SPRING 2016 NEWSLETTER
“Shearing Time at the Malabrigo Sheepfold”
TA B L E O F
Contents C E L E B R AT I N G 1 0 Y E A R S
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Our new colorway, Aniversario VISTING THE MILL | 6
Malabrigo tours & dyeing experiences BOOK SPOTLIGHT
| 8
Malabrigo Book 9: Ni単os BEHIND THE SCENES
| 10
Meet Flavia F E AT U R E D PAT T E R N
| 14
Cabito, a brioche hat YA R N S P O T L I G H T
| 18
Grays of Rios UPCOMING EVENTS
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Trunk shows SHEARING TIME
A video from the Malabrigo Sheepfold
| 22
Mecha
Mechita
Rios
OUR NE W COLOR WAY
An i ve r s ar io To celebrate our tenth anniversary, we’ve created a new color called Aniversario. Aniversario features a large dose of bright violets and pinks, to which we added greens, blues, yellows, and oranges (almost bordering on reds). Its palette is marked by cold tones disrupted by the warmth of the yellow, creating a contrast that we love! It is dyed using a complex dyeing process, employing our unique Aquarella method. We hope you will enjoy knitting and wearing this color as much as we enjoyed developing it. You can find Aniversario in the following yarns: Arroyo, Mecha, Mechita, Rasta, Rios, and Sock
a ni ver s a r io | 5
COME Did you know that you can visit the Malabrigo mill in Montevideo, Uruguay? We love visitors! We can even arrange for group tours and dyeing experiences. And it’s all absolutely free - just get in touch with us before your trip! We recently had a cruise full of crafters stop in for a tour and to try their hand at dyeing. We had such a great time- but we’ll let them tell you about it in their own words: Melissa wasn’t kidding when she said it would be like “climbing the stairway to heaven.” Malabrigo is yarn heaven and visiting their studio is a pilgrimage all knitters should make at least once in their lifetime.
The trip to Malabrigo was in a single word — wonderful. This was my second visit to Malabrigo and it was even better than the first because I knew what to expect and wasn’t so overwhelmed as I was the first time. I also enjoyed dyeing yarn this time.
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Talk about worth the price of admission! Malabrigo did not disappoint. Montevideo was an awesome day!!! Everyone had a wonderful time at Malabrigo. Antonio, Tobias, and Luciano were wonderful hosts. As you know from the pictures this was the top highlight of the cruise and everyone had smiles from ear to ear the entire visit. Visiting Montevideo was amazing and the yarn dyeing experience at Malabrigo was a near religious experience for me and the other knitters in our group.
The climb up was worth it. Malabrigo is my favorite yarn of all.
Visiting Malabrigo was the highlight of my entire cruise. I quickly to came to know why those who had been to Malabrigo were so excited to visit there again (they were literally bouncing on their bus seats they were so excited). The experience was amazing. Everybody had a great time and completely enjoyed it. It was nice Antonio and Tobias joined the group for lunch.
The mill tour shown in these photos was organized by: Craft Cruises www.craftcruises.com Melissa Gower-Pence, Owner melissa@craftcruises.com
visit ing t he mi l l | 7
A COLLECTION OF
KNITWEAR DESIGNS
MALABRIGO BOOK 9
NIÑOS We are thrilled to introduce our first book of children’s garments and accessories! Ranging in sizes from toddler to ‘tween, Niños contains 19 colorful patterns by 9 fantastic designers, including Alicia Plummer, Justine Turner, Sara Gresbach, Terri Kruse, Elena Nodel, Kelly Herdrich, and Raya Budrevich, Joji Locatelli, and Rebecca Danger. With a focus on our superwash yarns, kids will love the fun designs and no-itch wools, and parents will love the easy washability! Malabrigo Book 9: Niños is available now - inquire at your local Malabrigo stockist! Retail price: $19.95 book spotl ight | 9
Flavia
MEET
There are a lot of people behind the scenes, working hard to make the products you love and enjoy. Today we would like to introduce you to Flavia. She’s 24 years old, and has been working with Malabrigo at the mill since January 2012. This year she is commencing her studies to become a midwife. She loves animals and has four dogs and one cat at home, whom she completely adores and is devoted to. She loves to shop for clothes, but especially sneakers! (She has quite the collection, too!) Different styles of music always accompany her, wherever she goes, giving all her activities a great energy boost. Her tasks at the mill varies, but the one she dedicates more time to is dyeing. Please join us in this interview, where Flavia tells a little about her work at Malabrigo. How long have you been working for Malabrigo? It’s been 4 years now. I started working at the mill in the year 2012, when I was 20 years old. I was both studying and working at the same time. What was your first assignment? My first task at the mill was to package the skeins. It was a very hard first day, because making the perfect skein is no easy task, and you have to make five perfect skeins for a bag of Rasta, which is what I
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was packaging that day. I did maybe 5 bags during the whole day. Tough! What are your duties at this time? My list of tasks varies a lot, depending on what is needed. I go from preparing the dyes, to labeling, to bagging, but what takes most of my time and what I enjoy the most is dyeing. I dye mostly for small orders, some garments from customers but mostly I dye Nube. Nube is dyed in big batches of several kilos, using the Acuarela method,
so they all have more than one color (Aquarella is a dyeing method invented by Antonio that is used for a lot of the multicolored yarns). Tell us what your typical work day looks like. I arrive at the mill at 8:00 and put on my uniform. We have a mandatory uniform to work at the mill, for security and protection. Then I ask Tabarè, the manager at the mill, what my tasks for the day are, and I usually get a list of things to dye. At noon, I take a lunch break of about half an hour,
and then I go on with my tasks until 16:00. My main task is dyeing. I start preparing the hot water and separating the amount of wool I need to dye, and preparing the skeins to start the whole process. Once I’m done dyeing the skeins, they go through a cold bath, and get rid of the excess water and into the drying room. When I’m done with the list of things to dye for the day, I help out with labeling or packaging. (continue)
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What’s your favorite part of your job? What I like the most is to dye Nube, precisely because it’s dyed in big batches, so it’s more practical and faster, and I love to see the result, see the colors we achieve. I also enjoy very much when we have visits to the mill and I teach them how to dye. I teach them to dye with a technique we call Box, which is safer than Aquarella, since it doesn’t require high temperatures for the first steps of the dyeing process. I love the reaction of the people when they see their results and I’m amazed at the ideas they come up with when mixing colors and experiment with the dyes. They go crazy and really enjoy themselves and leave as very happy people. What colorway do you enjoy dyeing the most? More than a specific colorway, I enjoy the Aquarella method of dyeing, because while I’m dyeing I see the different colors show up and how they combine. I like how each skein, even though it goes through the same process as others, has a different result. I really like dyeing Nube in Boreal, for example, because only at the end of the whole 12 | be h in d t h e s cen es
process do you see the final color, the final result. I really enjoy dyeing the color Poción when dyeing cloths, because it gets really dark but with intense orange hues. In a nutshell I love to see the colors form and see how the hues change during the dyeing process. What is your favorite Malabrigo yarn, and in what color? My favorite is Mecha, because I really like how it knits up, and I like that it’s average weight. Not too thick, not too thin. The colorway I like the most is Archangel, I really like it’s warm hues and the intense orange it contains. Do you knit? Yes, I do. I learned some months ago, when Malabrigo organized an an event celebrating the International Knit in Public Day. Some of my coworkers taught me how to knit that day and I made a hat in Rasta, the color was Arco Iris (you can read more about that event on the Malabrigo blog.) I really enjoy knitting, and the time I spend doing it. I like the sensation when I finish a project. I want to learn to knit more things!
~
b ehind t he sce n e s | 13
Cabito
A B R I O C H E H AT
designed by Gabriella Calderini P A T TER N INFORM ATI ON SI Z ES
NE E DL E S
S (M)
US 4 / 3½mm circular 16˝ / 40cm needle, or size needed to obtain gauge
F I N I SH ED MEA SUR E M E N T S
Circumference: 17½˝ – 44cm for two sizes Depth: 9½˝ (11˝) / 24cm(28cm) YARN A M O U N T S
Main Color (MC): One skein Malabrigo Arroyo, #AR195 Black Color A (CA): One skein Malabrigo Arroyo, #AR850 Archangel T E C H N IQ UES LON G T A IL CA ST O N TW O - CO L O R B RIO C H E S T I T C H In the round
www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8De96grbEc TW O - CO L O R F A N T AS Y S T I T C H
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDSVTGrOTuw
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US 6 / 4mm circular 16˝ / 40cm needle, or size needed to obtain gauge NOT IONS
One stitch marker Tapestry needle G AUG E
20 stitches and 30 rows = 4˝ / 10cm in Two-Color Brioche Stitch, US 4 / 3½mm needle knit in the round
A B B R EVIATIO NS brk (brioche knit, also known as a bark)
knit the stitch that was slipped in the previous row together with its yarn over
brp (brioche purl, also known as burp)
purl the stitch that was slipped in the previous row together with its yarn over
k
knit
k2tog
knit two stitches together (one st decrease)
p
purl
p3tog
purl three stitches together (double decrease)
sl1yo
slip one, yarn over (creates shawled stitch)
sl1yo following a k or brk st
bring the working yarn under the needle to the front of the work, slip the next stitch purlwise, then bring the yarn over the needle (and over the slipped stitch) to the back, in position to work the following stitch
sl1yo following a p or brp st
the working yarn is already in front. Slip the next stitch purlwise, then bring the yarn over the needle (and over the slipped stitch) and then to the front under the needle, into position to work the following stitch
D I RECTIO N S Using US 4 / 3.5mm circular needle and MC, cast on 114 stitches using the Long Tail cast-on method, place mark (pm), and join to work in the round, being careful not to twist sts. Next row: k. Decrease row: [k1, k2tog] to end. (76 stitches)
Repeat these 4 rows 4 more times, ending with a row 4. Change to US 6 / 4mm circular 16˝ needle. Continue in Two-Color Fantasy Stitch, until you have 8.5˝ (10˝) / 22cm(25.5cm) from the cast-on edge, ending with a row 2. CR OWN
Begin with Two-Color Brioche Stitch
Decrease row: In CA [ sl1yo, p3tog] to end. (38 stitches)
Setup row: [k1, sl1yo] to end.
Next row: in MC like row 4.
Row 1: in CA [ sl1yo, brp1] to end.
Next row: in MC like row 1.
Row 2: in MC [ brk1, sl1yo] to end.
Next row: in CA like row 2.
Repeat last two rows for 1½˝(3˝) / 3.5cm (7cm), ending with a row 2.
Decrease row: in CA [ sl1yo, p3tog] to end. (19 stitches)
Next row: in MC, knit. Begin with Two-Color Fantasy Stitch
Next row: in MC like row 4. Next row: in MC like row 1.
Row 1: in MC [ p1, sl1yo] to end.
Decrease row: k2tog to 1 stitch to end, k1, knitting the yarns with the stitches. (10 stitches)
Row 2: in CA [ k1, brk1] to end.
Cut the yarn, leaving 6˝ / 15cm tail.
Row 3: in CA [ sl1yo, p1] to end.
With the tapestry needle, thread the yarn through remaining stitches.
Row 4: in MC [ brk1, k1 ] to end.
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Weave in ends.
fea tured pa t ter n | 17
Tormenta
8Beautiful
G R AY S
Tranquilo RIO841
Ilusion RIO842
Cirrus Gray RIO845
Nimbus Gray RIO844
Winter Lake RIO846
Cloud Sunshine RIO843
Tormenta RIO847
Sand Storm RIO848
INTRODUCING
Grays o f R i o s We certainly love color, but we thought it was time to embrace the beauty and depth of a good gray - or 8 good grays, to be precise (Antonio says he would have liked to do 50 shades, but eight will have to do *wink*). These colors - Sand Storm, Tormenta, Winter Lake, Cirrus Gray, Nimbus Gray, Cloud Sunshine, Ilusion, and Tranquilo - are available only in Rios and are ready to become wardrobe staples.
y a r n spotlight | 19
Upcoming TRUNK SHO W S
Did you know that we have trunk shows packed with gorgeous garments from our books available to your shop? We currently have three shows touring the country: 2 large shows featuring garments from all of our books, and one smaller show featuring items from Books 6, 7 and 8. We’ll be adding Niños garments soon too! We’d love to make your LYS our next stop. If you’re interested in scheduling a show, please email us at admin@malabrigoyarn.com. TRUNK SHOW 1 Featuring more than 70 garments and accessories from Malabrigo Books 1-9.
TRUNK SHOW 2 Featuring more than 70 garments and accessories from Malabrigo Books 1-9.
March 15, 2016 The Sated Sheep 100 Commons Road, Suite 5 Dripping Springs, Texas www.satedsheep.com
March 15, 2016 Purl in the Pines 2544 North 4th Street Flagstaff, Arizona www.purlinthepines.com
April 15, 2016 Stash A Place For Yarn 625 Central Avenue St. Petersburg, Florida www.stashstpete.com
April 15, 2016 Spinnin’ Yarns 145 North Griffith Boulevard Griffith, Indiana www.spinninyarns.com
MINI TRUNK SHOW Featuring 15 garments and accessories from Malabrigo Books 6, 7, 8, and 9. March 15, 2016 Sister Arts Studio 721 West Wrightwood Avenue Chicago, Illinois www.sisterartsstudio.com
May 15, 2016 Yarn & Y’all 600 Laurens Road - Suite C Greenville, South Carolina www.yarnandyall.com
July 15, 2016 Spinnin’ Yarns 145 North Griffith Boulevard Griffith, Indiana www.spinninyarns.com
April 15, 2016 Rainy Day Yarns 3200 Tarabochia Street Gig Harbor, Washington www.rainydayyarns.com
June 15, 2016 Yarn Cupboard 6487 East Senenca Turnpike Jamesville, New York www.yarncupboard.com
August 15, 2016 Wild Fiber Studio 1453 14th Street, Suite E Santa Monica, California www.wildfiberstudio.com
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Bring the Malabrigo trunk shows to your shop! trunk show s | 21
Shearing Time
AT THE MALABRIGO SHEEPFOLD
VIDEO
M al ab r i g o S h eepfo l d Welcome to La Serena, Uruguay, where the Malabrigo flock lives! In this video we show you around beautiful Piedras de Afilar and demonstrate the process by which we shear our sheep and harvest the beautiful fleece that becomes Malabrigo yarn. We strive to use sustainable and humane farming practices with our ranch and flock – a happy sheep makes the best wool! We hope you enjoy it, as we enjoy and value sharing what is important to us with you! Credits: Line producer: Malabrigo
Edited by: Marcos Mezzottoni
Photography: Marcos Mezzottoni
Texts: Malabrigo
Cameras: Joaquín González, Pancho Pastori, Marcos Mezzottoni
Music: Manuel Espasandin
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admin@malabrigoyarn.com
“Shearing Time at the Malabrigo Sheepfold�
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“Shearing Time at the Malabrigo Sheepfold”