Tag Archives: fingering weight

My Fair Isle Journey, by Yuco Sakamoto.

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Yuco Sakamoto’s My Fair Isle Journey is here!

My Fair Isle Journey is a bilingual collection of colorwork garments and accessories by Yuco Sakamoto, a knitwear designer and teacher based in Kobe, Japan.

Together with amirisu, Sakamoto traveled to the Shetland Islands to explore the region and its knitting traditions, and this book is the culmination of their journey.

The intricate colorwork cardigans and pullovers, vests, and other accessories in this book are all knit with classic fingering weight Shetland wool – our beloved Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift is highlighted, along with a couple others.

Besides the enchanting knitwear, there are helpful fair isle techniques and tutorials in My Fair Isle Journey, from swatching to steeking.

Look for My Fair Isle Journey and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: Violetear.

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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. Their latest 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
  • $36 each

Violetear is a variegated mix of white, bright blue, and shades of green, with burgundy speckles.

What to knit with these special skeins? Consider “Terra Hue Shawl,” a slip stitch scarf with a woven-looking texture that shines in highly variegated yarn like this. Simple stockinette or garter stitch are also a nice way to spotlight Violetear; consider the “Sockhead Slouch” hat or “Hitchhiker” shawl.

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop!

Islesburgh Toorie.

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We’re so excited about “Islesburgh Toorie,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2024!

This five-color fair isle hat pattern is available to purchase from the Shetland Wool Week website. A new Shetland Wool Week hat pattern is something Anne and I look forward to every year, so we purchased it as soon as it was available, and then went straight to our Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift to play the color game. I spent some time putting together “Islesburgh Toorie” colorways inspired by those shown in the pattern, as well as one of my own!

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 1

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 2

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Colourway 3

Lastly, here’s my own Hillsborough Yarn Shop Palette!

“Islesburgh Toorie,” by the Doull Family, shown in Hillsborough Yarn Shop Palette

Yarn bundles for “Islesburgh Toorie” are $56, and include 6 balls of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift – pattern is sold separately to support Shetland Wool Week. We’re also happy to help you put together your own color combinations from our generous supply of Spindrift – we have over 150 colors in stock!

Come see us or get in touch if you’d like to order a “Islesburgh Toorie” yarn bundle!

“Nasrin” in Camper, Loft, and Tones Light.

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“Nasrin” is a colorwork sweater by Isabell Kraemer, and the subject of Anne’s upcoming class, which starts Saturday, May 18.

“Nasrin,” by Isabell Kraemer, photo copyright Isabell Kraemer

She’s knitting hers with Kelbourne Woolens Camper, a soft fingering weight wool in heathered colors, and an excellent choice for colorwork.

You can choose between the “solid” or “outlined” colorwork motif at the yoke; both charts are included in the pattern. A high contrast color combination shows the pattern best, in my opinion – here are some ideas in Camper!

I also like the idea of flipping the color arrangement so that the main color is dark, and the contrast color at the yoke is light.

Brooklyn Tweed Loft is another yarn that seems designed with colorwork in mind, a woolen-spun fingering weight wool with a bit more structure than Camper.

Loft plays well with Brooklyn Tweed’s other fingering weight yarn, Tones Light – which has a much more vibrant color palette!

Look for all of these and many others in the fingering weight section here at our shop, and read more about Anne’s class if you’re inspired to make a “Nasrin” of your own!

LYS Day 2024: special shades from Koigu!

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Happy Local Yarn Store Day! Come by the shop tomorrow, Saturday, April 27, for 25% off featured yarns and 50% off select books – you can read all about those sales on our recent blog post.

Koigu sent us something special for LYS Day: 3 new Koigu Collector’s Club Colors!

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Each of these limited edition colorways was inspired by Maie Landra’s original paintings and dyeing method. Maie is one of the co-founders of Koigu and designed the original Koigu colours back in the 80s and 90s.

Brave New World, painting by Maie Landra

Brave New World, limited edition Koigu colorway for LYS Day 2024

Analog, painting by Maie Landra

Analog, limited edition Koigu colorway for LYS Day 2024

Connection, painting by Maie Landra

Connection, limited edition Koigu colorway for LYS Day 2024

Pair Brave New World, Analog, or Connection with a fuzzy lace weight yarn and you have the makings of a soft and lovely “Sophie Scarf” or “Oslo Hat – mohair edition,” – here are a few color ideas!

Come by the shop tomorrow, April 27, to celebrate LYS Day and shop our sale! Koigu KPPPM and Isager Silk Mohair will both be 25% off, along with six other featured yarns, one in each gauge section.

Thanks for supporting our shop on LYS Day and every day, we love being your local yarn store!

 

A reminder: all discounted yarns are final sale, no returns or exchanges. Discount applies only to in-stock items, no special orders. Thanks for understanding!

Hello, Sandnes Garn Tynn Line.

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We’re pleased to welcome another yarn from Sandnes Garn in Norway: meet Tynn Line!

Sandnes Garn Tynn Line:

  • light fingering weight
  • 3-ply
  • 53% cotton, 33% viscose, 14% linen
  • 240 yards/50g
  • $7.50 each

Like Sandnes Garn Line, Tynn Line is composed of a unique blend of plant fibers, making it perfect for a variety of knit and crochet projects. It’s cool and breathable for warm weather garments, comfortable and absorbent for homeware items – all in all, a lovely addition to our fingering weight section.

What to make with Tynn Line? Here are some pattern ideas!

Garments:

Homewares:

Look for Sandnes Garn Tynn Line in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and check out other Sandnes Garn yarns while you’re here – find Tynn Silk Mohair in the lace weight section, Sunday in the fingering weight section, Double Sunday in the DK weight section, and Line in the worsted weight section.

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: Mystic Prism.

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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. Their latest 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
  • $36 each

Mystic Prism is a pastel rainbow of pink, aqua, lavender, and butter yellow.

Variegated skeins like these are beautiful on their own – one skein makes a “Sockhead Slouch” hat or “Reyna” shawl – but they always inspire me to create color combinations. Here are a few I put together with the “Temperance Shawl” in mind, a three color garter stitch and eyelet pattern that works well in low, medium, and high contrast color combinations.

  • Malabrigo Ultimate Sock: fingering weight, hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways, 75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon, 420 yards/100g; $21 each

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere and friends in the fingering weight section here at our shop!

Back in stock: Isager Merilin.

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We’re pleased to have Isager Merilin back in stock, with more colors than ever!

Isager Merilin:

  • fingering weight
  • 80% wool, 20% linen
  • 228 yards/50 g
  • $11 each

We’re always on the lookout for plant and animal fiber blends, since they offer the best of both worlds: elasticity and drape, structure and coolness.

Merilin blends merino wool and linen, fibers that take the dye differently, giving the yarn a heathered quality more pronounced in the darker shades.

Years ago, I knit this little swatch showing Merilin on a range of needle sizes, but I have my eye on a bigger project as soon as time allows – a narrower version of Theresa Gaffey’s now-classic “stole.” I can’t wait to pick out colors!

Til then, what else to make with Merilin? Here are a few ideas…

Look for Merilin in the fingering weight section here at the shop, where you may well find your next project. See you there!

Back in stock: CoopKnits Socks Yeah!

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Not long ago, we restocked CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, expanding the palette of that lovely yarn with colors old and new.

CoopKnits Socks Yeah:

  • fingering weight
  • 75% superwash merino wool, 25% nylon
  • 231 yards/50g

Developed by avid sock-designer Rachel Coopey, CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is a hard-wearing, machine-washable sock yarn that comes in solid and heathered shades.

Seeking sock inspiration? We happen to have a fresh supply of Ready Set Socks, Coopey’s collaboration with Pom Pom Press. The patterns in Ready Set Socks are written for both fingering and DK weights, and are beautiful in their simplicity. This makes them a blank slate for modifications – the section on “Variations, Tutorials + Adjustments” will see you through different heels, cuffs, decreases, yarn and color choices, and more.

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!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Pine Grosbeak.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Pine Grosbeak is a fun mix of pink and red, with little streaks of dark gray, cream, and orange – just like the bird it’s named for.

We have two samples at the shop made with Koigu KPPPM, Anne’s “Pressed Flowers Hat” and my “Sophie Scarf.”

Anne knit the “Pressed Flowers Hat” above with Koigu KPPPM and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a soft and springy blend of merino, cashmere, and silk. Here are a few fresh color combinations for this project using Pine Grosbeak as the contrast color.

I knit my “Sophie Scarf” holding Koigu KPPPM together with Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair for a fuzzy blended effect. I can never resist pairing Koigu with mohair, so here are two more ideas!

Koigu looks great in a “Holden” shawl, like this one that Edie knit, featured on our recent show-and-tell post. You could even make a gradient “Holden,” matching Pine Grosbeak with four other Koigu Collector’s Club shades we have in stock.

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.