New colors in Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on June 16, 2015

We received a lovely bundle from Fyberspates last week, bursting with bags of their Vivacious 4ply yarn. Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Though we just started stocking this yarn in February, a reorder was already necessary, and their newest shades tempted us, too.

Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Vivacious 4ply is hand-dyed, so each skein is unique, even from the same dye-lot; remember you can alternate skeins to blend hand-dyed yarns in larger projects.

We were also delighted to see these two new books from Fyberspates. Vivacious Kids is a collection of garments and accessories for children ages 2-10, a range for which it is sometimes surprisingly hard to find knitwear designs. CoopKnits Socks Vol. 2 is a pleasing and diverse collection of sock patterns, from the simple to the ornate.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section of the shop!

New crochet publications.

Posted by Julia on June 14, 2015

This week brought two new publications for crocheters, a book and a magazine.

The Summer 2015 issue of Interweave Crochet features crocheted dresses and other warm-weather garments, along with a spread of crocheted floral arrangements and wedding accessories.

Quick Crocheted Accessories is a new collection from Sharon Zientara, full of patterns that require just one, two, or three skeins of yarn. I spotted a familiar yarn in this colorful shawl, the self-striping Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball.

Come by the shop to browse the latest books and magazines, and to plan your next crochet project!

Shibui Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on June 11, 2015

Our walls are newly decorated with an exciting Shibui Trunk Show! We’ll have 8 garments from their Spring/Summer 2015 pattern collection on display here at the shop until June 24th.

Many of these garments feature their newest yarn, Twig, a slightly textured sport weight blend of 46% linen, 42% recycled silk, and 12% wool.

Several of these summer tops are knit with Shibui Linen and Cima held together, a combination I’ve knit and loved myself.

There are many fun and useful things about trunk shows, like being able to play a bit of dress-up and try garments on for size, but one of the best aspects of a Shibui trunk show is seeing these yarn combinations in person.

Come by before the 24th to see the Shibui Trunk Show for yourself!

Learn to weave!

Posted by Julia on June 9, 2015

Since we first became a Schacht dealer back in November, we’ve connected with lots of lovely weavers and watched as many of our knitters and crocheters became weavers, as well. We’ve brought in UKI Supreme cotton weaving yarns in three weights, started carrying Handwoven magazine, reordered Schacht Cricket Looms again and again, and placed special orders for weavers seeking specific tools and yarns.

One request we haven’t been able to fill is for a rigid heddle weaving class, as our space is small and we’re brand new to this vast craft. To that end, we are so delighted to announce that the Triangle Weavers Guild is now offering classes on rigid heddle weaving at their new Triangle Fiber Arts Center in Durham!

Leslie Fesperman will be teaching two sessions of a Beginning Weaving class, designed to guide brand new weavers through their first project and assist them in planning their second.

Summer class: July 18th and August 1st, 2015, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm
Fall class: September 12th and 26th, 2015, 11:00 am – 5:00 pm

For more information and to register for these classes, contact the Triangle Weavers Guild by emailing triangleweavers@gmail.com , or pick up a flier here at the shop. We just got a fresh new shipment of Cricket Looms and an exciting new book, Simple Woven Garments.

Come by and see us for weaving materials, and let the Triangle Weavers Guild help you learn to weave!

Late Bloomer Buttons.

Posted by Julia on June 7, 2015

We’re delighted to announce that we now carry handmade buttons from Late Bloomer Pottery!

Frumet is a local potter who makes beautiful functional pieces here in the Triangle. She and Diane recently discovered a love for button-making, and we’re so thrilled to share the fruits of their labor with you.

Smaller buttons come in threes, and larger buttons stand alone; each Late Bloomer Button is unique and hand-crafted, a perfect match for special hand-stitched garments and accessories.

Come by the shop to see our selection of Late Bloomer Buttons, and stay tuned for yarn bowls from Late Bloomer Pottery later in the year!

Perfectly Feminine Knits, and other new books.

Posted by Julia on June 5, 2015

If you haven’t been to the shop in a couple of weeks, prepare for a fresh batch of books and magazines on the teacart, where we showcase the latest publications.

Perfectly Feminine Knits is the latest collection from Danish designer Lene Holme Samsøe. You may have seen her book Essentially Feminine Knits here at the shop, or followed the popular “Amanda” knitalong over at Fringe Association, where knitters worked up variations on this classic cabled cardigan from Samsøe’s book.

Samsøe’s latest collection is more of the same, which is to say, sophisticated, yet wearable women’s garments.

She’s divided the collection into sections by technique, with a chapter for texture patterns, another for cables, another for lace, and so on.

Samsøe often uses Isager yarns, combining two or three strands to make bigger gauges and interesting color and fiber blends.

Look for Perfectly Feminine Knits on the teacart, and don’t miss Interweave’s other recent publications, Simply Modern Lace and Warm Days, Cool Knits. See you at the shop!

Show and tell: colorwork.

Posted by Julia on June 3, 2015

We always love to see what you’re making with HYS yarns, and I love to take photos of your beautiful finished pieces to share here on the blog. Today, I have a bundle of show-and-tell projects with one thing in common: bold color combinations in a variety of multicolor knitting techniques, from stripes to stranded colorwork to mosaic knitting.

Margaretta finished two striped projects recently, the first of which is this “Yipes Stripes” cowl, which she knit in 5 shades of Plymouth Suri Merino. The variety of colorwork techniques in this piece keep it interesting, so interesting that Margaretta has just selected colors for a second “Yipes Stripes.” I can’t wait to see how it comes out!

Margaretta’s “Stole,” though simpler to knit, is perhaps the greater achievement. Knit in 9 shades of Isager Alpaca 2, this ribbed rectangular shawl is generous in size and fine in gauge, a combination that requires a great deal of time and patience to knit. I love Margaretta’s color combination, and the careful balance of dark and light shades.

Debra brought in her “Autumn Tam” in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, which she started in Nancy’s most recent fair isle tam class. She’s since become smitten with the technique, and has already completed a “Horse beanie” and started a colorwork blanket in Fibre Company Acadia. We love to see students leave our classes empowered to start new projects on their own!

Margie knit this two-color “Art Deco Mosaic Shawl” from a recent issue of Vogue Knitting.

The pattern showed the shawl knit in high-contrast colors for maximum visibility of the mosaic pattern. Margie had something more subtle in mind, so she selected Isager Alpaca 2 in a dark gold shade and paired it with a variegated brown and gold skein of Malabrigo Mechita. The effect is rich in color and texture, and reminds me of tapestry weaving or wood grain, a unique and beautiful interpretation of the original pattern.

Some months ago, Rosemary selected two shades of Shibui Pebble for a bit of an experiment. Organizing the Pebble last week, I sat those two shades next to each other and wondered for a moment what she’d been plotting. Not long after that, she walked in holding a delicate striped scarf knit in Pebble, her first try at double knitting.

Double knitting makes a reversible, two-layer fabric; you may have seen our sample “Mix No. 23” cowl in Shibui Cima hanging here at the shop, or pondered Amy’s class on the subject. (There’s another session coming up in August; sign up now if you’d like to join!) I’m impressed with Rosemary’s self-designed scarf, and I’m sure she’ll love wrapping up in it when cold weather comes again this fall.

Thanks to the many knitters, crocheters, weavers, and other fiber artists who use yarns from our shop in their creations; we love seeing what you make!

Another day at TNNA.

Posted by Julia on May 31, 2015

One of the great opportunities at TNNA is to take classes with skilled designers and teachers in the field of fiber arts. This morning, Anne and Rosi tried spinning with Nancy Shroyer, and Amy and I had classes with Lily Chin and Cat Bordhi, respectively. After two educational hours, we headed back to the showroom floor to continue shopping. We had to stop by Baa Ram Ewe, of course, having become obsessed with their new Dovestone yarn. I’m hoping to use it to knit “Epistrophy,” from Kate Davies’ Yokes, and was delighted to find exactly that sweater hanging on the rack in the booth, in exactly that yarn, of course. Yarn Hollow attended TNNA for the first time this year, and we stopped in to order a few new colors in Photograph. From there, we wandered the showroom floor, taking it all in, and discovering exciting new products that we can’t wait to bring into the shop. We even ran into Clara Parkes, of Knitters Review, and chatted about our favorite new yarns for this coming season. It’s always a pleasure to get her take on these things, and a treat to do it in conversation with Clara herself.

Somewhere along the way, we came across this display of Anna Zilboorg’s swatches and samples from her Splendid Apparel book. We’re looking forward to seeing her at the shop this coming Thursday, June 4th, for an informal book-signing and perfect buttonhole tutorial. We’d love to have you join us and meet Anna; sign up for this free event on our website!

New yarns from old friends.

Posted by Julia on May 30, 2015

It’s been an exciting day at market! We visited some of our favorite people today, and it was great to chat about what’s new, see sample garments, and admire each company’s full range of fibers and colors. Shibui has a luxurious new yarn for fall, and a bundle of new patterns to boot. We were happy to return to the Sincere Sheep booth to admire their US-sourced yarns, which are all hand-dyed with natural dyes. I was particularly taken with Fibre Company’s newest yarn, Cumbria, and the exciting new patterns that go with it. I also spotted this gorgeous woven scarf made in Meadow, which I could not stop looking at. Malabrigo surprised us all with a brand new yarn in an unexpected fiber. Perhaps the most exciting moment of our day occurred in the Isager booth, where we ran into Helga Isager herself, in from Denmark. Over the years, Anne and Rosi and I have admired many of her designs, and knit some, too. Anne was wearing one, “Robin,” knit in Isager Spinni, so I had to snap a picture. We’ve already placed so many exciting orders, and there’s more to come. Our trunk show schedule is growing quickly, too. We can’t wait for all these goodies to arrive throughout the fall, to share the new yarns with you, and knit with them ourselves!

We’ve gone to Market!

Posted by Julia on May 29, 2015

Each year, we travel to the National NeedleArts Trade Show, where we place fall and winter orders for the shop from some of our favorite vendors and look out for new favorites, too. This year, Anne, Rosi, Amy and I piled into the car to drive to Market in Columbus, Ohio.

Our first day here started with knitting, of course, and scanning through the list of this year’s vendors, deciding who we’d most like to visit. Then came Sample It, a boisterous event where yarn companies sell samples of their newest offerings. Attendees lined up hours in advance to get the best selections, including the Hillsborough Yarn Shop contingent.

We picked up a few exciting skeins and we’ll spend the rest of the night swatching. If any of these yarns move us, you may well see them at the shop this fall! After Sample It came the fashion show, which is always entertaining. This year, the fashion show was packed with ponchos, Anne’s recently-completed “Easy Folded Poncho” seems to be right on trend. Tomorrow brings our first classes and our first day of shopping. We can’t wait to see what’s new this year!