In 2018, Andrea Mowry released the Nightshift pattern. EVERYBODY and their favorite yarn knew about it and knit it.

Well…everyone but me.

Actually that isn’t entirely true. I found 3 friends that hadn’t knit it either, and no, we weren’t all living under the same rock. ;)

In my defense, in 2018, I was relocating from St. Thomas, USVI to Kodiak, Alaska and so my knitting radar was not turned on to pick up incredible new patterns. But in the summer of ‘22, it became the perfect time to cast on my Nightshift Shawl (Be advised, I call mine the Shifty Shawl, but I am referring to the Nightshift pattern).

If you haven’t yet listened to the podcast, there is a fun story with suggestions on starting your own Knit Together group, so head here https://www.buzzsprout.com/1319800/12683952 and have a listen.

I wanted a few things from the experience of knitting this shawl:

• I wanted community, just a few friends to keep me company

• I wanted to use hand spun yarn for the majority of yarn in the project

• I wanted to create a soft, enveloping fabric that I could wrap myself in and ward off cold winds and sad feelings

So I dug into my yarns and found the first color combination that I wouldn’t use, followed by two other combinations. Anyone else dig out all the yarn, make a mess, and still not use anything you took out? Show of hands? Fourth time was the charmed combo. I chatted long and hard with the Nightshift-Cover-Photo-Andrea-Mowry, as the real life one was unavailable, and through out chat I felt compelled to play around with the yarns I chose, by that I mean, she invited me to swatch a bit. The yarn I wanted to use was hand-spun fingering weight and a sport weight. Using the recommended needle size US 8/5mm was airy, and I thought perfect, until I soaked and blocked it. It became apparent I needed a smaller needle. I settled on the US 7/4.5 mm and happily began my shift.

We all cast on May 21st, 2022. I had the loveliest bouquet of tulips delivered and I sat at our dining room table and knit. I remember being thankful for sunshine pouring in the window, even though it was too chilly to sit outside and knit. I sat and enjoyed the flowers to the point of distraction…and found myself completely messing up the i-cord edges. I had to rip out my work and begin again.

It was a lovely adventure, made all the better with friends sharing everything from pet pics, to angst with color choices. We spent the summer encouraged by one another. Included in my knitting was also “unknitting” to keep it real…

I cast off my gorgeous creation on July 24th. The pattern directs you to have 191 stitches when beginning the i-cord bind off, but I continued on past that number, to 233.

The shawl was a straightforward knit that I only used the pattern to begin, and continuing on was intuitive after starting. This may also be in part to having knit 2 Shifty sweaters with the same stitch pattern rhythm. I love the way the hand spun developed, flowing from one color mood to another. I used it throughout, and held the second color steady, only changing it with a very similar yarn and back to blend the two for yardage needs.

I wear this shawl a few times a week, most recently today as I walked down to the harbor and back in the sleety rain. I was tucked in with my shifty shawl wrapped around my neck and tied. It is warm and beautiful and filled with pleasant memories amongst friends.

Is there a time when you knit together with knitters and enjoyed the pattern all the more for it? I would love to hear about it! Have you ever knit the Nightshift Shawl? What did you think? Am I missing another great shawl pattern? Let me know in the comments below!