Show and tell: colorwork accessories.

Posted by Julia on April 12, 2018

Time for another round of show and tell! Colorful knitting projects are popular around here – I had enough colorwork hats to fill a recent blog post, and now I’m back with other colorwork accessories.

Is a stuffed chicken an accessory? Whatever category it belongs in, Amy’s “Fancy Hen” is adorable, and beautifully knit. In preparation for a class on the subject earlier this year, she knit this charming chicken with Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK, a yarn well-suited to stranded colorwork.

Ellen knit these intricate colorwork mittens with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. The pattern is from Jorid Linvik’s Big Book of Knitted Mittens, a great resource if colorwork mittens are your cup of tea. A cute pair of mittens is a great starting place for learning and practicing stranded knitting, just like a hat or any small accessory.

Here’s Margie in her “Fresco Crescent” shawl, by Kieran Foley. This shawl is an impressive combination of knitting techniques from lace and stranded knitting to intarsia, stripes, and beading.

She used Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in a big palette of neutrals, reds, pinks, oranges, and yellows, working these colors intuitively into the piece as she went, rather than planning it all out ahead of the knitting.

Gwen’s “Hudson” shawl, by Shannon Cook, is a simpler design of stripes and lace, but no less striking. Gwen’s color choice in Ewe Ewe Baa Baa Bulky is particularly eye-catching; she knit it to wear to a spring wedding and finished just in the nick of time.

Karin knit not one, but two pairs of Rachel Coopey’s “Alfrick” socks, using Coopey’s own CoopKnits Socks Yeah! yarn for both projects.

Thanks as always to the talented knitters who shared their work here today, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. I’ve got even more colorwork show-and-tell in store for the coming weeks – stay tuned!

Show and tell: for little ones.

Posted by Julia on January 10, 2018

Our last round of show and tell focused primarily on adult sweaters, which are satisfying to see completed in part because they’re such big projects, and also because there’s a great need for them to fit just so. When they come out to our expectations, we’re especially happy. Garments for little ones take less time to make, but they hold a different set of hopes, just as dear to us. Here are some baby and children’s knits we’ve seen completed of late.

Emily knit this “In Threes” cardigan with Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted, a super-soft superwash merino yarn that is ideal for baby projects.

Paula has been knitting with Wooly Worsted, too, preparing for the birth of her grandson-to-be. She recently completed this “Baby Turtle Frenzy Blanket,” designed by our own Amy Wentley, and backed it with fabric to make a spectacular nursery wall-hanging.

She didn’t stop there, of course – Paula also knit this little sweater and hat. The pattern is “Lullaby Layette,” and the yarn is CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK, a squishy superwash yarn just right for this kind of project.

Not all baby things must be machine-washable, of course; it’s a matter of preference when it comes to washing woolens by hand. This little sweater was made with Fibre Company Arranmore, a handwash-only blend of merino, silk, and cashmere. I’ve shared Katherine’s “Fisherman’s Pullover” sweater on the blog before, but when we were visited by Elizabeth herself wearing the sweater in question, a photo had to be taken. There is simply something special about a tiny person in a handmade sweater!

Susan knit this lovely “Baby Surprise Jacket” with Fibre Company Acadia, a special gift for a premature baby. This single color version is exquisite in its simplicity, letting the rich color with its tweedy flecks be the star of the show, along with Elizabeth Zimmermann’s genius engineering.

Thanks to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We love hearing your ideas and helping you find just the right yarns and tools to realize them. See you at the shop!

New colors in CoopKnits Socks Yeah!

Posted by Julia on December 21, 2017

Not long ago, we welcomed a bundle of new shades in CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, expanding the palette of that lovely yarn.

Developed by avid sock-designer Rachel Coopey, CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is a hard-wearing, machine-washable blend of superwash merino wool and nylon, and it’s put up in 50 gram, 231 yard hanks.

It now comes in 22 solid colors, many of which are light in value, and both of those features make it ideal for showing off texture patterns, cables, and lace.

Remember CoopKnits Socks Yeah! when your fingering weight project requires sharp stitch definition and durability. You’ll find it in the Fingering Weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, in a little basket bursting with color. See you there!

Happit.

Posted by Julia on November 20, 2017

We’re delighted to have Kate Davies’ newest book on our shelves!

Happit is a small collection of shawls and cowls, paired with a couple of essays by Davies, whose writing about knitting and history is as impressive as her design work.

Several of these designs call for yarns we stock here at the shop. “Fantoosh,” the lace shawl on the cover, is knit with Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply, a hand-dyed yarn we keep in good supply. The two cowls, “Funchal Moebius” and “Betty Mouat Cowl” are made with CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, a favorite easy-care fingering weight wool. We just got a handful of new colors in that yarn – look for a blog post on the subject soon!

Happit makes a lovely addition to our Kate Davies collection, and a good introduction to her work if you’re not yet acquainted with her. Look for it on the teacart here at the shop!

Hello, CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK.

Posted by Julia on September 5, 2017

We’re excited to announce the arrival of another new fall yarn: meet CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK!

Socks Yeah! DK is a thicker version of CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, from designer Rachel Coopey. Both yarns are smooth, tightly plied blends of superwash merino and nylon, which make them perfect for sock-making, as the name suggests. To that end, Coopey has so far published one pattern for this new yarn, a two-tone pair of socks called “Bob.”

But soft, easy-care DK weight yarns have plenty of applications beyond socks. Baby and children’s things come to mind, little sweaters like Dani Sunshine’s “Pixie Dust,” tincanknits’ “Peanut” and “Tenderheart,” and all the squeezable toys from Ella Austin’s Dovestone Smallholding collection. Also consider Socks Yeah! DK for everyday accessories, like Churchmouse’s classic “Welted Fingerless Gloves” and “Welted Cowl & Infinity Loop,” or Sarah Young’s “Rikke Hat.”

Look for more pattern ideas on our “DK weight” Pinterest board, and look for CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK in our DK weight section here at the shop. See you there!

CoopKnits Socks Yeah! Trunk Show.

Posted by Julia on August 12, 2017

Yet a third trunk show has arrived this month: eleven socks from Rachel Coopey’s CoopKnits Socks Yeah! Volume One.

This collection features patterns for Coopey’s own yarn, CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, a hard-wearing, machine-washable blend of superwash merino wool and nylon. The book is sure to keep any sock-knitter interested, with techniques from lace and cables to colorwork and stripes.

Socks Yeah! is particularly well-suited to showing off these techniques, with its smooth texture, high twist, and solid colors. The Trunk Show is a great opportunity to see these socks in person and get a tangible sense of how the yarn behaves in a variety of patterns and colors.

We’re offering a 10% discount on CoopKnits Socks Yeah! during the show, which will be decorating our walls until September 15th. Come by to see it for yourself and plan your next project!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges or returns. Thanks!

Pom Pom Quarterly: Summer 2017.

Posted by Julia on June 12, 2017

The Summer 2017 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly is here again! Our first batch of these beauties sold out the day they arrived, so we are happy to have another bundle on the teacart here at the shop.

This is their 5th anniversary issue, a real milestone for a relatively young print publication. To celebrate, they’ve put together a big special issue with two different covers to choose from, full of celebratory designs with party-themed names.

Above is Linda Dubec’s festive “Bash” hat, knit with Fibre Company Cumbria Fingering, a soft and sturdy blend of merino, masham, and mohair. Below is Julia Farwell-Clay’s “Ceilidh,” an oversized, pocketed pullover knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

Rachel Coopey contributes the “Festoon” socks below, a delightfully textured pair knit with none other than CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, Coopey’s signature sock yarn.

Look for Pom Pom Quarterly on the teacart here at the shop, where the latest books and magazines mingle. See you there!

What’s winding.

Posted by Julia on March 6, 2017

Back in December, we rearranged the front room at the shop a bit, moving the ballwinder from the teacart, shifting a few shelves, and adding a new table. That table houses the swift and ballwinder, a dedicated winding station right by the front window, which does double and triple duty as a window display and a naturally-lit spot for blog photography.

A rainbow of CoopKnits Socks Yeah! getting wound and ready for sock-knitting.

The table came from Anne’s mother’s apartment in New York, where it had been living for many decades before it moved south with Phyllis herself. It’s the perfect shape and size for our space, but it also came, importantly, with good memories for Anne of her mother cutting out patterns there to sew her clothes. Take a close look at its surface next time you’re here at the shop, and you can see dotted lines in the wood from her tracing wheel.

Just as Phyllis began sewing projects on this table, so do we begin knitting and crochet projects here, with that important first step: winding the yarn.

Getting wound up and ready to knit a shop sample in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

Yarns that come in twisted hanks need to be wound into a ball before use, a task that some knitters find pleasure in, but others consider a chore. We have a swift and ballwinder here at the shop to make quick work of that task, and we’re happy to do it for you. Now that the winding station is such a pleasing place to be, I often find myself photographing the yarns that pass through it, admiring the clever and sturdy design of Nancy’s Knit Knacks Heavy Duty Ballwinder. These photos are some of my personal favorites, and they’ll look familiar if you follow us on Instagram.

Winding Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, a “Hadley-Pullover”-to-be.

As I wind yarn at the shop, I’m frequently joined by customers and passers-by, looking on from the worsted weight section or the sidewalk, just enjoying the simple pleasure of the spinning swift and the growing ball of yarn.

Isager Alpaca 2 and Shibui Staccato getting wound and ready to become a “Find Your Fade” shawl.

Come by the shop to plan your next project, and leave with your yarn ready to use right away. See you there!

CoopKnits Socks Yeah! Volume One.

Posted by Julia on December 11, 2016

Rachel Coopey’s newest book has been out a few weeks now, and selling quickly here at the shop. We’ve got a stack of copies on the teacart again, so I figured it’s time to give it a proper introduction here on the blog. Let’s take a peek inside CoopKnits Socks Yeah! Volume One.

Coopey is a prolific designer, seeming never to run out of fresh ideas for sock patterns in particular. This collection features patterns for Coopey’s own yarn, CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, and is sure to keep any sock-knitter interested, with techniques from lace and cables to colorwork and stripes.

Coopey combines colors playfully, bringing unexpected colors together to great effect, no doubt enjoying the newly expanded palette of colors in Socks Yeah! – also freshly stocked here at the shop.

Come by the shop to page through this fun new book, and pick up a few skeins of Socks Yeah! for your next pair. Also check out Marsha’s upcoming class on “Coraline,” one of the cutest patterns of the bunch! Head to our Classes page to sign up.

See you at the shop!

New colors in CoopKnits Socks Yeah!

Posted by Julia on September 27, 2016

Anne and I recently started a Hillsborough Yarn Shop account on Instagram, which means you have another way to keep up with us online if you like. For us, it means we have a new place to browse pretty pictures and find more yarn to order for the shop. It was on Instagram where we first learned that there were new colors to be had in CoopKnits Socks Yeah! We placed an order right away, and I’m happy to report that those pretty new shades have arrived here at the shop!

Developed by avid sock-designer Rachel Coopey, CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is a hard-wearing, machine-washable blend of superwash merino wool and nylon, and it’s put up in 50 gram, 231 yard hanks.

These vibrant new shades are so welcome in the Socks Yeah! palette, which was hungry for higher-contrast combinations. These six shades bring so much to the table: a couple of new dark shades, some bright jewel tones and an unusual pastel.

This newly updated color palette gives us many more options for Coopey’s “Alfrick” socks, a colorwork pattern with a bit of texture on the foot, designed to make a fraternal pair, rather than identical socks. Here are a few ideas!