Crystal Palace Merino 5: now on sale!

Posted by Julia on August 14, 2013

UPDATE: As of 11/19/2014, we are totally sold out of Crystal Palace Merino 5!

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We have many machine-washable, worsted weight wools at the shop because they’re good for so many things. Knitters and crocheters alike often turn to machine-washable, worsted weight wools for blankets, baby things, sweaters for children and adults, toys, and accessories that get lots of wear, like hats, scarves and mitts. One of the many machine-washable, worsted weight wools we carry is now on sale at a 25% discount: Crystal Palace Merino 5.

Merino 5 is a springy superwash merino wool that suggests a gauge of 5 stitches to the inch, and comes in both solid and variegatd colorways. The yarn is plump and round due to its many-plied structure, which gives it excellent stitch definition for texture and cable patterning. Crystal Palace offers a variety of free patterns for Merino 5 on their website–click here to see a list, then scroll down to the Merino 5 section. Myself, I’m eyeing this basket of yarn with colorful crocheted blankets in mind. A simple granny square or even hexagons, maybe a ripple stitch… Come by the shop to snag some Merino 5 at this great price while it’s still in stock!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges, nor special orders–the discount applies only to what we currently have in stock. Thanks!

Back in stock: Smooshy with Cashmere.

Posted by Julia on August 10, 2013

Another luscious fingering weight yarn arrived this week: Dream in Color’s Smooshy with Cashmere.

Smooshy with Cashmere is an aptly-named blend of 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, and 10% nylon. It’s hand-dyed in variegated and semi-solid colorways, deliciously soft and squishy, perfect for next-to-skin wear.

We first ordered Smooshy with Cashmere about a year and a half ago, and it quickly found its following. Some knitters have used Smooshy with Cashmere for socks, for which it’s plenty hearty, but many more have used it for openwork shawls and scarves–a Multnomah or Holden Shawlette would be perfect, and both of those patterns are available as free downloads from Ravelry.

It would be equally an lovely yarn for a special baby gift–think Purl Soho’s Little Baby Sweater or one of the sweet, simple garments from Susie Haumann’s booklet All You Knit is Love.

Come by the shop to pet the Smooshy with Cashmere and plan your next project. See you there!

Show and tell: sweaters and cowls.

Posted by Julia on July 26, 2013

Here are a few more show and tell projects, sweaters and cowls that were recently completed and brought into the shop to share.

Mara showed up at the shop wearing this tank top she knit with Berroco Touche, a worsted weight blend of cotton and rayon. She was excitedly shopping for yarn, Birthday Club postcard in hand, but I had to interrupt her to take her picture. The pattern is Pennekamp, one of the many free patterns available from Berroco’s website–a great resource. I love the color, and the reminder that handknits are wearable year-round, even into the heat of summer, if the fiber and design are right.

Abby brought in this sweet little sweater she recently finished knitting, modeled on a favorite store-bought sweater that has already been passed down from her older daughter to her youngest. This new hand-knit iteration is made in three shades of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Aran, and designed by Abby herself, with some guidance from Ann Budd’s Handy Book of Top-Down Sweaters.

Here’s another top-down sweater: Molly’s recently-finished Gemini pullover. She used the dk weight Katia Linen yarn that the pattern calls for, and the result is a lightweight fabric that’s cool to the touch, perfect for summer wear. Like many Gemini-knitters, Molly plans on adding a single crochet border to the neckline in an effort to stabilize it and minimize stretching.

Margie made these two cowls using the free Abstract Leaves Cowl pattern. The purple cowl is knit with Marion Foale 3-ply Wool, a solid-color fingering weight yarn. The gray and white cowl is knit with Malabrigo Lace, a lace weight single ply merino. Seeing these two side-by-side is a great illustration of how one pattern can be used to create very different-looking garments just by using different yarns. Though the fiber content of the two yarns is similar, they differ greatly from there–different stitch definition, different coloration, different gauge, different drape, a different look entirely. Margie’s cowls are intended as gifts, and it’s a great gift pattern for knitters who are low on time, or yardage–a mere 125 yards of lace or fingering weight yarn are called for.

Thanks to all these knitters for their show and tell, and thanks to everyone who starts, continues, and completes their projects at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We love to see what you create with our yarns.

Show and tell: shawls and stoles.

Posted by Julia on July 24, 2013

This past week has been an abundant one for show and tell at the shop; there is so much to share that I’ll divide it up into two posts. Today, I’ll focus on shawls and stoles, for a great deal of them have found their way into the shop lately.

Here’s Margaretta’s completed Color Affection in three shades of Titus, a shawl that has inspired many knitters to create Color Affections in their own three-color combinations of Titus. I made one myself, which recent visitors to the shop may have seen hanging on the wall.

Margaretta used the first three shades of Titus that were available, Dark, Original, and Light, which make a gentle gradient from dark gray to light brown to pale beige. As a lover of neutral colors, this Color Affection really appeals to me; I can’t wait to see all the others that I know are in progress or soon to be started!

Paula and Kristin came in last week, each with a Stole on the needles. Both are made in Isager Alpaca 2, a cuddly fingering weight blend of merino wool and alpaca. Over the past year, Anne and I have seen so many beautiful colorways come together as knitters select yarn for the Stole, which uses an incredible nine colors total. What still surprises me is how different each stole can look from the next, though they all draw from the same 20-color palette. Paula’s Stole, above, is subdued and calming to the eye, while Kristin’s, below, is vibrant and bold.

Here are two shawls that Barbara crocheted in a recent Triangular Crochet Shawl class at the shop, using the 8 Hour Shawl pattern, available as a free download from Ravelry.

Having just graduated from Beginning Crochet not long ago, Barbara is on a roll, planning another two crochet shawls in the same yarn she used here, the beloved Malabrigo Rios. Soft, springy, colorful, worsted-weight, and machine-washable, Rios is a great choice for all kinds of knit and crochet projects, from shawls and scarves to sweaters, hats, mitts, blankets, and baby things.

Thanks to these knitters and crocheters for sharing their work with us! If any or all of these projects inspire you, come by the shop to get some Titus, Isager Alpaca 2, or Malabrigo Rios for shawls and Stoles of your own. Our Annual Inventory Sale is on through July 31st, so come in soon to take advantage of the 15% discount on everything we have in stock. Additionally, we have a Beginning Crochet class coming up soon, if any knitters out there are inspired to try another craft; read more about it and all our classes on our website. See you at the shop!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on sale items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!

Three new knit samples.

Posted by Julia on June 19, 2013

Over the weekend, Amy dropped off three new knit samples, each one the subject of an upcoming class.

We’ve seen this Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf pattern made up in Zauberball Starke 6; here, it’s shown in Noro Silk Garden in shades of blue, green, and purple. The self-striping yarn really highlights the short-row construction of this garter stitch scarf, and the aran weight yarn knits up quickly, creating a cozy accessory.

The Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf class meets two Saturday afternoons in August; read more about it and sign up on our website.

This Inspira Cowl is knit with two different colors of Noro Kureyon in a simple stranded colorwork pattern. It’s a generously sized cowl that is shaped to hug the neck and accomodate the shoulders. The Inspira Cowl is an opportunity to learn to knit in the round, make decreases, and work a two-color stranded knitting pattern. Class meets two Saturday afternoons in September; head over to our website to sign up now.

This last sample, a fair isle tam, is made using one self-striping yarn, Noro Silk Garden, and one solid color yarn, Plymouth Galway. The solid color recedes into the background and the self-striping yarn pops out as the main pattern color, giving the look of a many-colored fair isle garment without having to weave in all those ends. I’m sorry to report that Amy’s Beginning Fair Isle Tam class is already full, but the pattern is free from Knitty.com, and we’ll be happy to answer any questions should you decide to tackle it on your own. And if you’re set on learning fair isle knitting, including weaving in all the ends, take a look at Anne’s Introduction to Fair Isle class, which meets Wednesday evenings in July. She’ll even teach you how to bravely cut your knitting, creating steeks!

Come by the shop to see all three samples, and the yarns used to create them. If you hurry in today, June 19th, you can even get the Noro yarns at 25% off, on this last day of our Going to Market Sale! See you at the shop.

Citrus coasters.

Posted by Julia on June 8, 2013

Those of you who have visited our shop are likely well acquainted with our set-up: one of each color and kind of yarn out on the shelves, more of each in the back if you need it. There are exceptions to that rule, however; if you’ve ever seen a capital letter “L” written on a yarn’s label, you may already know that “L” stands for “last,” as in, that’s the last skein we have in that color.

Our Going to Market Sale has produced a lot of “L”s in Debbie Bliss and Noro yarns; what to do with those small quantities once you’ve gone and fallen in love with the color? One lone skein can become a stripe in a larger project, of course, but sometimes it’s enough for a small project of its own. Here’s one idea.

Last week, after I finished my first crochet project, I was so excited that I started another (much smaller!) crochet project: coasters. There are plenty of free patterns for crocheted coasters on Ravelry, and a more experienced crocheter might not even require a pattern, but I was happy to have some instructions to guide me. I settled on Citrus Coaster, a simple pattern which made use of the few stitches I already knew and taught me a few more, too. I used Debbie Bliss Eco Baby, a sport weight organic cotton with 136 yards on each 50 gram ball.

I made myself a set of four in two evenings, not because I’m so speedy with a hook, but because they’re such small pieces, measuring about 4.5″ across.

Each coaster weighs between 7 and 9 grams, so one skein can easily make a set of four, perhaps even six, though your yardage may vary depending upon your tension. At any rate, I thought it was a novel way to make use of one small skein, and could make a nice little gift, too.

Debbie Bliss Eco Cotton, the aran weight version of Eco Baby, would also make nice coasters or dishcloths, and a quick search on Ravelry for free crochet coaster patterns reveals that there are plenty of choices in aran weight yarns, too. During our Going to Market Sale, all things Debbie Bliss and Noro are 25% off, so come by before June 19th to take advantage of the discount!

Some reminders:

All sales are final on discounted yarns; no returns nor exchanges
Discount applies only to in-stock yarns; no special orders

Thanks for understanding!

Argosy scarf.

Posted by Julia on May 29, 2013

A new knit scarf has arrived at the shop, knit by Amy as a sample for one of her upcoming classes. Here’s Argosy!

Argosy is a free pattern from Knitty, which Amy knit in Noro Silk Garden Lite, a self-striping DK weight blend of silk, mohair, and wool. Argosy is a great way to show off the kind of self-striping yarns that Noro is known for.

It’s knit on the bias, which results in diagonal stripes when using a self-striping yarn. It makes a gently draping, light fabric, in part because of the light-weight yarn and in part because of the lacy patterning.

Amy’s Argosy Scarf class focuses on a particular pattern, but our classes always teach any special techniques that are required for whatever pattern students will be knitting. These techniques will serve you well not only in making the pattern at hand, but also in future knitting endeavors. Sign up for the Argosy Scarf class and you can expect to learn how to do the cable cast-on, how to cast on stitches in-line, how to do yarnovers and decreases, and how to read a lace knitting chart.

Learn more about the Argosy Scarf class on our website’s “Classes, etc” page, where you can sign up and prepay to ensure your place in class. Come by the shop during our Going to Market Sale to pick up Noro Silk Garden Lite at a 25% discount, and to admire this scarf in person!

Rodekool brioche scarf.

Posted by Julia on May 8, 2013

Recently, one of our teachers dropped off a knit sample at the shop, a scarf to show what she’ll teach in her upcoming “Brioche Neck Scarf” class.

Amy’s class will show how to work brioche, a knitting technique that creates two interwoven layers of fabric at once. It can be worked in a single color or in two colors, which yields a reversible garment like this scarf, “Rodekool,” a free pattern by brioche mastermind Nancy Marchant.

Amy knit her Rodekool (“red cabbage” in Dutch) scarf using Isager Highland, a fingering weight wool. Marchant’s pattern recommends using one skein of Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, knitting from both ends of the self-striping yarn at once, but that can create confusion when learning a new technique. For ease of knitting and clarity of pattern, Amy recommends working the Rodekool in two solid colors, and reports that the Isager Highland was lovely to work with.

Come by the shop to see this incredible garment for yourself. Meanwhile, you can read more about the upcoming “Brioche Neck Scarf” class on our website, and sign up there to learn this fascinating technique with Amy. We also have copies of Nancy Marchant’s Knitting Brioche, a comprehensive compendium of all things brioche. See you at the shop!

Hexagonal Market Bag Knit-Along.

Posted by Julia on May 1, 2013

Now that Anne and I have both completed our Gemini sweaters, we’re ready for another knit-along. In keeping with the warm-weather knitting theme, we’re making market bags.

Our pattern is Laura Dianiska’s Hexagonal Market Bag, a free pattern on Ravelry. It calls for approximately 400 yards of worsted weight cotton; a perfect choice for a sturdy, workaday bag to fill with produce at the grocery store. Anne is using Louisa Harding’s Nautical Cotton, a 100% mercerized cotton yarn, and I’m using Plymouth’s Linen Isle, a blend of cotton, rayon, and linen.

We got started on Saturday, beginning with the hexagonal garter stitch base of the bag. Once the base was completed, we picked up stitches around the edge and began the oh-so-simple mesh lace pattern that makes the bag so stretchy.

Want to make a Hexagonal Market Bag of your own? Join us in this informal Knit-Along. Any sturdy plant fiber yarn should do; Nautical Cotton comes in all kinds of colors, and we have a nice selection in Linen Isle, too. Then there are the rest of the worsted weight plant fibers–Berroco Linen Jeans, Brown Sheep Cotton Fleece, Mirasol Wach’i, Online Linie 12 Clip, Queensland Bebe Cotsoy, and more. Come by the shop to see all the choices, and to see how Anne and I are progressing on our bags. We’ll also be posting on the Ravelry HYS group with any lessons learned along the way, just as we did while we were making our Gemini sweaters. See you at the shop!

Show and tell: sweaters, scarves, and cowls.

Posted by Julia on April 4, 2013

So many amazing finished pieces have been finding their way to the shop lately that a backlog of show-and-tell photos has accumulated on my camera. Without further ado: here are some of the things that we and the knitters around us have been busily creating!

Anne recently completed Lemon, a short-sleeved sweater designed by Helga Isager. Lemon is unusually and cleverly constructed, beginning with center panels on the front and back, from which stitches are picked up to work the sides and short sleeves. It’s decorated with lateral braids and welts, little details that make for a unique design.

The pattern calls for Isager Spinni, a single-ply lace weight wool, but Anne substituted Isager Tvinni, a 2-ply wool in a light fingering weight. The finished garment is remarkably lightweight because of the tiny gauge, a perfectly fitting sweater and quite an achievement.

I finished a sweater recently, too: here’s Gemini, a free pattern from Knitty, made in Katia Linen. I’m so pleased with how this linen/cotton blend blocked, softening the fibers and smoothing out inconsistencies in the tension.

I’m also happy to report that it fits nicely; not tight at all, though I took a leap of faith and knit it with the suggested 4″ of negative ease. It’s hanging now at the shop for anyone who’d like to try it on for size. This was a quick knit, and it’s not too late to join our informal Gemini Knit-Along!

Here, Francesca models a jacket she made out of Debbie Bliss Donegal Chunky Tweed. She’d already made one from this free pattern using a thicker, textured yarn and was disappointed by how dense the fabric was. This time around, she’s delighted by the beautiful drape of the Donegal Chunky Tweed. Finding the right yarn for a project makes all the difference!

Margie brought in this lovely lace scarf to show us; a gift for a friend. She made it using the soft and tweedy Fibre Company Acadia, and a free pattern, Christmas Lace. After the knitting was complete, she carefully sewed a few beads in to add a bit of sparkle.

Debbie came in a few weeks ago wearing this gorgeous White Caps Cowl, made in Alchemy Silken Straw and Habu Cotton Nerimaki Slub. The pattern photos show this cowl in a subtle white-on-white colorway, but I love the way it works up when the stripes are a little more visible, as Debbie has done by choosing similar, but not identical colors in each yarn.

Thanks to everyone for the amazing show and tell! I’m so inspired by all that you create.