Hello, everyone! Welcome back. Last week, in my project update post, I shared about Andrea Mowry’s Nightshift Shawl I had sitting in my work-in-progress basket. I decided to dedicate this past week to finishing it, and sure enough, I did! I am so happy with how this gem-toned beauty turned out; I think this is the first of many nightshift shawls for my needles.
Houseplants are another one of my hobbies. Can you tell??
I started this project back in January of this year. My mother-in-law gave me a gift card for Christmas for purchasing the Nightshift Bundle whenever it came back in stock. After waiting a few weeks, I decided to choose my own color palette and purchase individual skeins of Spincycle’s Dream State Yarn. This was a daunting task, so my plan was to try to find ideal substitutes for the missing colors from the bundle.
Initially, I bought these colors for my shawl:
From left to right: Nostalgia (burgundy), Devilish Grin (red), Salty Dog (mustard yellow), Cataclysm (Green), Deep Bump (light blues, greens, and yellows), and Good Omen (Blue).
I had purchased these specific colors in an effort to stick to the original nightshift bundle colorways as much as possible, but with a little green added in for fun. For reference, here is Andrea Mowry’s original Nightshift shawl, with the bundle colors “Deep Bump,” “Melancholia,” “Nostalgia,” “Rusted Rainbow,” “Salty Dog,” and “Shades of Earth.”
I have loved this specific shawl for years now. This project has been on my to-knit list for quite a while, so it felt incredible to finally cast this one on.
My actual color palette – I swapped “Cataclysm” for “Shades of Earth.”
As I began working on my shawl, however, I decided the green just didn’t match the rest of the colors as well, so I swapped it for a skein of Spincycle’s Dyed In The Wool “Shades of Earth” that I had on hand. This was a slight risk because the Dyed in the Wool yarn is a lighter weight than the other Dream State yarn, but due to the already textured pattern in this shawl, the weight difference is barely noticeable, and I am so happy I chose this yarn over the green. It was the perfect yarn choice to bridge the gap between the blue initial portion and the purple-to-red transition section.
For a full breakdown of which color I used and in what order, here you go:
- Cast on with Good Omen (blue), and used Deep Bump (lightest color) for the contrasting color.
- Continuing with Good Omen as the background, I swapped Deep Bump for Salty Dog (mustard yellow).
- Keeping Good Omen in the background, I swapped Salty Dog for Devilish Grin (red) for the next section.
- Again with Good Omen in the background, I swapped Devilish Grin for Nostalgia (burgundy).
- For the last portion with Good Omen in the background, I swapped Nostalgia for Dyed in the Wool “Shades of Earth.”
- Switching the background to Nostalgia, I continued with Dyed in the Wool “Shades of Earth” for the contrasting color.
- I swapped Nostalgia for Devilish Grin for the background and continued with “Shades of Earth” for the contrasting color.
- Next, I changed the background to Salty Dog and the contrasting color to Nostalgia.
- Finally, I used Deep Bump for the background, and what I had left of Good Omen for the last portion*
*I eventually ran out of Good Omen in my losing game of yarn chicken, so I used some Noro Silk Garden in color 252 for the remaining dark blue contrasting color and I-cord bind off. I have seen many of these nightshift shawls done in Noro Ito, so I knew the rich dyes of Noro yarn would accent the Dream State yarn well.
Casting on with Good Omen and CC Deep Bump.
Halfway done – almost time to switch background colors
I enthusiastically knit half of this shawl in two days, then, as bigger color decisions started coming, I eventually let this sit in my WIP basket for a few months before picking it back up and finishing the other half. I was so scared to mess this one up! As I quickly found out, however, it is nearly impossible to make this yarn and this pattern look bad. It is truly foolproof!
I can’t not take photos of this shawl – this yarn is absolutely divine.
Working on my shawl – almost to the end!
My Finished Nighshift Shawl!
The mosaic checkerboard pattern of Mowry’s Shift patterns is achieved by slipped stitches and garter stitch “blips” (as I call them) that add texture and visual interest to the garment. There are numerous, stacking striped motifs that enhance the overall effect of this style of knitting. Each paired section of background and contrasting color has two stripes – the first stripe has a 2×2 slipped stitch pattern, and the second stripe has a 1×1 slipped stitch pattern. The background and contrasting colors for all sections also have their own ombre effect because of the genius dye work of Spincycle’s yarn. I found these elements to make this shawl such a rewarding one to knit; every new stripe would appear before my eyes and I just could not knit fast enough to see the checkerboard evolve.
If you are new to colorwork knitting, or if you are interested in making something easy but rewarding with a great “wow” factor, this is a sign to pick up your needles and cast on Nightshift. I adored this project and cannot wait to make more.
Beans has given his stamp of approval 🙂
Wearing my Nightshift Shawl for its maiden voyage. This will be a highly versatile piece of my wardrobe!
If you are interested in making your own Nightshift Shawl, you can purchase this pattern on Ravelry as well as at Andrea Mowry’s shop: dreareneeknits.com. Be sure to check out my instagram if you are new here, too.
Until we talk next, happy knitting!
Bilingwool 