Author Archives: Julia

Jitterbug. Again.

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You would not believe the gasps of delight that accompanied this week’s much anticipated shipment of Colinette Jitterbug. (I know I say things like that a lot–it seems that weekly, we receive boxes of gasp-inducing yarns–but I’m just reporting the facts, here. We’re an excitable bunch.) Unlike most yarns, the Jitterbug comes to us in bunches of untwisted hanks, which makes for a dramatic entrance.

After oohing and aahing over each color as it emerged from the box, Anne and I got right to work twisting up each hank.

Jitterbug, as I’ve written before, is a tightly-plied, squishy, merino yarn in fingering weight which comes to us all the way from Wales. We’ve carried primarily variegated colorways thus far, but the semisolid colorways have been so tempting that we finally, happily gave in.

I went home with a skein of Jitterbug in a golden yellow to make myself a pair of bright, wild socks. There are several other projects awaiting my attention, but it’s quite possible that I’ll put them all aside to cast on with this yarn, for which I’ve heard nothing but rave reviews.

One such rave-reviewer is Anne, who made a little something out of Jitterbug for herself earlier this year.

No big deal, just one of the most amazing sweaters we have in the shop, an exquisite design from Marianne Isager’s Japanese Inspired Knits. Come by to examine Anne’s sweater in close, glorious detail, and to snag a skein of Jitterbug for yourself.

See you at the shop!

Magazine week.

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The magazine-makers of the world have been working overtime, it seems. Last week brought two new issues, Creative Knitting and Interweave Knits. I’d barely flipped through them when three more new magazines arrived. Rest assured, if you come by the shop this week, you’re likely to find at least one compelling new project among these glossy pages.

Koigu Magazine is back with a nice follow-up to their premiere issue, which I wrote a bit about back in May. Look here for inspired and unusual uses of fingering weight and variegated yarns.

Knit Simple is here, too, full of cardigans, among other things.

The most impressive, in my opinion, has been Interweave Knits Accessories. The thing itself is stylishly designed, and the patterns are many and varied.

Cowls, hats, socks, mitts, and shawls–the kind of projects that knitters often make for gifts. It’s a gift-giving season we’re in, and it was gift-knitting that came to mind when I paged through this magazine. Take a look.

See you at the shop.

Swans Island. Again.

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Every time we get a box from Swans Island, Anne and I exchange an open-mouthed look of delight. It’s so exciting to open those boxes, to see the new colors and welcome back those that we’d already sold out of. 

And those are just the reorders. Our joy is doubled when we pull aside a bag of Swans Island yarn to reveal a packet of Swans Island patterns! There were so many in our most recent shipment that we had to get a bigger binder.

Below, you can take a peek inside the Swans Island Patterns binder, though I must say, it really deserves a full-on browse. Start here and if you like what you see, come by the shop to see the rest! You’ll be Swans Island junkies like us in no time.

Creative Knitting.

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We recently welcomed another winter knitting magazine to our growing collection.

Find the January issue of Creative Knitting on the teacart. Hope you’re all enjoying the holiday weekend, sneaking a few stitches here and there between rounds of leftovers. See you at the shop soon!

Knit Noro, and Knit Noro Accessories.

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A beautiful new book just landed on the teacart last week: Knit Noro Accessories, a sibling of the also-beautiful Knit Noro, which came out earlier this year. If you’re a fan of Noro yarns, which gradually self-stripe in surprising color combinations, you should certainly take a look at both of these books. In fact, why don’t you take a peek right now? From Knit Noro Accessories:

From Knit Noro:


If you like the look of those patterns, you’re likely to enjoy both collections. Come by to take a closer look and admire our collection of Noro yarns, as well. See you at the shop!

Claudia Hand Painted Yarns. Again.

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We first welcomed Claudia Hand Painted Yarns to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop only a few months ago, but already it’s been such a hit that we decided to order more. We made up a few more kits for the Double Silk T-Shirt and Cardigan, replacing the color combinations that flew out of the shop when we first got them in stock. We also made up kits for the Warm Me Up pullover sweater, also knit with the Claudia Hand Painted Silk Lace.

For those of you who’d like to find other uses for the Silk Lace, we’re also offering that yarn separately outside of the kit. Each shining skein is 1100 yards long, so one could easily get you through a sizeable lace shawl.

The most exciting part of the most recent Claudia shipment for me, however, was this:

A handful of new colors in the Fingering yarn. Anne generously let me pick out the colors from Claudia’s tremendous selection, and as you might have predicted, I went with the semisolid colorways instead of the variegated. These colors are vivid, rich, and complement one another nicely, if I do say so myself. Any of them would make a stellar pair of Interrupted socks, no?

Come by to see these new beauties and the rest of the Claudia Hand Painted Yarns.

Knitter’s Pride Cubics.

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The Knitter’s Pride Dreamz circulars have been a huge hit. We hadn’t even received our complete order when it was time to reorder sizes we had already sold out of. I’ve not yet tried them myself, but the positive feedback I’m hearing suggests pointy points, smooth joins, and flexible cables: all good qualities to find in circular needles. This time when we reordered them, Anne decided to try out their single and double pointed needles as well. The double points aren’t quite here yet, but if it’s straight needles you like, take a look at these Knitter’s Pride Cubics!

Like the Dreamz circulars, the Cubics straight needles are made from laminated birch. While they lack the rainbow of colors that Dreamz circulars boast, they have the advantage of a square shape, which is reportedly easier on the hands than your average needle. Try them out and tell us what you think!

P.S.

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Along with our Malabrigo Lace, we got a handful of bags of Malabrigo Rios in whatever colors were available. It wasn’t a big Rios shipment, but it was enough to brighten the display, and to allow us to breathe easier, knowing there were sweater quantities of a few colors, if needed.

I just knit a very simple garter stitch cowl for my sister out of Rios and loved every stitch for its stretchy, springy softness. Next time you’re shopping around for washable worsted weight yarn, consider Rios!

Hello, Malabrigo Lace.

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Malabrigo is known for its rich colors and buttery softness, as well as for its own popularity. Because of its fine qualities and popularity among knitters and crocheters, it’s hard to get a hold of, and it’s hard to keep in stock. Periodically, we’re able to replenish our collection of particular Malabrigo yarns, and this time around, we were able to finally get our hands on some Malabrigo Lace.

The Lace is a single ply made from baby merino wool, used as often for garments as it is for lace shawls. Faced with the pleasurable challenge of working up a shop sample in Malabrigo Lace, I spent at least an hour roaming around Ravelry looking at what others had used it for before I settled on a pattern. As of now, I’m about a dozen rows into Saroyan, a lovely, lacy, leafy scarf that’s available as a free download on Ravelry. I’m not far enough along to share pictures yet, though I’ll surely do so as it grows. When I started working on it, someone commented, “That’s not really your kind of thing, is it?” and while it’s not, that’s part of why I chose it. I rarely knit lace patterns, I rarely knit scarves, I wouldn’t have chosen this particular color for myself–but I’m having such fun! It feels good to reach out of my comfort zone and knit something different. If you’d like to make a lace-weight Saroyan of your own–or a Citron, or a Featherweight Cardigan, or any number of other things–come by the shop and we’ll talk Malabrigo Lace.