Author Archives: Julia

Koigu Collector’s Club: Patchwork.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s limited edition shade is Patchwork, a sweet mix of dusty pinks and purples.

I’ve been keeping an eye on Stephen West’s Year of Socks 2023, and his recent “Painting Triangles Socks” pattern brought Koigu to mind – how about using Fibre Co. Amble for a main color, and KPPPM for the contrast colors?

West’s socks are shown with 3 contrast colors, but the socks look just as good with 1 or 2 – here are a few color combinations!

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Fibre Co. Amble and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Assigned pooling colorways, new from Dream in Color Pop-Up Club!

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We’re excited to announce a new season of Dream in Color’s Pop-Up Club! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. There’s a special theme this time: assigned pooling, a clever way of showing off hand-dyed yarns like these. February’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

What is assigned pooling? As designer Dawn Barker describes on her blog, assigned pooling is a technique where “different stitches are assigned to the color changes within the skein. In other words, knit the background color of the yarn using one stitch and then stop and make a special texture stitch when the accent color occurs.”

Assigned pooling patterns by Dawn Barker, photo © Dawn Barker

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

February’s special colorway is mostly turquoise and purple, with a bright streak of neon yellow that pops up regularly as you knit through each skein. Dream in Color dyer Veronica is developing a bandana cowl pattern specifically for this colorway – take a peek in the photo below, and keep an eye out for the pattern!

Curious about what else you can do with assigned pooling? Check out these patterns!

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop!

Back in stock: Fibre Co. Amble!

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We’re delighted to have a fresh supply of Fibre Co. Amble here at the shop!

Fibre Co. Amble:

  • fingering weight
  • solid and heathered colors
  • 70% Easy-wash merino wool, 20% Easy-wash alpaca, and 10% recycled nylon
  • 355 yards/100g
  • $23 each

Amble is a unique and eco-friendly sock yarn. The thoughtful folks at Fibre Co. selected these Easy-wash fibers because they are processed without the use of hazardous chemicals, yet are still easy to care for and resist shrinking in the wash.

Kate Atherley’s “One Sock” was designed especially for Fibre Co. Amble, a classic top-down sock in all sizes, with lots of opportunities for customization. One skein of Amble is enough for most sizes, but check the pattern description on Ravelry for yardage requirements, as the two largest sizes require a second skein.

What else to make with Amble? Here are some ideas!

Look for Fibre Co. Amble in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks are required for entry.

“Simple Yet Effective” cowl.

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If you’ve been to the shop in the past few weeks, you might have seen me working on this cowl, “Simple Yet Effective,” by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is aptly named, alternating sections of stockinette and reverse stockinette – a nearly blank canvas for showing off some special yarn. The pattern calls for DK weight, but I’ve held a fingering weight and a lace weight yarn together, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft, respectively.

It can be tricky to visualize how different colors and textures of yarn will look when knit together. Luckily, Tin Can Knits has a super helpful blog post about just that, “Layering With Mohair.” I was inspired after reading it, and learned that you can achieve a fascinating effect when you combine a darker mohair with a lighter yarn. As Tin Can Knits designer Emily Wessel puts it, “When you blend a darker or more saturated mohair with a lighter yarn, the paler colourway seems to glow underneath a deeper halo.” I tried out that strategy in this cowl and am so pleased with the result – each yarn seems to be enhanced by the other, and of course the fabric is fuzzy and soft!

Here are a few more color combinations pairing Cricket and Loft, which seem to me like they’d blend beautifully.

I couldn’t stop there, when there are so many shades of Isager Silk Mohair to play with – here are a few more!

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at our shop, not far from the lace weight section, which holds Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft and Isager Silk Mohair. We can’t wait to see what other color combinations you come up with for your own “Simple Yet Effective” cowls!

Isager Alpaca 2 + Vertices Unite.

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Isager Alpaca 2 has a particularly harmonious color palette – each shade is lovely on its own, but they are even happier in combination. Looking through multi-color projects on Ravelry, Stephen West’s “Vertices Unite” caught my eye – a five color shawl in two sizes, composed of various geometric shapes that build on one another as you knit, in a playful modular fashion.

“Vertices Unite,” by Stephen West, photo © Stephen West

Stephen West is well known for his whimsical and sometimes wild use of color, but this particular piece is more muted. Inspired by this colorway and by the yarn itself, I’ve created some “Vertices Unite” combinations of my own, using Isager Alpaca 2.

Isager Alpaca 2: light fingering weight, 50% alpaca, 50% wool, 275 yards/50 g; $12 each, $60 for bundles of 5 to make the small size shown above.

Come by the shop to put together a “Vertices Unite” colorway of your own; we have 30 shades of Isager Alpaca 2 to choose from! We are still taking online orders as well, so if any of these color combinations grabs you, order online for local pickup or shipping.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Winter Flowers.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s limited edition shade is Winter Flowers, a rosy colorway streaked with shades of pink and burgundy.

This new colorway made me think of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks,” a striped, slip-stitch pattern that’s great for pairing solid and multicolored yarns. Isager Sock Yarn makes a great Main Color, letting the variegated KPPPM take center stage as Contrast Color.

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Isager Sock Yarn and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Cumulus and friends.

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Fyberspates Cumulus is the newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a soft and fluffy lace weight alpaca/silk blend. Though it’s lovely on its own, it plays well with others – here are some yarn and pattern ideas for holding Cumulus together with heavier yarns!

Cumulus + fingering weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Isager Alpaca 2 and Kelbourne Woolens Cricket (above) and Isager Merilin and Kelbourne Woolens Perennial (below).

Cumulus + DK weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Fibre Co. Acadia and Brooklyn Tweed Arbor (above), and Kelbourne Woolens Scout and Isager Jensen (below).

Cumulus + worsted weight:

Cumulus is shown here with Malabrigo Rios and Berroco Ultra Alpaca (above), and Brooklyn Tweed Tones and Shelter (below). 

We can’t wait to see what other color and yarn combinations you come up with – see you at the shop!

Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide No. 23: Glow.

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The twenty third installment of the Modern Daily Knitting Field Guide series is here!

MDK’s series of Field Guides are pocket-sized booklets focused on a particular theme, knitting technique, or designer. This newest Field Guide features designs by Arne & Carlos – let’s take a look inside!

Arne & Carlos are known for their colorful, richly patterned designs, which bring a playful sensibility to Norwegian knitting traditions.

All four of the patterns in this Field Guide feature stranded colorwork, clearly a favorite technique of Arne & Carlos. Ease into it with a hat or neck warmer, embellish your mittens with embroidery, or dive into a pullover for a cozy winter-long project.

DK weight yarn is used for all of these, and we have loads to choose from – Brooklyn Tweed Arbor and Dapple, Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Fibre Co. Lore, Isager Jensen, Berroco Ultra Wool DK, and more.

MDK Field Guides are $15.95 each; order online for local pickup or shipping, or come by to shop in person – we’re open from 11am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays!

Hello, Fyberspates Cumulus!

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Meet our newest addition, Fyberspates Cumulus!

Fyberspates Cumulus:

  • lace weight
  • 74% baby Suri alpaca, 26% mulberry silk
  • 164 yards/25g
  • $8.60 each

Cumulus is a soft and fuzzy lace weight yarn, a lovely alternative to mohair for those who find it itchy. Use a single strand of Cumulus for lightweight shawls and sweaters, or pair it with a heavier yarn for more substantial garments with that fluffy halo that’s become so popular of late. Check out our blog post about Isager Silk Mohair for pattern ideas to that end, and keep an eye out for an upcoming post showing color and yarn combinations in Cumulus!

Today, we’ll let Cumulus take center stage and feature patterns for a single strand of this irresistibly soft yarn.

What to knit with Cumulus? Here are some pattern ideas!

Look for Fyberspates Cumulus in the lace weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Back in stock: Isager Alpaca 3.

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Once again, PetiteKnit has made Isager yarn popular enough to clear our shelves. Having nearly sold out of Alpaca 3 in the past month or so, we are relieved to announce that we now have a fresh supply!

Isager Alpaca 3:

  • bulky weight
  • chainette
  • 50% alpaca, 50% wool
  • 137 yards/50 grams
  • $10 each

Due to it’s chainette construction, Alpaca 3 is soft, lofty, and highly elastic – a pleasure to work with, all told.

“Novice Cardigan – Chunky Edition,” by PetiteKnit, photo © PetiteKnit.

Though it’s lovely on its own, it’s irresistibly soft when paired with Isager Silk Mohair, as PetiteKnit knows well.

“Sunday Sweater,” by PetiteKnit, photo © PetiteKnit.

Here are a few color combinations to consider when planning a “Sunday Sweater,” “Novice Sweater – Chunky Edition,” “Novice Cardigan – Chunky Edition,” or “Holiday Slipover.”

If mohair isn’t your thing, you can substitute Isager Alpaca 1, a lace weight 100% alpaca yarn. It will add a little weight to the Alpaca 3, and can alter the color if you like, but won’t be as fuzzy as Silk Mohair.

Come by the shop to see and touch these yarns for yourself, and plan your next project! Look for Silk Mohair and Alpaca 1 in the lace weight section, and Alpaca 3 in the bulky weight section.