Tag Archives: amy christoffers

Koigu Collector’s Club: Nightshade.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

Nightshade is a deeply saturated mix of eggplant and navy, with lively streaks of gold, orange, and cobalt.

Anne recently knit Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” with Koigu and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a soft and springy blend of merino, cashmere, and silk.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra would work well as the main color, too – it’s also sport weight, a  blend of merino and highland wool, with a touch of mohair. Here are “Pressed Flowers Hat” color combinations pairing Nightshade with both Capital Luxury Sport and Andorra.

I couldn’t stop there, of course – it’s too fun to play the color game!

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Koigu Collector’s Club: The Wool Shed.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

The Wool Shed is a variegated mix of greens with subtle flourishes of raspberry, auburn, and cream.

“Pressed Flowers Hat,” by Amy Christoffers. Photo © Amy Christoffers

Anne has had her eye on Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” for a while now, so when this Collector’s Club colorway came in, I thought I’d put together some color combinations. 

I’ve paired Koigu KPPPM with semisolid shades of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk that is relatively new to our shop. One skein of each should make two hats, with NFC Capital Luxury Sport as the main color and Koigu KPPPM as the contrast color.

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

HYS Color Club: Loch Lomond + Pressed Flowers.

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The Spring season of HYS Color Club wraps up with a bigger project, a fun change of pace after April’s “Duality” scarf.

Club members got seven skeins of BC Garn Loch Lomond to knit Any Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers,” a 2-color triangular shawl covered in mosaic stitch flowers.

“Pressed Flowers,” by Amy Christoffers, photo © Amy Christoffers.

A high contrast color combination is important for this project, ensuring that the pattern shows clearly. It was so fun to pick pairs for each of our Club members in these rich, tweedy colorways – I can’t wait to see their shawls take shape!

Of course, you can make a “Pressed Flowers” even if you didn’t join the HYS Color Club – just pick out two colors you love in Loch Lomond or another DK weight yarn.

BC Garn Loch Lomond: DK weight, 2 ply tweed, 100% wool, 170 yards/50 grams; $14 each. For “Pressed Flowers,” you’ll need 4 skeins in Main Color and 3 skeins in Contrast Color.

Come by the shop between 11 – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays to pick your own combination!

Back in stock: Modern Cotton!

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Berroco Modern Cotton is a staple around here, an economical, machine-washable blend of cotton and rayon in that versatile gauge, worsted weight. It was time for a restock and restock we did, filling our Modern Cotton bins and brightening up our selection.

Berroco Modern Cotton:

  • worsted weight
  • solid colors
  • 50% cotton, 50% rayon
  • 209 yards/100 grams
  • $10 each

Modern Cotton is perfect for warm-weather knits, or year-round for those allergic to wool. It’s also a favorite for baby things – here are some pattern ideas for all of the above!

Look for Modern Cotton in the worsted weight section here at our shop!

New colors in Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky.

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We recently got a big bundle of new colors from Berroco in yarns across their line of machine-washable wools – Ultra Wool DK, Ultra Wool (worsted weight), and Ultra Wool Chunky. Today, let’s take a look at Ultra Wool Chunky!

Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky:

  • bulky weight
  • 100% superwash wool
  • 145 yards/100g
  • $12 each

Ultra Wool Chunky is a 100% superwash wool that’s soft, sturdy, and economical, perfect for cozy garments and accessories for adults and children alike. Here are some pattern ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 6: Transparency.

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The sixth installment of the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide series is here! Let’s take a peek inside.

Ann Shayne and Kaye Gardiner’s series of Field Guides are pocket-sized booklets focused on a particular theme or knitting technique. The theme here is transparency, a quality that admittedly, may not be among the first we think of when we think about knitting.

But transparency plays a role in lace knitting, and also in loose gauges, and on a metaphorical level, in visible mending.

As in every Field Guide, Ann and Kaye’s ruminations on the topic at hand are featured, but they’ve also brought designer Amy Christoffers in for a few patterns. This Anni Albers inspired wrap uses yarn-mixing to suggest transparency, and what better yarn for yarn-mixing than Shibui? Pebble and Reed are shown here in a beachy colorway of grays, beige, and blue.

Look for the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 6 on our teacart, with the latest books and magazines. See you at the shop!

KnitScene.

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Just when cold weather finally begins here in North Carolina, the Spring 2016 issue of KnitScene arrives.

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This issue features lots of yarns that can be found at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

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A hat in Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering, a shawl in Fibre Company Road to China Lace, a cardigan in Berroco Artisan…

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I also spotted a sweater in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK, along with a tutorial showing how to create those vertical stripes with crochet slip stitch.

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Designer Amy Christoffers penned another handy tutorial, showing how to pick up stitches.

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Look for KnitScene on the teacart here at the shop! See you there.

Hello, Berroco Artisan.

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Here at the shop, we’ve spent a few afternoons unpacking a truly huge order from Berroco. They sent an exciting new book, bags and bags of two of our favorite Berroco yarns, sample garments, and a brand new yarn for fall. Let’s start there: meet Artisan.

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Berroco Artisan is a worsted weight blend of 80% merino wool and 20% silk, with 123 yards on each 50 gram skein. Artisan is dip-dyed for tonally variegated colors, which look as good in texture and lace patterns as they do in garter stitch or stockinette.

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Anne and I passed this swatch back and forth a few times before we ordered Artisan for the shop, seeing how it stood up to a variety of stitch patterns and enjoying its springy feel along the way.

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Berroco sent along this “Ceonothus” shawl, by Amy Christoffers, worked from the point up in an allover lace pattern. I’ve often admired Amy Christoffers’ designs, particularly for how she makes use of texture patterns, using them to cover entire garments and keeping the knitter interested along the way. “Ceonothus” looks like it would make a great pattern for a first-time lace knitter, and should work up relatively quickly in this worsted weight yarn.

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The pattern, like all of Berroco’s Artisan collection, is available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale. This means that you can buy them at the shop, have us print a copy for you, and also know that a digital copy is saved in your Ravelry pattern library or sent to your email. Head to Ravelry to check out the other sweaters and shawls that Amy Christoffers designed for Artisan, and head to the HYS “Worsted weight” board on Pinterest for lots of other ideas. In particular, don’t miss “Memphre,” a free hat pattern for Artisan.

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Look for Artisan in the worsted weight section at the shop, and look out for more new Berroco goodies on the blog soon!

Vogue Knitting.

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The Early Fall 2015 issue of Vogue Knitting has arrived here at the shop, right in the middle of a heat wave that makes “Early Fall” seem particularly far away.

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This issue has plenty of patterns to fuel your cold-weather knitting fantasies: cabled cowls and mitts, classic colorwork, textured sweaters, and a collection of cardigans from independent knitwear designers, the likes of Veera Välimäki and Amy Christoffers.

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Amy Christoffers’ design is a cardigan knit in Berroco Maya, a cotton and alpaca blend chainette yarn, lightweight enough to pull on in chilly air-conditioning during the warmer months.

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There’s some good reading material in this issue, too. Meg Swansen’s column shows how to do a continuous border on a cardigan, and another article offers tips for faster knitting.

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Come by the shop to pick up a copy of Vogue Knitting, and enjoy our air-conditioning while you plan your next project!

New colors in Modern Cotton.

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Berroco has dreamed up a few new colors for their Modern Cotton yarn, filling out their palette of crayon-bright colors with some more subdued hues.

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Berroco Modern Cotton is a worsted weight blend of cotton and rayon, and since it’s arrival last spring, it’s become a staple here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

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Smooth, soft to the touch, economical, and machine-washable, Modern Cotton has been embraced by knitters and crocheters alike.

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It’s perfect for baby sweaters, blankets, and the like, but just as well-suited to grown-up garments like the ones you’ll find in Berroco’s new booklet: #358, Modern Cotton Women.

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Last year, designer Amy Christoffers took over Norah Gaughan’s position as Design Director for Berroco, and this collection has a distinct Christoffers look to my eye.

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Christoffers seems to specialize in casual, wearable garments, especially those decorated in texture patterns and small lace motifs.

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Look for Berroco Modern Cotton in the worsted weight section here at the shop; you’ll find this booklet tucked in the cubby with the yarn. See you there!