Author Archives: Julia

An anniversary sale, a yarn crawl.

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As you may remember from years past, or may have seen in our most recent email newsletter, October marks the six-year anniversary of the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We are so grateful to all of you for your support over the years, for shopping and learning and sharing with us. We’ll celebrate another year in business in our usual way: an anniversary sale!

From October 13th – 21st, everything in the shop will be discounted by 15%, with the exception of classes and that which is already discounted. This is the time to treat yourself to a special skein or two, or save on that big project you’ve been wanting to start this fall. Maybe you’ve had your eye on a magazine, book, or bag, or just want to stock up on needles–those are all discounted, too. Come by the shop during the sale and let us thank you in person, in a tangible way.

Overlapping with our anniversary sale is this weekend’s Triangle Yarn Crawl, a self-guided tour of local yarn shops throughout the Triangle. We’re delighted to be participating once again, and excited to offer a project bag filled with goodies as our raffle prize, including yarn and a pattern from Swans Island. Learn more about the Triangle Yarn Crawl on their blog, and be sure to pay us a visit this weekend!

 

(A reminder: all sales are final on sale items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!)

Indigo.

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Sincere Sheep and Swans Island are two yarn companies we’re thrilled to support, and one of the many reasons is that they both use all natural dyes. This means that their colors are created with minerals, plants, and insects rather than synthetic, petroleum-derived dyes. The bold blue colors have been some of the most popular in both Sincere Sheep and Swans Island yarns, and they all come from natural indigo, a plant-based colorant. Indigo can also be used to create deep purples and steely grays.

Natural indigo has a tendency to rub off, one which you may have already experienced in a pair of blue jeans. A knitter working with an indigo-dyed yarn will likely have blue fingers after a while, but it washes off easily and won’t stain your hands. The color comes off on wooden needles, as well, so metal needles are a good idea if the notion of blue-tipped bamboo needles troubles you.

Once the garment is complete, Swans Island recommends giving it a good soak with a gentle fiber cleanser like Eucalan, along with a rinse afterward, until the water runs clear. After that, the indigo should not rub off onto your neck as you wear your scarf, or onto your clothes. I recently washed a swatch of indigo-dyed yarn, and can attest that while it gave off a dark blue color in its water bath, the color of the yarn itself did not fade.

This little swatch was made with Sincere Sheep Luminous, a dk weight blend of Polwarth wool and Tussah silk. The yarn is a deep, brilliant blue called “Anja,” an indigo-based colorway. (You may have seen that little swatch before, in fact; it’s on the left in this picture of all our TNNA swatches.) Now that three yarns from Sincere Sheep have made the Hillsborough Yarn Shop their home, I thought I’d pull that swatch out and block it, so it could live with the Luminous yarn as a small sample. I was thrilled with how well-behaved the yarn was in its swatch and its bath, how readily it shows off cables, lace, stockinette, and all else. Yarns like these are worth blue-tinted fingertips; anticipate the rub-off and these indigo-based colorways will delight you.

(If you’re interested in the process of dyeing with natural materials, you can read more about it on the Swans Island website.)

Della Q project bags.

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We just got in an armful of sweet little project bags from Della Q. These brightly colored drawstring bags have a small pocket inside, and are decorated with text that allows them to double as reusable gift-wrapping.

Come by the shop to snag one for yourself or a friend, and check out our other bags and accessories.

Lascala.

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The Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show has come and gone, but for the Falkenberg-curious, we still have one garment on loan. Behold: Lascala, a colorful scarf worked in garter and slip stitch patterns.

Lascala is generous in width and length, but lightweight, due to the fine shetland wool that comes in Falkenberg’s kits. It’s knit in two pieces, then sewn together with the color sequence inverted at the seam.

Intrigued? Come by the shop to admire the sample, and pick up a Lascala kit of your own.

Show and tell: all kinds.

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There are so very many things to knit. Though I often knit the same kinds of things again and again (sweaters and socks, sweaters and socks), I am always delighted by the wide variety of projects I see knitters and crocheters taking on at the shop. Here are some knitted items that have made their way to the shop lately for show and tell.

Monique knit this beautiful shawl for her wedding. The yarn is the fabulously shiny Berroco Lustra; the pattern is Rococo.

Shelley knit this intricate colorwork sweater from Marianne Isager’s Japanese Inspired Knits using the fingering weight alpaca/wool blend that has become a shop favorite: Isager Alpaca 2.

April knit a bunny…

…and a bunny hat to go with. The fuzzy, soft pink yarn is Araucania Azapa. Want to make a bunny hat of your own? Find the pattern here.

 

Come by the shop with show and tell of your own! We’d love to see what you’re working on.

Three new magazines.

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This week we got three new magazines in, each one filled with knitting projects, tutorials, stories, and other inspiration.

Knit.Wear has bunches of modern-looking sweater patterns, along with a tutorial on choosing the right cast-ons and bind-offs for each project you make.

Knit Simple’s Holiday 2012 issue offers patterns for gift-knitting, grouped by their intended recipient, like so: “For Mom,” “For Dad,” “For the Coworker,” “For the Teacher,” etc.

Knitting Traditions is full of colorwork and lace, shawls, mittens, gloves, and stories that give historical context to knitting techniques and patterns.

Come by the shop to flip through these magazines, peruse our many knitting and crochet books, and plan your next project.

Hello, Sincere Sheep.

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This past Wednesday, a box arrived at the shop that we’ve been eagerly anticipating since June. We’re proud to announce that we now carry three yarns from Sincere Sheep. Based in Northern California, Sincere Sheep produces naturally dyed yarns from U.S. sourced fibers. We met Brooke at TNNA in June and were blown away by the vivid colors she achieves with natural dyes.

I was the lucky knitter who got to play with a skein of Sincere Sheep Equity Sport while we deliberated at market. The Equity Sport is 100% Rambouillet wool, grown and spun in Buffalo, WY. I read up on Rambouillet wool in Clara Parkes’ Knitter’s Book of Wool, a favorite resource, and learned that Rambouillet is a breed of sheep, a relative of Merino known for its soft, springy fiber.

Where Merino stretches and drapes, Rambouillet has a surprising sturdiness, given its softness. I used the Equity Sport to knit a sample fingerless mitt for the shop, a garment it’s well suited to. I also think it would make lovely hats and sweaters.

When we saw that there was an Equity Fingering as well, we had to get both. I think it would be perfect for colorwork projects, or on a bigger needle for draping shawls and cowls.

On the last day of market, we came back to Sincere Sheep to order a third yarn: Luminous, a dk weight blend of Tussah Silk and Polwarth wool. Polwarth is another finewool, like Merino and Rambouillet, but one with a slight sheen and greater strength from longer fibers. Luminous comes in big, 330 yard skeins, enough to do a generous scarf, cowl, or small shawl. We got two patterns from designer Kira Dulaney that call for dk weight yarn with single skeins of Luminous in mind.

Come by the shop to see these gorgeous yarns from Sincere Sheep!

All You Knit is Love.

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Another new pattern booklet featuring Isager yarns has arrived–Susie Haumann’s All You Knit is Love has landed on the teacart at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

All You Knit is Love is filled with simple, classic designs for babies ages 0-18 months.

Some are made with Isager yarns held singly, and some have you hold two strands together to achieve a bigger gauge.

You can look forward to a Trunk Show featuring finished garments from Haumann’s collection in November. Until then, come by the shop to see the Amimono 3 and Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Shows as well as our growing collection of Isager pattern books. See you at the shop!

New colors in Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted!

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When we first discovered Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted in May, this smooth, soft, washable merino yarn came in just seven colors. We’re happy to announce that we’ve just received a shipment from Ewe Ewe containing five new colors for fall!

There are now 12 gorgeous colors to choose from, some bold, some soft, some bright, and some neutral. I couldn’t help but think of more color combinations for the Boston Whaler Baby Hat, a quick colorwork project that has become a favorite at the shop.

Anne has taught three classes on this hat so far, and we’ve sold out of the pattern over and over again. We’re happy to have the pattern back in stock and to have so many more color choices in the yarn. Come by the shop to take a look and plan your next project with Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted!