Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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!

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket!

Kelbourne Woolens is the source of some of our most popular yarns, beloved for the variety of high quality fibers they produce and the accessible price. Their latest is here at our shop – meet Cricket!

Kelbourne Woolens Cricket:

  • fingering weight
  • single ply
  • tweed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 415 yards/100g
  • $24 each

Cricket is a lighter weight version of KW’s popular Lucky Tweed, and comes in all the same colors.

Like Lucky Tweed, Cricket is manufactured in Donegal, Ireland, for an authentic tweed look and soft hand.

A few months ago, the folks at Kelbourne Woolens sent us a small ball of Cricket for swatching. I was the lucky knitter who got that job, and gave it a go in simple stockinette, first on a US 4, and then on a US 6 with a strand of Isager Silk Mohair in a contrasting color.

We’re expecting a Cricket pattern collection from Kelbourne Woolens early in the new year, but in the meantime, here are some pattern ideas that are a good fit for this new yarn!

For a single strand of Cricket:

For Cricket held together with Silk Mohair:

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

What to knit with BT Tones Light?

Brooklyn Tweed’s new yarn, Tones Light, is already turning heads here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. What to knit with this colorful stuff? Here are some ideas!

Jared Flood designed two new patterns especially for this yarn, “Shadow Stripe Pullover” and “All Ways Hat.”

“Shadow Stripe Pullover,” by Jared Flood, photo © Brooklyn Tweed

“All Ways Hat,” by Jared Flood, photo © Brooklyn Tweed

Because Tones Light can easily substitute for Loft or Peerie, there’s a world of patterns to choose from; here are some ideas from both the Brooklyn Tweed pattern archive and independent designers!

Garments:

“The Weekender Light,” by Andrea Mowry – reverse stockinette pullover with slip stitch detail

“Bract,” by Sarah Shephard – colorwork yoke pullover with triangle motif

“Stasis,” by Leila Raven – colorwork yoke pullover with geometric motif

“Birkin,” by Caitlin Hunter – colorwork yoke pullover with floral motif

“Hello From My Colors Crop,” by Jessie Maed – short sleeved pullover with all over stranded colorwork

“Berenice,” by Julie Hoover – lace and cable pullover

“Culm,” by Fiona Alice – textured dolman-sleeved pullover

“Woodblock,” by Emily Greene – textured short-sleeved pullover

“Wool & Honey,” by Andrea Mowry – honeycomb cable yoke pullover

Accessories:

“Skipp,” by Jared Flood – brioche hat

“Seeds,” by Jared Flood – colorwork hat

“Ensata Scarf & Cowl,” by Amy van de Laar – lace and ribbing

“Nysa,” by Jared Flood – garter stitch and eyelet shawl

“SSP (slip stitch party) shawl,” by Isabell Kraemer – six color slip stitch shawl

“Lunae,” by Natasja Hornby – two color slip stitch shawl

I’m the lucky knitter with the assignment of making a shop sample in Tones Light, and all of these vibrant colors had me thinking of Stephen West. I picked “Painting Parallelograms” from Painting Shawls, a slip stitch scarf whose shape and texture intrigued me. I picked three shades of Tones Light for the contrast colors, and a speckled skein of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock for the main – here’s a peek at my progress so far.

Look for BT Tones Light in the fingering weight section here at HYS – see you at the shop!

Scout + Halibut.

We were delighted to receive a box full of Kelbourne Woolens Scout today, the soft and sturdy wool that’s become a staple in our DK weight section.

Kelbourne Woolens Scout

  • DK weight
  • 2ply, worsted spun
  • 100% wool
  • 274 yards/100 grams
  • $18 each

Caitlin Hunter’s recent “Halibut” sweater makes good use of Scout – as does the “Halibut Hat” and “Halibut Cowl,” a trio of colorwork patterns with a delightfully large fish motif.

“Halibut,” by Caitlin Hunter. Photo © Caitlin Hunter

You’ll need a high contrast color combination to show the pattern clearly – here are a few ideas!

In case halibut aren’t your cup of tea, here are a few other 2-color patterns suitable for Scout.

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Scout in the DK weight section here at our shop – we’re open from 11:00 am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. You can also order online for local pickup or shipping – just use our online order form!

Show and tell: colorwork.

Time for another round of show and tell, this time featuring colorwork projects!

Susan knit this “Pātikitiki Hat” with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a mesmerizing colorwork pattern by Francoise Danoy.

Here’s another inspiring colorwork hat – Becki’s “Kasilof,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Tones. Pattern by Caitlin Hunter.

Linda sent us this photo of her finished “Hinterland,” knit with Mountain Meadow Wool Cody for the main color and Malabrigo Arroyo for the contrast. Pattern by Jennifer Steingass.

Same pattern, same yarns, different Linda – another gorgeous “Hinterland” is underway! I always love seeing the same pattern in different colors.

Here’s Pam in her “Embers” pullover, knit with Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03; pattern by Tin Can Knits. Pam loves colorwork knitting, and came with two other sweaters for show and tell, too!

Here’s her “Illuminate” pullover, also knit with Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03. She omitted the stripes on the body and chose high contrast colors for a more graphic effect at the yoke, and it looks great in this smooth, solid yarn. Pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Here’s Pam’s third finished sweater, “Bean & Olive,” knit with Berroco Ultra Wool DK. Pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Thanks to Susan, Becki, Linda, Linda, and Pam 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.

52 Weeks of Socks – now in paperback!

Laine’s popular 52 Weeks of Socks is now out in paperback!

This tome includes 52 patterns for knitting socks and slippers, an astonishingly large collection, and a beautiful one. You can see them all on Ravelry, a virtual way to browse the book; the list of designers is impressive, including Joji Locatelli, Isabell Kraemer, Dawn Henderson, Paula Pereira, Rachel Coopey, Andrea Mowry, and Caitlin Hunter.

52 Weeks of Socks is heavy with inspiring patterns using a variety of techniques, but it is also a beautiful object unto itself. Like all Laine publications, the photography is tantalizing, the color palette soothing and evocative.

 

This paperback edition is $19.99, an outstanding price for 52 patterns – look for it here at the shop, or order online for local pickup or shipping!

We also have the following Laine publications in stock at this time:

Show and tell: more sweaters!

It’s been fun going back through show and tell photos from Instagram over the past year since our closure – there are so many incredible projects to share. Let’s take a look at some sweaters!

Like many of us, Linda spent much of the past year finishing lingering projects, and here she is modeling one of them – “Galloway,” a colorwork cardigan designed by Jared Flood for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

Above is Rosi’s “Cloudy Blouse,” an intricate embroidered pullover designed by Helga Isager for Isager Spinni.

Here’s Pat in her “Donner,” knit with Malabrigo Caprino and trimmed with Shibui Haven.

Linda knit this “Orime” top with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a smooth and springy yarn that’s perfect for showing off the subtle stitch pattern in Veronik Avery’s design.

Here’s Laura, showing off her beautiful “Zahavi,” designed by Emily Greene for Brooklyn Tweed Arbor – another yarn with superb stitch definition.

Above is Patricia’s “Peace Lily Blouse,” knit for her daughter using Kelbourne Woolens Mojave. She modified this cropped top by lengthening the ribbing, a clever and easy fix that changes the whole look of the garment.

Here’s Denise’s first ever steeked sweater, Caitlin Hunter’s “Ramblin Woman” cardigan, knit with Isager Jensen.

Thanks to Linda, Rosi, Pat, Linda, Laura, Patricia, and Denise for sharing their work with us! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Klimt (left) and Butte (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor:

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

This shipment brought us eight of the most popular shades of Arbor, a few pops of color and lots of neutrals. 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! Just fill out our online order form.

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Rainier (left) and Norway (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Heron (left) and Porter (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Driftwood (left) and Thaw (right).

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:

  • “Kirigami,” by Gudrun Johnston – bottom-up seamless pullover with textured yoke
  • “Geiger,” by Norah Gaughan – tailored, intricately cabled cardigan, knit in pieces
  • “Soldotna Crop,” by Caitlin Hunter – top-down, short-sleeved, cropped colorwork pullover
  • “Dog Star,” by Tin Can Knits – bottom-up seamless pullover with colorwork yoke

We’re happy to help you plan your next project – order online, we can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for supporting our small business!

Back in stock: Kelbourne Woolens Perennial.

We recently restocked some of the most popular colors of Kelbourne Woolens Perennial, a soft and fuzzy fingering weight yarn.

Kelbourne Woolens Perennial:

  • light fingering weight
  • 60% superwash merino, 25% Suri alpaca, 15% nylon
  • 497 yards/100g
  • $26 each

The folks at Kelbourne Woolens have designed this yarn to be something of a staple – soft from the alpaca but sturdy from the nylon, easy care on account of the superwash merino, suitable for all kinds of projects.

Browsing through Perennial projects on Ravelry, Joji Locatelli’s “Cedar Pullover” caught my eye – though it originally called for a linen yarn held double, several knitters had made it with Perennial held double. This got me thinking… wouldn’t it be lovely to hold Perennial together with a linen yarn? A little bit of fuzz, a bit of cool drape – a balanced fiber blend for a three-season sweater.

For nearly matching colors that would bring depth and a hint of marled variation to the knitted fabric, I looked to Shibui Koan. It’s also a light fingering weight, composed of 70% linen and 30% silk, with 247 yards/50 g; $21 each.

Knitters on Ravelry have also used Perennial for Caitlin Hunter’s “Navelli,” a cropped, short-sleeved colorwork pullover. Since the main color requires so much more yardage than the contrast colors, I picked pairs of Isager Alpaca 2, which comes in smaller skeins.

Isager Alpaca 2 is composed of 50% alpaca, 50% merino, with 275 yards on each 50 g skein; $12 each.

Order online if one of these “Cedar Pullover” or “Navelli” colorways intrigues you, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! Just let us know what size you’re planning and we’ll double check the yardage requirements.

We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for supporting our small business!

New colors in Fibre Co. Lore.

We’re thrilled to have 4 new colors of Fibre Co. Lore in stock!

Fibre Co. Lore:

  • DK weight
  • woolen spun
  • 100% Romney Wool
  • 276 yards/100g
  • $21 each

Lore is robust for a DK weight, knitting up comfortably between 5 and 5.5 stitches per inch in stockinette stitch. With its toothy texture, it’s not the softest fiber in our shop, but it’s sturdy and full of character, just the kind of yarn I love most!

What to knit with Lore? It’s versatile stuff, and looks excellent in simple stockinette, eye-catching colorwork, complex cables, and other rich textures. Here are some pattern ideas to inspire:

Head to our online order form if you’d like to place an order for local pickup or shipping – thanks for all your support!