Sonetto shawl.

Posted by Julia on March 2, 2014

Last week, Amy brought in this new shop sample: the “Sonetto” shawl, knit in two shades of Fibre Company Meadow.

“Sonetto” is an asymmetric triangular shawl pattern suitable for new lace knitters, and one whose size is easy to adjust depending upon preference, or amount of yarn.

It’s cast on at one point of the triangle, increasing in width every row, and finished with a neat picot bind-off.

Amy altered the pattern a bit to knit it in two colors, using the intarsia technique of twisting one color of yarn around the other at a certain point in every row. She wrote a bit about how to make this change on her Ravelry project page, if you’d like to make the same modification to a “Sonetto” shawl of your own.

“Sonetto” calls for between 375 – 575 yards of fingering weight yarn, though this is somewhat flexible–we’ve seen one made up in Selku, a sport weight wool, and the Meadow used in Amy’s shawl is more a lace-weight than a fingering-weight yarn. Inspired by Amy’s “Sonetto,” several knitters have embarked on “Sonetto”s of their own in yarns like Malabrigo Finito, Isager Plant Fibre and Alpaca 2–I can’t wait to see how they come out!

Judy Marples’ “Sonetto” pattern is available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale here at the shop; we’ll print a copy for you and save a digital copy to your email or Ravelry Library. Come by the shop to see Amy’s “Sonetto” shawl and plan your next project. See you there!

Two new books for crocheters.

Posted by Julia on February 27, 2014

We keep the newest books and magazines on the teacart in the front room, which is a table you’ll see right when you walk into the shop, covered in the latest publications. Here are two new books for crocheters that have made a home on the teacart these past few weeks: Modern Baby Crochet and The Big Book of Crochet Stitches.

Stacy Trock’s Modern Baby Crochet is a collection of crocheted nursery accessories, from pillows and blankets to mobiles and toys.

Trock has the patterns organized thematically by color, a pleasing way to showcase these sweet stitches. Most patterns call for worsted weight yarn; the soft and machine-washable Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted would be a great choice, with its wide range of solid colors.

Jean Leinhauser and Rita Weiss’s Big Book of Crochet Stitches is the crochet stitch dictionary we’ve been looking for.

With crisp color photos and over 350 stitch patterns to swatch and design with, The Big Book of Crochet Stitches is something like the Barbara Walker Treasury of crochet.

From bobbles to chevrons to fans, shells, and picots, The Big Book of Crochet Stitches includes all manner of crochet stitch patterns in a wide variety of textures. Flip through it when you’re looking for inspiration, wanting to try something new, or designing your own scarf, shawl, or blanket.

Come by the shop to check out these new titles, and plan your next crochet project!

Hello, Berroco Modern Cotton.

Posted by Julia on February 25, 2014

Meet Modern Cotton, a brand new yarn from Berroco!

Modern Cotton is a worsted weight blend of 60% cotton and 40% rayon, perfect for warm-weather knit and crochet projects, or year-round for those allergic to wool. Modern Cotton is soft in the hand with excellent stitch definition, qualities that this little cabled sweater illustrates nicely. You’ll find it at the shop, hanging on the wall above the worsted weight yarns.

The pattern is “Diggory,” from Berroco booklet #345, which puts this brightly-colored, easy-care yarn to good use in all manner of baby and children’s garments.

Modern Cotton is also a very good value, with a relatively low price tag for the yardage. That along with its soft feel and machine-washability made me think blankets. The range of colors both neutral and bright brought to mind the Purl Bee’s delightfully simple garter stitch baby blanket pattern, “Super Easy Crib Blanket,” a riot of color in seven shades.

Berroco has also released some free patterns for Modern Cotton, like the lacy “Saurey” baby blanket, and two women’s sweaters: “Joyce” and “Sanpoku,” a tee and a cardigan, respectively. Norah Gaughan used Modern Cotton in her most recent Berroco booklet. Modern Cotton will do well in any pattern calling for worsted weight yarn where the drape of plant fibers is welcome. Check it out when you’re next at the shop, along with the “Diggory” sample, which can give you a good sense of how the yarn behaves in knitted fabric. See you there!

Interweave Knits.

Posted by Julia on February 22, 2014

The Spring 2014 issue of Interweave Knits is here!

Inside, you’ll find garment and accessory patterns suitable for transitional Springtime weather: lightweight sweaters, shawls, cowls, and the like.

For me, there is one show-stopping sweater in this issue: Kate Gagnon Osborn’s “Meltwater Pullover,” knit in Fibre Company Savannah.

If you’ve ever asked me about my “Stasis” pullover, which has seen a ton of wear this winter, you probably know how well I love colorwork yoked sweaters like these. For those new to this technique, Interweave offers an article on how to hold two yarns when doing stranded two-color knitting.

Look for Interweave Knits on the teacart in the front room at the shop!

Kindling shawl.

Posted by Julia on February 20, 2014

A new lace shawl now decorates the walls at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop: “Kindling,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn, knit with three skeins of Fibre Company Savannah.

If you’ve visited the shop on a Sunday recently, you may well have seen Rosi stitching on this shawl. Once the knitting was done, she passed it on to me so I could try my hand at blocking it with blocking wires–a new skill for me.

Using a Knitter’s Pride Lace Blocking Kit and some online tutorials, blocking the “Kindling” shawl was easier than I thought it might be.

It’s always amazing to me how the fabric changes with a good soak, and this is particularly true for lace patterns. When they first come off the needles, they look rumpled and bumpy, but after blocking, the eyelets open up and the lace pattern can really shine. It was satisfying to see, even though I hadn’t knit the thing myself.

Fibre Company Savannah is a sport weight blend of 50% wool, 20% cotton, 15% linen, and 15% soya, which gives it the elasticity of wool and the lightness of plant fibers–a perfect spring and summer yarn.

Come by the shop to admire Rosi’s handiwork and see our “Kindling” sample for yourself. You’ll find Savannah in the sport weight section, and the pattern is always available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale–we’ll print it out for you and save a digital copy in your email or Ravelry pattern library. Hope to see you there soon!

Darning eggs.

Posted by Julia on February 18, 2014

I’ve written before about caring for my hand-knit socks, which includes washing a big bunch of them weekly by hand. So much time and care goes into each pair of socks, and they tend to see the most wear and tear of my handmade wardrobe, so when it comes to washing them, I try to treat them gently. I was crestfallen when I found a hole in one of my socks some months ago, til I remembered that I could sew them up rather than toss them out. After all, hand-knit socks are worth saving! On that note: I’m pleased to report that we now carry darning eggs.

These handsome wooden darning eggs are just the tool you’ll need for mending worn socks. They’re made to slip inside a sock and help hold the fabric still while you stitch up any holes, or reenforce thin spots. To see one in action and learn all about mending socks, read Kate Gilbert’s article in Twist Collective on the subject. Come by the shop to pick up a darning egg for yourself, or a sock-knitting friend!

Back in stock: Selku.

Posted by Julia on February 16, 2014

Most yarns from Maine hand-dyers String Theory are dyed to order, so it was with a couple months of anticipation that we excitedly unpacked a big box full of Selku this past week.

Selku is a sport weight, 3-ply blend of 50% silk and 50% merino wool. The silk content makes it slinky and shiny, while the wool brings elasticity. Together, they make a gently draping fabric with excellent stitch definition that is well suited to accessories, scarves, shawls, and sweaters. It particularly shines in lacy openwork patterns–perhaps you’ve seen the sample slouchy hat in Selku at the shop, or glimpsed Rosi’s “Sampler Tabard” on the blog.

We’ve also seen Selku knit up into a “Vitamin D” sweater and a “Sonetto” shawl, among other projects. There’s one other shawl pattern we’ve had our eye on for some time that calls for String Theory Selku: “Sundry,” by Jennifer Dassau. “Sundry” is a garter- and slip-stitch shawl that calls for one skein each in two colors–an excellent opportunity to play the color-combining game.

Above are “Pewter” and “Alexandrite,” the colors shown in the pattern sample. I couldn’t stop there, of course. Here are several more combinations that appealed to my eye–I can’t wait to see what other knitters come up with, too!

Come by the shop to bask in Selku’s glow, and pick a pair of colors for your own “Sundry” shawl. See you there!

New colors in Meadow.

Posted by Julia on February 14, 2014

Fibre Company’s newest yarn, Meadow, has been catching the attention of knitters and crocheters at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop since we unpacked our first box of the stuff. We admired finished garments made in Meadow at the Allium Collection trunk show, and sampled Meadow ourselves at the Fibre Company yarn tasting, planning projects for this unique lace weight yarn all the while. I’m happy to report that the Fibre Company has created three new colors of Meadow: a bright teal, a dark brown, and a pale, greyish lavender.

Meadow is an unusual yarn, somewhere in between a lace weight and a light fingering weight, a soft and tweedy blend of 40% merino wool, 25% baby llama, 20% silk, and 15% linen. It knits up comfortably on a wide range of needle sizes, as well-suited to lightweight sweaters as it is to lace shawls. These three new shades fit right into the existing Meadow color palette, its moody, muted shades punctuated by a few sunny brights.

Look for Meadow in a basket near the lace and fingering weight yarns, and consider it for your next project. Come by and see our other Fibre Company yarns, too: Savannah, Acadia, and Canopy Worsted. See you at the shop!

Weekenders.

Posted by Julia on February 12, 2014

The Fibre Company have just published a new collection of 5 accessory patterns, each of which calls for just one skein of the luxurious Canopy Worsted. Say hello to Weekenders.

Canopy Worsted is a soft and slightly shimmering blend of 50% alpaca, 30% merino wool, and 20% bamboo, with 200 yards to each 100 gram skein.

The bamboo gives it a gentle drape, and the alpaca gives it a soft halo, but it maintains a crisp stitch definition that does well in cables and texture patterns.

The hats and cowls of Weekenders make good use of Canopy Worsted’s many positive qualities.

Anne and I can both attest that Canopy Worsted is delightful in the hands and on the needles–I treated myself to a sweater’s worth last Fall, and Anne can’t seem to take off her “Cumberland” cowl. In fact, she recently started making one for her mother. It’s a special skein of yarn, Canopy Worsted, and each of these patterns makes the most of just one skein.

Come by the shop to pick up a copy of Weekenders and a skein or two of Canopy Worsted! See you there.

Back in stock: Wool Trees.

Posted by Julia on February 10, 2014

Back in December, holiday gift-shoppers wiped out our supply of Wool Trees. I’m happy to report that we now have them back on our shelves, in both maple and walnut.

These handsome, hand-crafted yarn-ball controllers are exactly the kind of small luxury that one might deny oneself, which makes them perfect gifts. Remember Wool Trees when you’re shopping for the-knitter-who-has-everything, and if that knitter is you, please remember to treat yourself.

We also stock other products from the California-based Wool Tree Mill, including drop spindles and lucets. Come by the shop to see them all!