Tag Archives: briggs & little

Show and tell: Fleece Artist / Handmaiden.

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Time for another round of show and tell! I’ve been collecting photos of your finished projects, as usual, and noticed a colorful little cluster of hand knits all made with Fleece Artist / Handmaiden yarns. These yarns are dyed entirely by hand in tiny batches – just enough for a single sweater at a time – and have become favorites here at HYS in the short time we’ve stocked them. Let’s see what folks are making…

Here’s a close up on Kristin’s PetiteKnit “Sophie Hood,” knit with Briggs & Little Sport in Washed White, Handmaiden Superkid Silk in Fire Opal, and Isager Silk Mohair in 0. This color and fiber blend is magical!

Victoria’s “Malva” sweater is another magical blend, knit with Kelbourne Woolens Scout in Burnt Orange Heather and Handmaiden Superkid Silk in Cranberry Chutney. Pattern by Tiia Reho, from Laine Finnish Knits.

Anne blended Handmaiden Superkid Silk in Mineral with the sadly discontinued Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Worsted in this “Lento” sweater. Pattern by Jonna Helin.

This fiber blend is particularly velvety, with just enough drape – come by the shop to touch and admire it, as Anne has put it up for display until the weather cools down!

Margaretta has been experimenting with variegated sock yarn lately, working with texture patterns that break up the color pooling in lovely and intriguing ways. Shown here: Mone Dräger’s “Chains Socks” and Yvette Noel’s “Papillotes,” both in Fleece Artist Bluenose Socks. Colorways shown are Lupins and Bullrush, respectively.

Many thanks to the knitters who shared their projects with us today, and to everyone who starts their project with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We are inspired by your stitches and can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

“Sophie Hood” in Sport, Superkid Silk, and Silk Mohair.

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Anne cast on for her PetiteKnit “Sophie Hood” on one of the coldest days of winter, suddenly recognizing the urgent need for just such an accessory. She finished it just when the weather warmed up again, and thought she might have missed the window to wear it. But winter’s not yet over, and when the temperature dipped again, she had her chance!

Anne knit her little red “Sophie Hood” with three strands of yarn held together. For structure, she used Briggs & Little Sport, a single ply wool. For added softness, warmth, and color, she added Hand Maiden Superkid Silk and Isager Silk Mohair.

We are all smitten with the resulting fabric, a vibrant red with subtle streaks of orange, fuchsia, and burgundy that liven up this simple garter stitch hood.

We couldn’t resist picking out alternate colorways in the same magical trio of yarns – here are some ideas!

 

If you prefer to work with a single strand of yarn for your “Sophie Hood,” check out Isager Soft and Alpaca 3, Fibre Co. & Make Aran, and Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed in our aran weight section.

See you at the shop!

Thanksgiving break, colorwork show and tell.

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As you may have read in our most recent newsletter, the shop will be closed for our usual Thanksgiving break from November 24 – 29. Feel free to place online orders or email inquiries during that time, but know that we won’t be monitoring our inbox until we’re back in the shop on November 30! We wish you all a peaceful and safe holiday.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy more show and tell, this time featuring colorwork projects!

Anne knit this “Spooky Hat,” by RosiePosieKnitCo, using Malabrigo Rios – all the contrast colors were leftovers from other projects, a great way to use them up!

Pam loves to do colorwork with Malabrigo Rios, too – here’s her “Dog Star,” a favorite pattern designed for all ages by Tin Can Knits.

Molly knit this “Machrihanish” vest using Cascade 220 Fingering, selecting and ordering the colors from a distance during our long closure. We were thrilled to see how beautifully it came together – there’s nothing like seeing yarn and handknit garments in person! Pattern by Kate Davies.

Above is Victoria’s “Lehto,” a pattern from Anna Johanna’s book Strands of Joy. She used Briggs & Little Sport for the main color and Kelbourne Woolens Andorra for the contrast color, and I must mention that this is her very first sweater – bravo, Victoria!

Thanks to Anne, Pam, Molly, and Victoria 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.

New colors in Briggs & Little Sport.

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This unassuming brown paper package hides the bold colors within – four new shades of Briggs & Little Sport!

Briggs & Little Sport is a delightfully affordable single ply wool from Canada, boasting 430 yards on each 4 oz skein.

Its rustic texture means it’s not especially soft to the touch, but it has a sticky quality to it, making it perfectly suited to felting and stranded colorwork knitting. Once knit, the stitches cling to each other, which is handy for steeking, since it takes some serious pulling and stretching for the cut stitches to unravel.

What to knit with Briggs & Little Sport? A Ravelry search showed that knitters are using this yarn for all kinds of colorwork projects. Consider Jennifer Steingass’s “Darkwater,” Ysolda Teague’s “Threipmuir,” Carrie Bostick-Hoge’s “Branches & Buds Pullover,” or Erica Smith’s “Coronal” and “Anstruther” hats. If colorwork isn’t your thing, check out Erica Smith’s “Diode” and “Catenary Sport” hats.

Look for Briggs & Little Sport in the sport weight section here at our shop!