo Book 3 is still pretty far away from a wide press release, and you won't be seeing it on your yarn store's shelves for awhile, but we thought we'd give you a little teaser preview. This was a very exciting project for us to work on, and is one especially dear to me since I got to be Styling/Project Coordinator for Book 3! I worked closely with the stylist to choose all the outfits and the direction of the photoshoot, and with Antonio to choose the perfect model and location.







Let us know what you think, and which patterns you're getting excited for! This book features patterns from a wide range of really excellent designers, and we can't wait to introduce it to the world. We don't have a release date yet, and these are not the official book pictures, but we will let you know as we get more information!

Chau, Hannah

Fall in Love: A New Blog Series

[caption id="attachment_676" align="aligncenter" width="400" caption="photo credit: Martha Stewart Living Magazine"][/caption]

Fall in Love is our new, 5-part blog series, highlighting all that is fall -- the trends, colors, and feeling of this fall season captured with knitting needles and crochet hooks. Best of all, this blog series will give you plenty of inspiration to pick up your favorite Malabrigo Yarns and get to work on something special for the fall season!

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I've enjoyed putting it together. The kickoff will be tomorrow with some terrific Fall Fair-Isle knitting patterns and a quick study in choosing and pairing colors for them.

Chau, Hannah

Malabrigo for Kids!

Munecos, a brand-new Etsy shop, is open for business! The three-woman Uruguayan team, headed up by Monica Bacardaz, has set up an Etsy store to sell their high-quality stuffed animals. Each animal is made from Malabrigo yarns and stuffed with Corriedale, making them 100% natural wool materials. The animals are made in pieces using crochet, knitting, embroidery and sewing techniques, and assembled by hand too! Here's a picture of Monica working at home:



If you have a friend or know someone who really appreciates stuffed animals, you should certainly check out Munecos!

Chau, Hannah

Antonio and Tobias at Needlemarket!

If you're going to the 2010 Northwest Needle Market this year, keep an eye out for Antonio and Tobias! Needlemarket is the "World's Premiere Wholesale-Only Market", and happens yearly just outside of Seattle, Washington. If you live in the area or you're a wholesaler stopping by (they say people come from over 200 different stores), don't forget to check out the new colors we have in several of the bases, or take a good look at Rios, our new superwash worsted base!

There will be a fashion show and tons of opportunities to interact with vendors and other store owners. For details on location and attending, check out the website.

The guys would love to see you and say hello, and I personally can't wait to hear all about what they've seen, and share some of it with you here on the blog.

Chau, Hannah

Playa Color

This summer I was walking along the beach when this appeared

[caption id="attachment_621" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Playa Verde, Maldonado, Uruguay"][/caption]

I found this as a nice combination for a wool and Playa  (beach) has born. It comes in Sock and Rios

[caption id="attachment_622" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Playa "][/caption]

Antonio

Malabrigo Silky Voted "Best Yarn"

[caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="390" caption="Silky in Indecita, photo by Hannah Thiessen"][/caption]

Bestcovery, the website that helps you discover "the best of everything", recently announced their top picks for 'Best Yarn', and Malabrigo Silky was right at the top at #2! So why is Silky their favorite?

"Why it's a best pick:
This yarn is half silk and half baby merino wool, sold in 50 gram skeins.  It comes in a rainbow of colors, including solid and variegated colors.  The "Pradera" colorway is a beautiful blend of blues and greens that is reminiscent of an underwater scene or a cool garden.  The baby merino wool provides softness and warmth, while the silk provides a slight shimmer.  It is a beautiful single ply yarn that is perfect for shawls or elegant sweaters.  These colors vary significantly from one dye lot to another, so make sure that you buy enough for your project."

words of Bestcovery.com writer, Bronwyn Harris

So grab a skein of Silky, if you haven't already, and see what all the fuss is about!

Chau, Hannah

New Colors for 2010/2011

Some of our favorite yarns got new colorways this year! Take a look at them and keep an eye out at your LYS for some of these great additions to our palette.

Worsted:

[caption id="attachment_591" align="aligncenter" width="301" caption="Worsted in Malambo, Navidad, Uva, Garden Gate, Polvoriento, Milonga"][/caption]

Chunky:

[caption id="attachment_592" align="aligncenter" width="396" caption="Chunky in Uva, Polvoriento, Deja Vu, Milonga"][/caption]

Silky Merino:

[caption id="attachment_590" align="aligncenter" width="499" caption="Silky Merino in Pradera, Cumparsita, Piedras, Arco Iris and Mazanilla Olive"][/caption]

Sock:

[caption id="attachment_593" align="aligncenter" width="199" caption="Sock in Playa and Candombe"][/caption]

Twist:

[caption id="attachment_594" align="aligncenter" width="292" caption="Twist in Piedras, Belgian Chocolate and Manzanilla Olive"][/caption]

Chau, Hannah

Sustainable Hot Water

At the factory, we're doing our best to decrease our environmental footprint! Our most recent addition to the mill? A flat-plate thermal heating system has been installed at the mill. Using the power of the sun, we can heat our water tanks for the various processes to make your favorite yarns. The panels are being installed on the roof of the mill, as shown below.

[caption id="attachment_583" align="aligncenter" width="426" caption="Thermal plate installation on the roof of our building!"][/caption]

Yarn Profile: Rios

[caption id="attachment_574" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="photo by Polly of Little Country Wools"][/caption]

After perusing some of our older posts (and preparing some work for the newsletter this month), I realized that we never did a full introductory post on our new Rios superwash worsted yarn! We talked about a few of the colors and dropped hints here and there, but for all things Rios, you really need a full post!

Rios is a superwash, 4-ply, worsted-weight yarn. It knits up really well on needle sizes US 6 - 8 (4 - 5 mm). Superwash means that you can put your knitted object through the wash and dry cycles on your at-home washing machine, making Rios really easy to care for, and ideal for knitting things like baby blankets, clothing, and housewares (afghan, anyone?)

Rios comes in a gorgeous range of colors, too! Some of your favorites - Lettuce, Purple Mystery, Indecita and Glazed Carrot - and some new colors, too, like Cumparsita and Candombe! You should always be able to find the perfect Rios to match your project.

Rios was introduced at TNNA in June, and is already showing up in stores that pre-ordered. Be sure to keep an eye out for Rios at a store near you this fall!

Chau, Hannah

Uruguay Knit in Public + Malabrigo, Making a Difference

[caption id="attachment_541" align="alignleft" width="252" caption="IKiP Donations"][/caption]

Awhile back, we had a post about Uruguay's International Knit in Public Day, a great event for knitters to show off their skills are raise awareness about knitting to the general public. While many knitters all over the globe get together on IKiP to knit, chat, and just be friendly, the knitters in Uruguay like to knit with a purpose. Together, they managed to knit 900 garments for the orphanages in Uruguay! Many of these garments were out of Malabrigo, which was donated both for knitting with at the IKiP event, and as prizes for participants.

[caption id="attachment_542" align="alignleft" width="251" caption="Children Recieving Donations"][/caption]

The end result was fantastic -- these 900 garments went to suit the needs of charities Guillermina and Nuevo Amancer, to be worn by children who truly need them. Yet again, another example of wool keeping not only our bodies, but our hearts warm.

We can only hope that IKiP will be just as successful next year as last year -- and hopefully it won't have to be moved inside because of rain again!

Chau, Hannah

Howling Winds Cowl - New Pattern!

[caption id="attachment_497" align="aligncenter" width="289" caption="Howling Winds Cowl, by Hannah Thiessen"][/caption]

The Howling Winds Cowl has finally been released! Start looking for it at your local yarn stores next month, as copies can be obtained through their rep and are free with a purchase of a skein of Rasta. The pattern is made in exactly one skein of Rasta in Solis, but would look good in any of Rasta's colorways. It knits up quickly and is a great gift for yourself, or anyone who lives in colder climates!

If you have already purchased a skein of Rasta, but still want to knit the cowl, the pattern is available!

Knitting with Heart - The Pink Lemonade Shawl

[caption id="attachment_474" align="aligncenter" width="402" caption="The Pink Lemonade Shawl, designed by Tricia Lewis"][/caption]

We wanted to highlight a pattern very close to our hearts, the Pink Lemonade Shawl recently released by designer Tricia Lewis. This shawl is not only lovely, but has a lovely message behind it -- Tricia designed the pattern to celebrate how many members of the Malabrigo Junkies have won personal battles with breast cancer in the last few years. In an effort to assist with cancer research and eradication, Tricia has announced that she'll be donating 100% of the profits from each shawl's purchase to Susan G. Komen for the cure. The shawl is knit in Malabrigo sock.

[caption id="attachment_476" align="aligncenter" width="333" caption="Pink Lemonade Shawl, by Tricia Lewis"][/caption]