Tag Archives: fingerless mitts

New from Baa Ram Ewe.

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Our newest yarn, Baa Ram Ewe’s Titus, has received the warmest of welcomes from Hillsborough Yarn Shoppers over the past few weeks. A warm welcome is well deserved, in our opinion; Titus is a special yarn indeed, a fingering weight blend of wool from Wensleydale and Bluefaced Leicester sheep, along with a bit of alpaca, undyed and sourced entirely from the UK. We’re pleased to announce a few new offerings from Baa Ram Ewe, perfectly timed for last minute holiday gift shopping.

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First up: Born and Bred, a collection of patterns by designer Ann Kingstone for Baa Ram Ewe. All of the patterns feature yarn from Yorkshire sheep breeds, and a bit of information about each breed is included in the book, making this a mighty tempting collection for sheep and wool enthusiasts. This fetching hat and fingerless mitt set is made with Titus.

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Also, by happenstance, we came into a small selection of kits from Baa Ram Ewe, which includes patterns and yarn to create the Ilkley Moor hat or Baht’at mitts.

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We also have one kit to make a cabled felted bag with a heavier weight Yorkshire wool from Baa Ram Ewe.

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Come by the shop to see these latest goodies from Baa Ram Ewe, and check out Titus if you haven’t yet!

A new color from Swans Island.

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Last month’s Swans Island Trunk Show inspired many knitters to create garments with Swans Island’s organic merino wool yarns, which put quite a dent in our supply of the stuff. Last week, we placed an order of Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering in some of the most-loved colorways to replenish our stash: Fig, Winterberry, Oatmeal, Beetroot, Early Thyme, and several other deliciously-named colors. We also got the last bag of Sugar Maple, a limited edition color for Fall, and a first bag of this winter’s Limited Edition Dyer’s Choice: Reindeer Moss.

Reindeer Moss is a lovely, muted sage, which puts it somewhere between Early Thyme and Tarragon in terms of color value.

We also restocked the patterns that were most popular during the Trunk Show, some of which call for Swans Island Worsted, and some of which call for the Fingering.

Come by the shop to see Reindeer Moss in person, and give the Swans Island yarns a good squeeze. See you there!

Hello, Sincere Sheep.

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This past Wednesday, a box arrived at the shop that we’ve been eagerly anticipating since June. We’re proud to announce that we now carry three yarns from Sincere Sheep. Based in Northern California, Sincere Sheep produces naturally dyed yarns from U.S. sourced fibers. We met Brooke at TNNA in June and were blown away by the vivid colors she achieves with natural dyes.

I was the lucky knitter who got to play with a skein of Sincere Sheep Equity Sport while we deliberated at market. The Equity Sport is 100% Rambouillet wool, grown and spun in Buffalo, WY. I read up on Rambouillet wool in Clara Parkes’ Knitter’s Book of Wool, a favorite resource, and learned that Rambouillet is a breed of sheep, a relative of Merino known for its soft, springy fiber.

Where Merino stretches and drapes, Rambouillet has a surprising sturdiness, given its softness. I used the Equity Sport to knit a sample fingerless mitt for the shop, a garment it’s well suited to. I also think it would make lovely hats and sweaters.

When we saw that there was an Equity Fingering as well, we had to get both. I think it would be perfect for colorwork projects, or on a bigger needle for draping shawls and cowls.

On the last day of market, we came back to Sincere Sheep to order a third yarn: Luminous, a dk weight blend of Tussah Silk and Polwarth wool. Polwarth is another finewool, like Merino and Rambouillet, but one with a slight sheen and greater strength from longer fibers. Luminous comes in big, 330 yard skeins, enough to do a generous scarf, cowl, or small shawl. We got two patterns from designer Kira Dulaney that call for dk weight yarn with single skeins of Luminous in mind.

Come by the shop to see these gorgeous yarns from Sincere Sheep!

Hello, Green Mountain Spinnery.

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We’re so excited to announce that we now carry two yarns from Green Mountain Spinnery, a Vermont company that makes yarn exclusively from U.S. grown natural fibers. They process those fibers without the use of harsh chemicals, which is better for the world as well as the yarn. Green Mountain Spinnery is also known for its commitment to sustainability and to supporting regional sheep farmers and organic practices, and, oh yes–they are also well known for their beautiful yarns.

When we first saw Green Mountain Spinnery at TNNA in June, we were taken by the cozy-looking display of all their yarns.

It was hard to pick just two to bring into the shop, but there’s only so much room for new inventory, so we settled on Sylvan Spirit and New Mexico Organic, two dk weight yarns with distinct personalities.

Sylvan Spirit is a single ply yarn composed of 50% fine wool and 50% Tencel, which gives it a slight sheen. Clara Parkes gave Sylvan Spirit a glowing review back in 2004, noting in particular that this blend of fibers makes it a particularly good choice for those who live in warm climates. It has the elasticity of wool and the breathability of plant fibers: a perfect pairing for North Carolina, and one of our reasons for choosing it.

Anne quickly knit up a sample fingerless mitt in Sylvan Spirit, and we were both impressed by the crisp stitch definition in spite of the tweedy quality of the color. The pattern is Cafe Au Lait Mitts, available as a free download on Ravelry.

New Mexico Organic is undyed, and thus comes in only two colors: white and gray. These two colors don’t disappoint, though; to my eye, they are perfect in their simplicity. (Clara Parkes, who reviewed the yarn in 2007, seems to agree.) The yarn is hearty and wholesome to knit with, sturdy yet bouncy. Anne has kindly saved the sample skein for me to knit, and though I’m anxious to get my hands on it, I haven’t decided how best to show it off yet. Another pair of mitts? Mittens? A cabled hat?

These yarns truly excite and inspire us, and we hope you feel the same way. Come by the shop to meet these two yarns from Green Mountain Spinnery!

KnitScene.

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The Fall issue of KnitScene is here, with more fodder for our cold-weather daydreams.

This issue offers sweaters, shawls, and accessories, one of which stood out to me in particular. These cabled fingerless mitts are made out of Zitron Kimono, a sport-weight blend of merino wool and silk that we happen to stock at the shop.

Come by the shop to snag this latest issue of KnitScene, and at 15% off during July, no less. See you soon!

Swans Island hat and mitts.

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Though Anne and I were both beside ourselves with excitement over the arrival of the new Swans Island yarn, it’s possible I was more excited, because she had assigned me the task of swatching it. I began by looking through their patterns for inspiration–a good starting place, as their patterns are beautiful in their simplicity, allowing the knitter to relax and enjoy the yarn. I chose the Harbor Hat pattern, which progressed quickly, and soon I had completed it, with more than half the skein to spare. Back to the Swans Island pattern binder I went, this time, for the Blackberry Mitts. 

The completed set now lives on the teacart with the Swans Island yarn, perched atop the basket, ready to be inspected by those who are curious just how this stuff knits up. Allow me to spoil the surprise: the yarn is wonderfully soft, smooth, and consistent. The patterns are easy to follow and quick to knit. Our love affair with Swans Island continues. In fact, I’ve started a sweater for myself out of the fingering weight Swans Island, the New Zealand Pullover from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knit One Knit All. At 7 stitches to the inch, it’ll be a while before it looks like much, but I will surely do some show and tell once it begins to resemble a sweater.
Come in and admire the Swans Island yarn and patterns if you haven’t yet done so, and slip your hands inside these mitts. See you soon!