Tag Archives: color combinations

Dream in Color Pop-Up! Club: February.

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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. February’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

Smooshy with Cashmere is a super soft blend of superwash merino wool, cashmere, and nylon – perfect for a special shawl or pair of socks. A skein like this would make a great “Starshower,” “Pebble Beach Shawl,” “Sockhead Slouch Hat” or “Sockhead Cowl,” all patterns that do well with variegated yarn.

As I was unpacking these vibrant skeins, I noticed how well they played with the brightest shades of Lady Dye Superwash Fingering – these three skeins would make a striking “Free Your Fade,” by Andrea Mowry!

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these pretty skeins directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront remains closed to walk-ins!

Courage Shawl.

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Shannon Cook’s “Courage Shawl” has been a popular one at our shop, and though we don’t carry exactly the marled, self-striping yarn it calls for, we’ve always come up with appealing substitutes. This pattern came to my mind again recently as I rediscovered Reynolds Odyssey, a marled, self-striping wool that’s been hiding in plain sight in our worsted weight section for years!

Reynolds Odyssey:

  • worsted weight
  • marled, self-striping
  • 100% merino wool
  • 104 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

The “Courage Shawl” is made with three colors: two solid shades, and one of these marled self-stripers. For the solids, I went with the hearty Kelbourne Woolens Germantown and the oh-so-soft Austermann Merino Silk.

Austermann Merino Silk:

  • worsted weight
  • 70% merino, 22% silk, 8% cashmere
  • 125 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

I had so much fun putting these “Courage Shawl” colorways together, and naming them after different kinds of courage – I hope you like them, too! Each of these bundles is $65, the pattern is an additional $7.

Order online to make a “Courage Shawl” of your own!

Nest + Silk Cloud + Standing Tall!

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Here’s another soft and squishy Shibui yarn pairing, a bit like the “Helix” hat I wrote about earlier this month, but with a twist.

In her “Standing Tall, Hat & Cowl Collection,” designer Lucinda Iglesias matches Shibui Nest with Shibui Silk Cloud, a delightful combination that’s just right for a cozy hat or cowl.

The pattern includes instructions for two hats and cowls – a simpler set as well as a cabled variation. The simpler version is shown here in gray, mostly stockinette with a swath of ribbing; the cabled one is below, in red.

 

 

Shibui Nest:  DK weight, 75% fine Highland wool, 25% alpaca, 175 yards/50 g; $20 each ($22 for Julie Hoover colorways)

Shibui Silk Cloud:  lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each ($28.50 for Julie Hoover colorways)

 

  • For either of the hats: 1 skein each of Nest and Silk Cloud
  • For either of the cowls: 2 skeins of Nest and 1 skein of Silk Cloud
  • For a matching set: 3 skeins of Nest and 2 skeins of Silk Cloud

Shibui’s colorways are the same from yarn to yarn, though each shade looks a little different depending on the fibers in play. Most of these pairs are made from matching colorways, but a few are near matches, which will bring a little more depth to the resulting fabric.

The pattern is free when you buy 1 skein each of Nest and Silk Cloud – we’ll print a copy and include it in your order.

Pick your favorite color combination and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Cold Brew and Breakfast in Bed.

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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. This month, we got not one, but TWO new colorways!

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Cold Brew is dyed on KPPPM, Koigu’s classic fingering weight merino that we’ve come to know so well throughout the Collector’s Club.

Koigu Sparkle:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 94% merino wool, 6% lurex – silver metallic
  • 164 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

Breakfast in Bed is a neutral colorway with streaks of darker gray, brown, and a silver shimmer. It’s dyed on Sparkle, Koigu’s metallic cousin to KPPPM.

© Tif Neilan – tif handknits –

What to make with all these Koigu Collector’s Club colorways? Tif Neilan’s latest pattern gave us a great idea – pair Koigu with Isager Alpaca 1 for a “Clove & Twine Toque!” 

This cozy and clever hat is knit with three strands of yarn held together – two of the same fingering weight and one mohair or alpaca lace weight, which gives the hat a soft halo.

This yarn combining does interesting things with color, too – variegated yarn held double tends to look more blended than streaky, and the fine, fuzzy lace weight yarn tints the fabric just so, if the colors aren’t too high contrast.

I had so much fun putting these color combinations together, and riffing on Neilan’s pattern name a bit, I named them for spices and seasonings.

 

Our “Clove & Twine” yarn bundles are $43; Tif Neilan’s pattern is sold separately for $6.50. Pick your favorite flavor and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Back in stock: Kelbourne Woolens Perennial.

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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!

Haven + Silk Cloud + Helix!

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Shellie Anderson’s “Helix” has been a popular project here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop lately, a simple hat made elegant with the use of truly luxurious fibers.

To make “Helix,” you’ll need 1 skein each of Shibui Haven and Shibui Silk Cloud, yarns that are known for their softness. Together they are an extra special treat for the hands.

Shibui Haven:  DK weight, 80% merino, 20% cashmere, 160 yards/50 g; $25 each

Shibui Silk Cloud:  lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each

The pattern is free when you buy 1 skein each of Haven and Silk Cloud to make the hat – we’ll print a copy and include it in your order.

Pick your favorite color combination and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Dapple.

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Dapple was one of the brand new yarns we brought in last year, Brooklyn Tweed’s first departure from wool – a DK weight blend of organic cotton and merino. It’s been popular here at our shop, so we jumped as soon as BT had more in stock. Delighted to report that we now have a fresh supply on hand!

Brooklyn Tweed Dapple:

  • DK weight
  • woolen-spun, tonally dyed
  • 60% merino wool, 40% organic cotton
  • 165 yards/50 g
  • $15.25 each

Dapple is tonally dyed, meaning skeins in the same colorway differ from one another even in the same dye lot. Some are lighter, some are darker, some almost look marled! This isn’t immediately apparent when looking at one skein of Dapple at a time, so I’ve laid out big groups in a few colorways to give a better sense of the variety. You can see each color laid out this way on our first Dapple blog post, and lots of pattern ideas on our second.

Tamy Gore recently published a gorgeous colorwork pullover designed for Dapple, “Graphic Elements.” When our big box of Dapple arrived, this sweater was exactly where my mind went – here are some color combinations to get you started planning your own!

Tamy Gore’s lovely original colorway is shown above, and below are those I put together – I’ve named them for some of the basic elements of graphic design, all concepts we see again and again in the knitting world.

Order Dapple online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail Shipping – thanks again for your support and understanding as we remain closed to walk-ins!

Back in stock: Cascade 220 Fingering.

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We’ve been busy restocking for the new year ahead, filling in on yarns whose numbers had dwindled. Cascade 220 Fingering is one such yarn, an economical fingering weight wool that we’re delighted to have back in stock!

Cascade 220 Fingering:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% wool
  • 275 yards/50 g
  • $5.25 each

What to make with Cascade 220 Fingering? It’s great for colorwork – here are some pattern ideas and color combinations, both in pairs and trios!

  • “Dissent Toque,” by Andrea Rangel – 2 color hat inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent collar
  • “Ino,” by Audrey Borrego – 2 color cowl
  • “Effie,” by Skeindeer Knits – 2 color Selbu mittens

Order online for local pickup or shipping – we’re happy to connect you with any of the combinations you see here, or put together a custom colorway just for you!

Andorra + Tweed Silk Cloud.

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We recently replenished our supply of Kelbourne Woolens Andorra, a bouncy sport weight blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra:

  • sport weight
  • 60% merino wool, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair
  • 185 yards/50 g
  • $12 each

Not long ago, I put together some color combinations for a knitter interested in combining Andorra with a lace weight mohair for Jacqueline Cieslak’s “Water Born” headwrap. I noticed that the Andorra color palette lined up beautifully with Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud, matching in places or providing a bit of contrast and interest in others.

Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud:

What else to make with these delightful pairs? Check out PetiteKnit’s “Anker’s Hat,” Isabell Kraemer’s “Leni” hat, or Emily Luis’s “Frida” headband.

Anxious to get some mohair on your needles? Order online for local pickup or shipping! We’ll be closed on January 1, but are otherwise here for orders and pickups between 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Comfy Cozy and Admit One.

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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. This month, we got not one, but TWO new colorways!

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Comfy Cozy is dyed on KPPPM, Koigu’s classic fingering weight merino that we’ve come to know so well throughout the Collector’s Club.

Koigu Sparkle:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 94% merino wool, 6% lurex – silver metallic
  • 164 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

Admit One is a playful pastel colorway with streaks of brighter shades and a silver shimmer. It’s dyed on Sparkle, Koigu’s metallic cousin to KPPPM.

What to make with all these Koigu Collector’s Club colorways? Just as we have two new colorways, we also have two pattern suggestions with color combinations – Anne and I each had an idea this time, and we both happened to pair up Koigu with a Brooklyn Tweed yarn!

Ankestrick’s new “Sydvester” pullover caught Anne’s eye, an intriguing slip stitch pattern combining fingering and worsted weight yarns. She suggests Brooklyn Tweed Shelter and Koigu for this project, her interest piqued by the interplay of rustic heathers and playful variegates.

I had Francoise Danoy’s “Ocean Pathways Cowl” in mind for the following combinations.

For this pattern, I selected three shades of Koigu KPPPM or Sparkle for the contrast colors, and a darker shade of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie for the background color.

Order online to snag any of the Collector’s Club colorways pictured above, with or without their Brooklyn Tweed counterparts! They’re all available for local pickup or shipping while supplies last.