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Islesburgh Toorie.

We’re so excited about “Islesburgh Toorie,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2024!

This five-color fair isle hat pattern is available to purchase from the Shetland Wool Week website. A new Shetland Wool Week hat pattern is something Anne and I look forward to every year, so we purchased it as soon as it was available, and then went straight to our Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift to play the color game. I spent some time putting together “Islesburgh Toorie” colorways inspired by those shown in the pattern, as well as one of my own!

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 1

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 2

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 3

We also have kits in a special colorway developed by and named for designer Gudrun Johnston!

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Gudrun’s Palette

Lastly, here’s my own Hillsborough Yarn Shop Palette!

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Hillsborough Yarn Shop Palette

Yarn bundles for “Islesburgh Toorie” are $56, and include 6 balls of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift – pattern is sold separately to support Shetland Wool Week. We’re also happy to help you put together your own color combinations from our generous supply of Spindrift – we have over 150 colors in stock!

Come see us or get in touch if you’d like to order a “Islesburgh Toorie” yarn bundle!

Interweave Crochet.

The Fall magazines keep on coming, and with them, the promise of cooler weather soon. Here’s one for the crocheters. Look for it on the teacart!


Namaste. Again.

New to our collection of Namaste bags: Cali Zuma in lime green. Even newer: Skinny Mini notions cases. Small, sturdy, cute. Tuck a little pair of scissors in there, a handful of crochet hooks, a pack of stitch markers, a measuring tape; whatever you need with you. And they come (of course) in the full … [more]


The sock wall.

When you first enter the shop, the wall facing you is the one with most of our sock yarns. Over the past month or two, I’ve been slowly going through this corner of the shop, trying to bring more order to the sock yarns and getting as many baskets off the floor as space allowed. … [more]


60 More Quick Knits.

Since I first wrote about Cascade 220 Superwash Sport back in February, it has become one of our best-selling yarns, in spite of the fact that we had no pattern support for it. It’s been a go-to for both knit and crocheted baby things, due to its stellar washability, and used for colorwork of all … [more]


Helen Hamann scarf kits.

The season of shop sample knitting continues unabated. As soon as the Linen Stitch Scarf sample was completed, I cast on for this next piece, a sample to show off two new things at once. The yarn is a new dk weight washable merino from Plymouth, and the pattern, Retro Scarf, is one we have … [more]


Interrupted.

A customer and I were chatting recently about the joys of sock knitting. Specifically, we were waxing rhapsodic on the joys of simple sock knitting–not the intricate colorwork socks that I often daydream of, nor socks adorned with various combinations of cable twists and lace, but basic stockinette or ribbed socks. “Socks are friends,” she … [more]


Linen Stitch All Knit Scarf.

For the past month or two, Anne and I have been working on shop samples at an accelerated rate. As new yarns and kits arrive for fall, new ideas for showing them off are coming to us faster than we can knit them up. Eventually, though, we do finish them, and then proudly display them … [more]


Interweave Knits: Holiday Gifts.

New to the shop this week: Interweave’s yearly reminder to start working on holiday gifts before it’s too late. The 2011 issue of Holiday Gifts is full of ideas, from hats and mitts like those pictured on the cover to socks, scarves, shawls, children’s things, and other garments. Here, take a look inside. Find it … [more]


Isobel.

Yes, I know I’ve already gushed at length about the Marion Foale 3 ply wool. But we got something really special in the mail last week: a handknit sample from Marion Foale Knitting Collection 1, a sweater named Isobel. This picture hardly captures the color, and certainly obscures the detailed work that went into this … [more]


Brightside Wool.

We were approached recently by a woman who, as a former sheep owner, had an excess of unspun wool. She showed Anne a few puffs of roving, dyed in a handful of solid hues, and explained that this one was 100% Shetland wool, while that one was a blend of Cotswold and Shetland, with some … [more]