Hello, Dovestone Natural Chunky.

Posted by Julia on October 27, 2017

Another exciting new yarn has arrived to entice us: meet Dovestone Natural Chunky!

Dovestone Natural Chunky is the latest from Baa Ram Ewe, a small yarn company out of Yorkshire. Their noble aim is to revitalize the textile industry in their region by sourcing and spinning their yarns entirely in the UK.

Dovestone Natural Chunky is made of the same good stuff as Dovestone DK and Dovestone Natural Aran: 50% bluefaced leicester, 25% masham, and 25% wensleydale wools, spun into a soft and fuzzy single ply. It’s delightfully wooly, quick to knit at a suggested gauge of 3.5 stitches per inch, and comes in 5 undyed colors, the natural shades of the sheep.

There’s a beautiful new book to go with it, too – Learn to Knit at Home, by Alison Moreton.

Aimed at new knitters, it covers the basic stitches and techniques, then offers a variety of beginner-friendly patterns for accessories, home goods, and even a few garments, all knit with Dovestone Natural Aran and Chunky.

Learn to Knit at Home is a reminder of how very beautiful simple knits and purls can be. It would make such an excellent gift for an aspiring knitter, along with a few balls of Dovestone yarn to work with!

Come by the shop to see what’s new from Baa Ram Ewe, and to peruse their other yarns, as well. See you there!

Dream in Color Pop up! Club, part 2.

Posted by Julia on October 17, 2017

We’re happy to announce that we’re participating in Dream in Color’s Pop Up! Club 2017-18! That means that every two months from August to February, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns.

Our October shipment features BFL Sock, a fingering weight blend of bluefaced leicester wool and nylon, with 420 yards on each 4 oz skein. BFL is naturally sturdy, but the addition of nylon makes it even more so: perfect for a special pair of socks.

A special pair of socks is exactly what Katherine is using her special skein for – she came in last week with her sock-in-progress to share the pleasing way the colors are playing out in the fabric.

Look for this limited edition Pop Up! Club colorway in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

New colors from Baa Ram Ewe.

Posted by Julia on February 2, 2017

The folks at UK yarn company Baa Ram Ewe dreamed up three new colors for their Titus and Dovestone DK yarns, and I’m happy to report that we now have them on our shelves here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

For pattern ideas, look to Carol Feller’s Dovestone Hills booklet, Kate Davies’ Buachaille, and our “DK weight” board on Pinterest. I think Dovestone DK is a particularly good sweater yarn; I made an “Epistrophy” cardigan with it absolutely loved the combination of pattern and yarn. Also consider Isabel Kraemer’s “Ready for fall” pullover, Churchmouse’s “Library Vest,” and tincanknits’ “Clayoquot” pullover.

The two yarns take the dye differently, coming out heathered in Dovestone DK, but bright and clear in Titus.

Titus is a fingering weight blend of 50% wensleydale wool, 30% alpaca, and 20% bluefaced leicester wool.

There’s plenty of pattern inspiration for Titus to be found on our “Fingering weight” Pinterest board, of course, and we’ve seen some beautiful Titus projects here on the blog over the years.

Come by the shop to see the full range of colors in Baa Ram Ewe Titus, Dovestone DK, and Dovestone Natural Aran. See you there!

Hello, West Yorkshire Spinners.

Posted by Julia on January 25, 2017

Allow me to belatedly introduce one of our new fall/winter yarns, one that had the misfortune of arriving at a particularly busy moment, and whose blog post was put off for far too long. We’re happy to announce that we now carry DK weight Bluefaced Leicester wools from West Yorkshire Spinners!

West Yorkshire Spinners is a yarn company in the UK, and like Baa Ram Ewe, their focus is on producing high quality yarns from British wool, and revitalizing the textile industry in their home of Yorkshire.

Above is their Fleece Bluefaced Leicester DK, undyed 100 gram hanks of smooth, soft wool. It comes in three natural shades, reminiscent, of course, of the sheep themselves. Each skein has 244 yards, enough for a hat, cowl, or pair of mitts. Two skeins will make a nice shawl – consider “Parkin.”

WYS also makes a dyed version of this wool, the simply-named Bluefaced Leicester DK. It comes in 50 gram balls with 122 yards, and my first thought on seeing them was that they ought to be paired with a contrasting shade of Fleece Bluefaced Leicester DK for some colorwork or stripes.

A “Fancy Hen” was where I started brainstorming, having loved the one I knit for my niece and the one Anne knit for her granddaughter. Pick two or three colors between the dyed and the undyed Bluefaced Leicester DK yarns and try one of the following:

“Epistropheid,” colorwork hat by Kate Davies
“Gimmers,” sheepy colorwork mitts by Ann Kingstone
“Duotone Cowl,” striped cowl by Orange Flower Yarn
“The Easy Ombre Slouch Hat,” by Paul S Neary
“Clayoquot Toque,” colorwork hat by tincanknits

Look for these WYS in the DK weight section here at the shop. See you there!

New colors in Baa Ram Ewe Titus.

Posted by Julia on November 2, 2016

Yes, those four new shades in Dovestone DK also came in Titus, Baa Ram Ewe’s signature yarn.

Titus is a fingering weight blend of alpaca, wensleydale, and bluefaced leicester wools, sourced and spun entirely in the UK. We’re proud to have been the first US stockist of the stuff, back in 2012 when it came in just one color. Since then, Titus has been warmly embraced by knitters, crocheters, and weavers all over the world, and the palette has expanded considerably. Here’s just a sliver.

Beyond this group of colors, there are a range of blues, neutrals, pastels, and others. This growing collection of shades makes me think colorwork, my favorite knitting technique. To that end, I’m happy to report that we recently got two new colorwork sweater patterns designed for Titus by Marie Wallin.

Look for even more Titus inspiration on our “Fingering weight” Pinterest board. Come by the shop to see the full selection of Titus, and three shop samples knit with this special stuff to give you a tangible sense of the possibilities!

Dovestone DK: new colors, Yorkshire Shores, show and tell.

Posted by Julia on October 31, 2016

Our recent shipment from Baa Ram Ewe contained more than just the new Dovestone Natural Aran. We also got four new shades of Dovestone DK, a blend of masham, wensleydale, and bluefaced leicester wools.

Playful red, orange, and purple brighten up the palette, while a mossy green fills out the selection of darker shades.

We also got a beautiful new book from Baa Ram Ewe called Yorkshire Shores, filled with gansey-inspired garments and accessories knit in Dovestone DK.

Between Yorkshire Shores, Carol Feller’s Dovestone Hills, the Landmark Collection and Dovestone Smallholding, we are bursting with uses for Dovestone DK, a yarn that has become a real favorite of ours. In fact, Anne and I both recently finished projects with Dovestone DK. Here’s Anne’s “Fancy Hen,” a gift for her youngest granddaughter. You may recall that I knit one last year as a gift for my niece; this is such a fun pattern that I’d like to knit another. I love the colors Anne chose for her hen!

My own Dovestone DK show-and-tell is “Epistrophy,” a cardigan from Kate Davies’ Yokes.

I’m so pleased with this sweater. The yarn was a delight to work with, every stitch, the pattern well-written, and the construction of this sweater and sweaters like it is one I always find so satisfying to execute: bottom-up, in the round, looking forward to the fun colorwork all along, then finished with a steek and special buttons.

Come by the shop to get a closer look at Dovestone DK and all the patterns and books that go with it, and as soon as the weather cooperates, you’ll find me there with this sweater on. See you soon!

Hello, Dovestone Natural Aran.

Posted by Julia on October 28, 2016

I’m delighted to announce the newest yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop: meet Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone Natural Aran.

Dovestone Natural Aran is made of the same good stuff as Dovestone DK: 50% bluefaced leicester, 25% masham, and 25% wensleydale wools, all sourced and spun in the UK. It’s soft but wooly, springy with a bit of drape, and comes in 5 undyed colors, the natural shades of the sheep.

We picked up a sample skein of this lovely stuff from the Baa Ram Ewe booth at TNNA (thanks, Verity!), and had been mulling over what to make with it all summer. Other fall samples were planned and knit, but our precious skein of Dovestone Natural Aran had to wait until inspiration struck. Last week, Anne mused, “What about a pillow for the couch?” and that is exactly what I’m working on now. The pattern is “Snap, Crackle, and Pop,” a trio of knit pillows; “Snap” is what’s on my needles, and I’m enjoying every stitch.

For more pattern ideas, look to The Dovestone Natural Aran Collection, which offers sweaters for adults and children, along with a few accessory patterns. Also check our Worsted and Aran weight boards on Pinterest, as I find this yarn knits up happily at either of those gauges.

See you at the shop!

New colors from Baa Ram Ewe.

Posted by Julia on February 6, 2016

The folks at UK yarn company Baa Ram Ewe dreamed up two new colors for their Titus and Dovestone DK yarns, and I’m happy to report that we now have them on our shelves here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

The two yarns take the dye differently, coming out bright and clear in Titus, but deeper and heathered in Dovestone DK. “Lotherton” is a bright turquoise, and “Rhubarb” is a hot pink.

These new shades are definitely the boldest we’ve seen from Baa Ram Ewe, yet they fit nicely into the color palette, offering new opportunities for high-contrast color combinations.

Dovestone DK is a dk weight blend of 50% bluefaced leicester, 25% masham, and 25% wensleydale wools, all sourced and spun in the UK. It’s a nice big 100 gram hank with 252 yards, plenty for a hat, pair of mitts, or small cowl. For pattern ideas, look to Carol Feller’s Dovestone Hills booklet, Kate Davies’ Buachaille, and our “DK weight” board on Pinterest.

Titus is a fingering weight blend of 50% wensleydale wool, 30% alpaca, and 20% bluefaced leicester wool. There’s plenty of pattern inspiration for Titus to be found on our “Fingering weight” Pinterest board, of course, and we’ve seen some beautiful Titus projects here on the blog over the years, but we wont turn our nose up at new patterns for Titus, either.

Titus Mini Knits is a collection of accessories knit and crocheted in Titus, from mitts and socks to hats and cowls. CoopKnits Toasty Vol. 2 is another round of accessories in Titus from designer Rachel Coopey, whose colorwork patterns look like such fun.

Come by the shop to see all the new goodies from Baa Ram Ewe, and consider Titus or Dovestone DK for your next project!

Hello, Cutthroat Yarn Gradient BFL.

Posted by Julia on January 27, 2016

We’re delighted to announce that we now carry Gradient BFL from Cutthroat Yarn!

Gradient BFL is a 100% superwash bluefaced leicester wool in a fingering weight, and it’s hand-dyed by Cutthroat Yarn founder Jeanette Ward in Leesburg, Virginia. We’re always on the lookout for locally-sourced yarns, and plied self-stiping yarns, too; Gradient BFL fills both of these needs nicely.

Each 100 gram skein has 443 yards, enough for a shawlette, hat, cowl, pair of mitts or socks. Use Gradient BFL anywhere self-striping yarn is called for, like Stephen West’s “Spectra” or “Daybreak,” Melinda VerMeer’s “Nymphalidea,” or Melissa La Barre’s “September Circle.” Some patterns that don’t call for self-striping yarn look equally lovely in gradient yarns like these; consider Hilary Smith Callis’s “Starshower,” Martina Behm’s “Hitchhiker,” or Kelly McClure’s “Sockhead Slouch Hat.”

Instead of choosing from a set selection of colorways, we asked that Jeanette dye a few of her favorites for us, and we love what she came up with. The colors have no names or numbers, and may never be duplicated, so be sure you get enough for your project! Look for Cutthroat Yarn Gradient BFL in the fingering weight section here at the shop.

New colors in Yarn Hollow Photograph.

Posted by Julia on December 30, 2015

Five new shades of Yarn Hollow Photograph are brightening a special basket here at the shop.

Yarn Hollow is a yarn company that has grown from one dyer in her garage to a three-person hand-dyeing operation out of Grandville, Michigan. For almost three years now, we’ve stocked Yarn Hollow’s Photograph, a worsted weight 100% bluefaced leicester wool.

Each skein 4 oz skein boasts 250 yards, a good-sized chunk of yarn at about 5 stitches per inch. Pick up one skein for a “Dustland Hat” or “Cumberland” cowl, two skeins for a “Big Herringbone Cowl,” or three for a “Range” wrap–all well-loved worsted weight patterns that we’ve knit as shop samples over the years. Check our “Worsted weight” board on Pinterest for more pattern ideas!

Look for Yarn Hollow Photograph in the worsted weight section here at the shop. See you there!