Tag Archives: alpaca

Getting our sock yarn fix.

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It’s been a big week for sock yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. First, our dwindling collection of hand-dyed sock yarn from Pagewood Farm was replenished. We carry both Denali, which is a sturdy combination of 80% superwash merino wool and 20% nylon, and Alyeska, a soft blend of 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon. Here they are snuggled up together in their basket.



        
I had just arranged the Pagewood Farm sock yarn, it seemed, when the next box of sock yarn arrived. From Crystal Palace, a brand new yarn named Sausalito. It’s an extremely soft blend of 80% superwash merino wool and 20% nylon. Sausalito also self-stripes, much like Crystal Palace’s Mini Mochi, but with a slightly different effect because Sausalito is 2-ply while Mini Mochi is a single ply. Where one color begins to fade into the next, the two plies are different colors for a stretch, looking rather marled.
We were also pleased to receive a box from The Alpaca Yarn Company, filled with their Paca-Peds sock yarn as well as Paca-Paints, a worsted weight yarn. These yarns aren’t new to us, but like the Pagewood Farm yarn, we had been running really low on them until this week. In fact, we were down to one lonesome skein of Paca-Peds. Those days are gone now. Welcome back, Paca-Paints and -Peds!
All this is to say: if you’re looking for your sock yarn fix, it’s probably here. See you at the shop!

What we’ve made room for, part 1.

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Give a warm welcome to the newest yarns at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.
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As I previously mentioned, Sawya is the latest from Mirasol: a worsted weight blend of pima cotton, alpaca, and silk in a bright bunch of colors. Just right for warm-weather knitting.
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Pictured below, hanging in two tiny baskets are two more warm-weather yarns: Haze and Mia, from the Queensland Collection and Takhi Yarns, respectively. Haze is a blend of corn viscose and cotton in a dk weight. Mia is a fluffy, thick-and-thin cotton, unusually textured for its fiber content, making it a nice substitute for wool where wool allergies are concerned.

Of course, we have plenty of new wooly yarns as well. From Cascade: Sitka, a bulky merino and mohair blend. We have three neutral colors, making the decision-making process simpler. Charcoal gray, brown, or beige?

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Also from the department of wooly wools: Kauni 8/2 Effektgarn, a self-striping fingering weight yarn with long color repeats, making a subtle gradation from one shade to the next. I find it particularly striking in fair isle patterns like this one. Or you might put it to use with a brioche pattern from Nancy Marchant’s book, which we just got in last week. Much of our first order of Kauni has already escaped in the shopping bags of customers who fell completely in love with it on sight. A dangerous situation, indeed.

     

This should do for one post. Tomorrow: the rest of the newest. For now.