To make Shelley’s version of “The Shift” by Andrea Mowry, you’ll need one skein each of Spincycle Dyed in the Wool “Starstruck,” Spincycle “Wilder” and 2 skeins Sweet 16 “Sea.”

Nearly a year ago, I left Tulsa – the town  where (not counting college) I’d lived since birth. The town where I raised my children, the town where I opened my first yarn shop.

The town where I started a movement to knit the world together.

Why did I leave?

I fell in love. First, a long time ago, with a dream of living by the sea. And second, much more recently, with a man who lives by the sea.

So I packed up and moved to a 300-sq-ft cottage in Florida, leaving most of my yarn stash –  and all of my yarn friends – behind.

My new love’s job requires long workdays, so I had lots of time to think, work and knit – alone. His job also requires frequent moves, so I was hesitant to make the long drive to the nearest yarn shop and try to make new yarn friends.

I taught him to knit, which was really cool for airplane trips – but honestly, not quite the same.

I missed those times on the Knit Stars Flagship couch, or at a coffee shop with yarn friends, working and chatting and noshing together.

And then I found myself knitting less. And less still.

Finally, over the past couple of months, I’ve felt my mojo returning.

Why did I leave?

The new Knit Stars Yarniverse.

The Yarniverse is our next big innovation, created to bring you the Knit Stars Masterclass experience 52 weeks a year. You’ll find workshop Tracks customized to your own yarn journey, weekly content, and best of all (for me, anyway) weekly Yarniverse LIVE! events where we hang out with the Stars and Star Makers, play games, have fun and get real together. 

Throughout the last 8 weeks of our Yarniverse Pilot Program, I’ve found myself looking forward to the LIVE events more and more. And I finally realized why. I have my yarn friends back. It’s seeing all those creative folks knitting and crocheting away together, connecting in a very real way around what we do – not just with our hands, but with our hearts.

This experience has reminded me how absolutely essential it is to not only nurture your creativity, but do so in community. And it’s lit a fire in me to make the Yarniverse the place to be in the yarn world – with the very best of learning, community and connection accessible year-round to all.

The Yarniverse pilot program will end March 31 and the Yarniverse will officially open April 1. As a loyal newsletter reader, you’re invited to join as a Yarniverse Founding Member here.

Your yarnie friend,

One of our newest team members, Stephanie, just whipped up “The Shift” by Knit Star Andrea Mowry and we’ve all fallen in love with this pattern all over again.

“I loved the speed of the project- every section added something new. I had a lovely cowl done in a few days,” Stephanie raved. “I also loved how the Spincycle yarn changed with every few rows. And the combination of Spincycle with Plant-Based Princess had a gorgeous feel and blocked well.”

Stephanie used our custom color of Spincycle Dyed in the Wool called “Starstruck” as Color B in the pattern, combined with our own Plant-Based Princess (70% Tanguis Cotton, 20% Bamboo, 10% Hemp) in “Local Honey” for Color A and Naked” as Color C. This fiber combo makes a great year-round version.

“I’m styling this with jeans and boots for winter, and plan to
wear it over a t-shirt dress for summer,” Stephanie added. And she’s already bought yarn to make another one!

“I have enough Plant-Based Princess left over to make another one, so I’m going to switch the “Local Honey” to Color C and “Naked” to color A, and I bought a skein of Spincycle in Starstruck, one that skewed very blue over brown- I think I’m going to get a completely different cowl out of it!” she said.

Find the kit for our exclusive version of The Shift here. The pattern is on Ravelry and you’ll need US #5 24” circular needles.

While we’re on the Spincycle train, we’ve got a fun freebie for you this week.

“You Spin Me Round” is an oldie but goodie Club pattern, with both knit and crochet versions. You’ll need 1 skein each of Spincycle Dyed in the Wool and Spincycle Wilder to make it. It’s a fun, fast, beginner-friendly project. We’ve put kits together with yarn and complimentary pattern here.

This would make a fun friend-along project, too! How about forwarding this email to a friend and asking them to join you? 👯‍♀️

Spinach and Artichoke Melts

To go along with our Spincycle theme this week, how about a fun spin on a sandwich that starts with SPIN-ach?! This is like your favorite dip turned into a melty, delicious quick meal. More time for knitting or crocheting your addictive Spincycle project! Another winner from Half-Baked Harvest 🏅 

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 clove garlic minced or grated
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1/2 cup milk (I used 2% but whatever you have will be fine)
• 1 ounce cream cheese
• 1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup greek yogurt I used 0%
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes optional
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach thawed, about 5 ounces
• 1 (8 ounce) jar grilled artichoke hearts or you can sub marinated artichokes chopped
• 1 chicken breast grilled and sliced thin (optional)
• 8 slices thick sourdough or tuscan bread
• butter for spreading

Instructions

1. Melt butter in a skillet over medium heat. Add the minced garlic and cook for a couple of minutes. Whisk in flour until it makes a paste. Cook over medium-low heat for a minute or two, then pour in milk. Stir and cook one minute, if your paste gets too thick splash in more milk.
2. Add cream cheese, mozzarella, parmesan and pepper. Stir until cheeses are melted. Stir in the greek yogurt until smooth. Chop artichokes and spinach and add to the sauce. Stir to combine. Dip will be thick, just use some muscle and stir in those veggies!
3. Heat a skillet (or griddle, etc) to medium-low heat. Butter the outsides of every bread slice, then spread a good amount (any where from 1-3 tablespoons) of the spinach and artichoke dip on the inside (the non-buttered side) of each slice. If using, top one slice with the sliced grilled chicken. Top off with another slice of bread, buttered-side up. Cook until each side is golden and crisp and cheese is melted, then gently flip and do the same.
4. Slice and serve.

Notes

You will have leftover spinach and artichoke dip. You can use this again for sandwiches the next day, as a sauce for pasta or as a yummy dip!