A new, fun MKAL is up!

if you wonder which of the Pickwick Triplets knit it...

It's no secret that I host a fun Mystery Knit-a-Long this time of year, so I've been working very hush-hush behind the scenes to get everything ready for you!

And because a mystery knit isn’t quite enough, for the past few years, I’ve chosen an enjoyable, funny movie as a theme for us to enjoy.

But this year, we’re breaking with that sort-of tradition a tiny bit and going with a current TV-show. I give you:

Only Yarn in the Building is a mystery pattern for a festival of knit stitches shawl/wrap in 6 clues that begins on Feb. 21, 2025. It’s an homage to the current Hulu hit Only Murders in the Building—a spoof on true-crime podcasts starring Selena Gomez, Steve Martin (he’s one wild and crazy guy…), and Martin Short as an unlikely intergenerational crime-solving trio in New York City.

It’s full of great writing, lots of laughs, wacky neighbors, and a cadre of celebrity cameos (this past season’s 2-second random scene with John McEnroe had me nearly spew my tea…).

It's available on both Ravelry and Payhip (a nice alternative if you can’t use Paypal or Rav), and it’s on sale at a discount before the first clue drops:

There’s more info on the actual pattern page, but to summarize:

How Does This Work?

• It’s a knitting pattern for a generous shawl/wrap/scarf-thingy.

• Those purchasing the pattern during the pre-sale period (see below) will receive a planning sheet with gauge and materials info.

• There will be 6 clues for the mkal. Clue 1 drops on Friday, Feb 21st, 2025 (first thing in the am EST, although please remember that we’re all in different time zones, and you really want me to be awake and somewhat-caffeinated before updating 😵‍💫), with clues 2-6 releasing on each of the following Fridays.

• As each clue is published, you will receive an update with that Clue via Ravelry download or emailed through Payhip, depending on where you purchased.

• We can chat about each clue in my Ravelry Group and/or our mkal Facebook group since I haven’t figured out how to have us share photos in a thread on Substack yet.

What Am I Getting Myself Into?

• The pattern is written for 4 full (400 yard) skeins of fingering weight yarn in 4 different colors

• There is colorwork, but no brioche or stranded colorwork at all.

• I’ll support the pattern with several video tutorials, and all stitch patterns will be written out in line-by-line style. Any charts will have line-by-line directions accompanying them. Yep, I’ve got you covered!

• There will be several show references in the pattern, but you won’t need to get the jokes in order to work the actual shawl instructions.

What About Yarn Colors?

For the pattern, I used a set of Yummy 2-ply from Miss Babs. Kits are be available here and they're gorgeous! Other dyers will be offering sets as well, and I'm adding them all to the grand list on the pattern page. Meanwhile, here are the yarn details:

• 4 full skeins of 4 different colors (“C1, C2, C3, and the CC”) of fingering weight that play nicely with each other. Any of them can be slightly speckled, but I wouldn’t recommend it be much busier than that.

• Each skein needs to have a solid 400 yds (more is fine) to make sure that you have enough yarn for the project. The 400 yds includes some wiggle room provided you meet gauge.

• The shawl will include (non-stranded ) colorwork, but not all the colors need to contrast with all the others. Instead, only ONE of the colors, the CC, needs to contrast with the rest.

• CC is the contrasting colorway, and it needs to contrast with C1, C2, and C3 since it will be used in colorwork with each of these 3 colors individually.

• C1, C2, and C3 don’t have to have much contrast with each other—they much only contrast individually with the CC.

• C1, C2, and C3 can be in a gradient (my set is) but they don’t have to be. They should still harmonize with each other since they will still be right next to each other in the shawl (think: Stripes. Ish)

• You can totally do this as a 2 color shawl as long as the 2 colorways contrast with each other

Here’s the set I used:

I chose the mustardy yellow as a nod to Mabel’s (Selena’s) yellow sweaters in the show, and the grays resemble the granite of the fictitious “Arconia” building where the mysteries take place.

I hope you’ll join in this little knitting journey—we’re going to have some fun, learn a few new stitch patterns, and share some laughs:)

See you in the chats,

Mary (aka Lyrical Knits)

P.S. Do you cruise? If so, I’m joining Melissa Leapman and Keith Leonard next November for a Caribbean cruise and knitting retreat. We’ll knit in the sunshine as we visit Tortola, Antigua, and the Bahamas. I have a few new classes on the docket, and Melissa always hosts a week of fantastic fun (and legendary swag bags):