Tag Archives: andrea mowry

Yarn ideas for Andrea Mowry’s Rhinebeck showstopper, “Antipodes.”

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Every year, Andrea Mowry designs a sweater especially to wear to the NY Sheep and Wool Festival in October. This year’s pattern is “Antipodes,” and our friend and teacher Nancy is offering a class here at the shop for folks who’d like to knit it with company and guidance.

“Antipodes,” photo © Andrea Mowry

“Antipodes” is a cozy crew neck pullover with interesting saddle shoulder construction, stripes, stranded colorwork, and faux center seams a la “The Weekender.” It’s worked seamlessly from the top down, beginning with the stripey saddle shoulders.

“Antipodes,” photo © Andrea Mowry

Once the yoke is completed, you’ll join to work the body in the round, adding colorwork waves. Then sleeves are picked up from the armhole openings and worked in the round. Each new section introduces a different technique or motif, so it should be an engaging knit.

“Antipodes,” photo © Andrea Mowry

Mowry’s sample is shown in a solid main color and a self-striping contrast color, a fun way to add lots of colors. Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball is just the thing, a marled fingering weight yarn that slowly changes from one color to the next several yards at a time.

I picked this combination to emulate Mowry’s original, mossy green Biches & Buches Le Petit Lambswool paired with blue, green, and rust Crazy Zauberball. We have so many yarns that would look great in “Antipodes” – here are some more color ideas with Le Petit Lambswool…

Cascade 220 Fingering…

Kelbourne Woolens Camper…

and Isager Merilin.

Look for these and many other yarns in the fingering weight section here at HYS!

“Nightshift” in Noro Ito.

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The shop just got more colorful… we’ve got six new shades of Noro Ito in stock!

Noro Ito:

  • aran weight
  • single ply
  • self striping
  • 100% wool
  • 437 yards/200 grams
  • hand wash, lay flat to dry

Noro Ito has long been a popular choice for Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift.” This triangular shawl is decorated with bands of a simple slip stitch pattern, trimmed with an attached i-cord edging, then finished off with a clever striped i-cord bind off. Though Mowry calls for six different colors, two balls of Noro Ito will do the color changing for you – just switch colors A and B every 20 rows.

Carolina came in wearing this gorgeous “Nightshift” in two shades of Noro Ito, knit for her by her aunt, Vera. It inspired us to order these new shades!

Here’s a color combination similar to Vera’s beautiful creation, followed by a few more ideas from us.

Look for Noro Ito in the aran weight section here at HYS – see you there!

Color crush: blue and burgundy.

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Knitters sometimes ask me which they should pick first: the pattern, or the yarn? There’s no right or wrong way to find your next project, of course, nor are these the only two ways. Often we are motivated by color, coming into the yarn shop picturing a particular shade, and searching the shelves for a skein that matches our mind’s eye. Sometimes it’s a color combination that we’re seeking, a pairing that has captured our imagination – here’s one such case.

A knitter came in recently looking for blue and burgundy, and as often happens here at the shop, Anne and Bailey and I started playing along. We pulled out similar shades we had noticed throughout the shop, cobalt and cornflower, merlot and maroon. Long after that knitter left with the perfect yarn for their next project, I was still spotting sapphire and garnet, so I thought I’d share them here on the blog, with pattern ideas for each pair.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in 62172 and 62121

Knit at a snug 23 stitches to 4″, Ultra Alpaca would make a cozy pair of “Robinia Mittens,” by Anne Ventzel.

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Delft and Homemade Jam

A pleasing pair in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter for PetiteKnit’s new “Key Sweater,” with enough contrast to show the colorwork motif.

Berroco Ultra Wool in 33156 and 33145

This sturdy superwash wool would make a nice pair of “Key Mittens,” to match the aforementioned PetiteKnit sweater.

Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Cadet and Homemade Jam

Try this lower contrast Loft pair in Isabell Kraemer’s “Heimathafen” pullover, with its subtle dip-stitch colorwork stripes.

Isager Tvinni in 44 + Silk Mohair in 44 and Tvinni in 36s + Silk Mohair in 36

Hold Tvinni and Silk Mohair together in simple stockinette stripes for PetiteKnit’s “Olga Jacket.”

Sandnes Garn Sunday in 5846 + Isager Highland in Wine

Hold these lightweight wools together for a low-contrast “Melange Sweater,” by PetiteKnit. I wear mine all the time, and Bailey has one in the works now!

Isager Jensen in 44s and Fyberspates Cumulus in Plum

Another compelling combination for marling – hold fluffy Cumulus with Jensen for Anne Ventzel’s “Solange Scarf.”

Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed in Bright Blue and Mulberry

Brioche is another way to combine colors – try Andrea Mowry’s “Harlow Worsted” hat in plush Lucky Tweed.

What color combinations have you been infatuated with lately? Let us know in the comments, or come by the shop and we’ll help you find yarn to match!

“Night & Day Cowl” in Isager Alpaca 3 & Silk Mohair.

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When Katherine proposed teaching a slip stitch class on Andrea Mowry’s “Night & Day Cowl,” we immediately started calling out DK weight yarns she could work with. Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Berroco Ultra Wool DK, Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, and Sandnes Garn Double Sunday would all be nice – but Katherine had other plans.

She picked out matching shades of aran weight Isager Alpaca 3 and lace weight Silk Mohair to hold together throughout, making a thicker fabric at a bigger gauge. If she used these (gorgeous!) yarns for her “Night & Day Cowl,” she’d need to use larger needles than the US 6 called for in the pattern, and her cowl would come out bigger. “I don’t mind if it’s bigger,” she said, and went home with an armful of Isager and plans to use a US 9 needle and see what happened.

What happened was this stunning cowl, a super soft fabric at the perfect size! Andrea Mowry’s pattern is written in such a way that it’s easy to stop when you reach your desired cowl size, so Katherine got to knit without even worrying about the difference in gauge.

Now that I’ve seen Katherine’s extra cozy “Night & Day Cowl,” I can’t stop thinking about other color combinations in Isager Alpaca 3 and lace weight Silk Mohair – here are a few!

Look for Katherine’s cowl here at our shop, along with the Isager Alpaca 3 and Silk Mohair to make one of your own!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Caprino.

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Our supply of Malabrigo Caprino dwindled to almost zero during our Annual Inventory Sale – we are so happy to have this yarn back in stock!

Malabrigo Caprino:

  • DK weight
  • hand-dyed, variegated, speckled, and semi-solid colorways
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 159 yards/50 g
  • $18 each

Like all Malabrigo yarns, Caprino comes in a variety of vibrant, memorable hand-dyed colorways. What sets it apart is the extra softness of cashmere, which really makes Caprino a treat to work with and wear. Lately it’s been popular for PetiteKnit’s “Sophie Scarf,” a small garter stitch neckwarmer that many knitters have been making on repeat.

I knit Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” shawl with Malabrigo Caprino a couple of years ago, and it now hangs at the shop, inspiring knitters to make their own. It was fun to combine semisolid, variegated, and speckled colorways in this slip stitch pattern and see how they worked together.

What else to make with Caprino? Here are some ideas!

Look for Malabrigo Caprino in the DK weight section here at our shop!

Show and tell!

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It’s been far too long since I shared show-and-tell here on the blog, though it’s an ongoing part of our daily Instagram posts – let’s see what folks have been making with yarn from our shop!

First up – check out Linda’s Churchmouse “Double Split Color-Blocked Cowl,” knit with Malabrigo Noventa! She knit it up in no time on US 15 needles, an instant gratification kind of project.

Sherri made one, too! It’s always fun to see the same pattern transformed by different colors.

Debbie is a prolific knitter and weaver, among other things – here’s the latest project off her loom, an amazing deflected double weave scarf woven with Brooklyn Tweed Loft. We’re delighted that this springy woolen-spun yarn is back in production after a year of sourcing and supply chain issues!

Margaretta recently knit a pair of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks” with Isager Sock Yarn and Koigu KPPPM – I love how the solid white highlights individual shades in the variegated contrast color!

Anne has been busy knitting samples for the shop – here are two of her recent creations! Above is an “Autopilot” cowl, by Dominique Trad, knit with 2 skeins of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Studio Worsted. Below is her PetiteKnit “Novice Slipover,” knit with Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed. The pattern calls for a DK weight yarn held together with laceweight mohair, but Anne substituted one strand of this tweedy aran weight yarn, with cozy results.

Thanks to Linda, Sherri, Debbie, Margaretta, and Anne for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Winter Flowers.

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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

This month’s limited edition shade is Winter Flowers, a rosy colorway streaked with shades of pink and burgundy.

This new colorway made me think of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks,” a striped, slip-stitch pattern that’s great for pairing solid and multicolored yarns. Isager Sock Yarn makes a great Main Color, letting the variegated KPPPM take center stage as Contrast Color.

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Isager Sock Yarn and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh batch of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor on our shelves!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor:

  • DK weight
  • 100% Targhee wool
  • 145 yards/50 g
  • $18.75 each

This shipment brought us ten of the most popular shades of Arbor, from moody neutrals to saturated earth tones. You can see all of the colors Arbor comes in on the Brooklyn Tweed website – we have most of them here at the shop, and will happily check on any colors and quantities you’re seeking!

Arbor is known for its springy elasticity, soft hand, and stellar stitch definition. We’ve seen so many incredible garments made with Arbor over the years – here are some of the most popular patterns:

Look for Arbor in the DK weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with lots of other Brooklyn Tweed yarns – we have Tones and Tones Light, Dapple, Peerie, Loft, Shelter, Quarry, and more!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: November 2022.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. November’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

November’s special colorway is a pale lavender grey, with speckles of plum and burgundy.

It pairs beautifully with the David Hess colorway in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft – this trio of skeins is perfect for Andrea Mowry’s “Birds of a Feather” shawl!

“Birds of a Feather,” by Andrea Mowry, photo © Andrea Mowry

Here are a few more such combinations using other Pop-Up Club colorways, a flock of shawls-to-be.

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We are open between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Back in stock: Malabrigo Caprino!

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It feels like we unpack at least one Malabrigo order each week – everyone loves their memorable colorways and soft fibers. This week’s Malabrigo box held a sizable restock of Caprino, a super soft merino/cashmere blend.

Malabrigo Caprino:

  • DK weight
  • hand-dyed, variegated, speckled, and semi-solid colorways
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 159 yards/50 g
  • $18 each

I knit Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” shawl with Malabrigo Caprino a couple of years ago, and it now hangs at the shop, inspiring knitters to make their own. It was fun to combine semisolid, variegated, and speckled colorways in this slip stitch pattern and see how they worked together.

What else to make with Caprino? Here are some ideas!

Look for Malabrigo Caprino in the DK weight section here at our shop, and pick up a free copy of Breean Elyse Miller’s “Ikigai Cowl” pattern with your purchase!