Bradway MiniKAL

She's done it again. Shannon Cook of Very Shannon published another pattern that I loved knitting. A couple weeks before she published the Bradway Shawl she put out a couple of teasers with yarn requirements and a mini knit-along that would be launched on the day the pattern went live. I saw the call for Brooklyn Tweed and I was sold.

I had been itching for a chance to try Brooklyn Tweed yarns since I learned they were moving back to the PNW. Aside from having loved his patterns for some time, it's fun to have a local connection.  Jared Flood is a Portland native who started Brooklyn Tweed as a blog in 2005 when he was a newer knitwear designer and had just moved to, wait for it, Brooklyn. Brooklyn Tweed yarns are the result of a passion for American wool from sheep to skein and is a targhee-columbia blend from ranches in Wyoming. I love to use really soft and luxurious yarns, but I was so incredibly impressed with the experience of knitting with Shelter. It's a rustic wool yarn, minimally processed so you do have to pick out the occasional piece of 'salad' (bits of hay, grass and other flora) from the finished yarn as you knit, but it knits up into a fabric that is both sturdy and soft and the color options are absolutely gorgeous.

Sap, Fossil and Nest make up the trifecta of color for my Bradway shawl

The textural changes throughout Bradway serve only to enhance the hand-feel of this yarn and I can't wait to cast on another. One thing that I love about Shannon's patterns is that they're very accessible. From the graphic lace of Schwimmen to the chunky texture of Bradway the results are stunning, but the instructions are clear and concise and I think that advanced beginners could knit any one of her patterns. I started on Monday morning and bound off Sunday at lunchtime. I even took it with me to knit poolside when it was 112 degrees out, and I am the sweatiest of sweaty girls, so you know it was an addictive knit!

texture for days...

I'm waiting on blocking wires to get the final result, but even without a soak to make the fibers bloom and blocking to define the stitches, I love, love this shawl. I can't wait for these 100+ degree temps to drop so that I can wrap up in it! What are you working on right now that makes you dream of cooler days?