Tag Archives: fyberspates

Color crush: blue and burgundy.

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Knitters sometimes ask me which they should pick first: the pattern, or the yarn? There’s no right or wrong way to find your next project, of course, nor are these the only two ways. Often we are motivated by color, coming into the yarn shop picturing a particular shade, and searching the shelves for a skein that matches our mind’s eye. Sometimes it’s a color combination that we’re seeking, a pairing that has captured our imagination – here’s one such case.

A knitter came in recently looking for blue and burgundy, and as often happens here at the shop, Anne and Bailey and I started playing along. We pulled out similar shades we had noticed throughout the shop, cobalt and cornflower, merlot and maroon. Long after that knitter left with the perfect yarn for their next project, I was still spotting sapphire and garnet, so I thought I’d share them here on the blog, with pattern ideas for each pair.

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in 62172 and 62121

Knit at a snug 23 stitches to 4″, Ultra Alpaca would make a cozy pair of “Robinia Mittens,” by Anne Ventzel.

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Delft and Homemade Jam

A pleasing pair in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter for PetiteKnit’s new “Key Sweater,” with enough contrast to show the colorwork motif.

Berroco Ultra Wool in 33156 and 33145

This sturdy superwash wool would make a nice pair of “Key Mittens,” to match the aforementioned PetiteKnit sweater.

Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Cadet and Homemade Jam

Try this lower contrast Loft pair in Isabell Kraemer’s “Heimathafen” pullover, with its subtle dip-stitch colorwork stripes.

Isager Tvinni in 44 + Silk Mohair in 44 and Tvinni in 36s + Silk Mohair in 36

Hold Tvinni and Silk Mohair together in simple stockinette stripes for PetiteKnit’s “Olga Jacket.”

Sandnes Garn Sunday in 5846 + Isager Highland in Wine

Hold these lightweight wools together for a low-contrast “Melange Sweater,” by PetiteKnit. I wear mine all the time, and Bailey has one in the works now!

Isager Jensen in 44s and Fyberspates Cumulus in Plum

Another compelling combination for marling – hold fluffy Cumulus with Jensen for Anne Ventzel’s “Solange Scarf.”

Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed in Bright Blue and Mulberry

Brioche is another way to combine colors – try Andrea Mowry’s “Harlow Worsted” hat in plush Lucky Tweed.

What color combinations have you been infatuated with lately? Let us know in the comments, or come by the shop and we’ll help you find yarn to match!

Show and tell: PetiteKnit “Oslo Hats.”

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PetiteKnit’s oh-so-popular “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition” is a contemporary classic. It’s simple and wearable, with thoughtful details that make it fun to knit and easy to gift. Here are some that we’ve had the pleasure of seeing in person, made with yarns from HYS!

Diana knit this “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition” with Kelbourne Woolens Perennial and Fyberspates Cumulus held together, inspired by our well-loved shop sample.

She loved the pattern, and came back for more yarn, intrigued by the color and yarn blending possibilities. The “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition” on the left is made with a marled sock yarn from our sale trunk, held together with Isager Silk Mohair. Diana made the hat on the right with Malabrigo Arroyo and Cumulus held together.

Kay is another serial “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition” maker, and I know these aren’t the last ones we’ll see from her! Above, she combined Fibre Co. Amble and Cumulus, and below, Isager Alpaca 2 and Silk Mohair.

Hyesol chose Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Crazy for her “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition,” and gave this self-striping yarn a fuzzy halo with Isager Silk Mohair.

Thanks to Diana, Kay, and Hyesol for sharing their hats with us – we love seeing what you make. If these lovely projects inspired you to make your own “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition,” come by the shop to see all the lace and fingering weight yarns we have to choose from!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Wedding Season.

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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 grams

This month’s limited edition shade is inspired by Bridgerton – soft floral colours on a lavender-grey background evoke the dresses, balls, and decor of the show.

I can never resist pairing Koigu with mohair, brushed alpaca, or other fuzzy lace weight fibers  – here are a few combinations to consider for your next “Sophie Scarf” or “Oslo Hat – mohair edition.”

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out the lace weight section to see all the fluffy yarns shown here and more!

LYS Day 2024!

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We’re looking forward to Local Yarn Store Day, this Saturday, April 27th. Come to our shop on LYS Day for 25% off featured yarns!

LYS Day is about celebrating brick-and-mortar yarn shops and appreciating all that they offer. Here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, we are proud of our selection of high quality yarns, books and tools, and our customer service. Our mission is to provide knitters and other fiber artists with quality materials and help connect them with the knowledge they need to make things they’re proud of.

All the yarn in our shop is sorted by gauge, with sections marked Lace weight, Worsted weight, Bulky weight, and so on. We hope this makes it easier to sort through our robust selection to find the yarn that’s right for your project! For LYS Day, we’re offering 25% off one featured yarn in each gauge section:

You can read about all our featured yarns on the links above, and look for the yellow signs to find them here at the shop on LYS Day!

Come by the Hillsborough Yarn Shop this Saturday to celebrate LYS Day and get some great deals! We’re open from 11 am – 5:30 pm; see you at the shop!

 

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!

Pom Pom Quarterly: Winter 2023.

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The penultimate issue of Pom Pom Quarterly is here!

We are so sad to hear that they’re closing up shop after the Spring 2024 issue comes out in January; PPQ has been an inspiring resource for so many years. In the meantime, this new Winter 2023 issue is full of artful and intriguing knits in monochrome colorways.

“We love colour so much that often we try and get as much of it into each piece as we can,” the PPQ editors write, “but for this monochrome-themed issue we wanted to see what could be done with fabrics that used more subtle tonal differences within a single hue, or closely related ones.”

Pom Pom has always been a champion of new and emerging designers and indie dyers, introducing us to new names with every issue. We don’t carry all the yarns shown in their pages, but we have many lovely substitutes and are happy to help you find just the right one for your project! Above are a few shades of Brooklyn Tweed Tones and Shelter, reminiscent of Catie Robbins’ intarsia “Redware” shawl.

The dimensional texture of Alessandra Gropazzi’s “Chiaroscuro” scarf caught my eye right away – it’s made with a fingering weight wool and lace weight mohair/silk blend held together throughout. Kelbourne Woolens Camper and Isager Silk Mohair fit the bill, and we have new colors in both of those yarns!

Sara Ottosson’s “Celadon” hat uses a fingering weight wool as a base yarn throughout, and alternates between two shades of fuzzy lace weight yarn to create a subtle colorwork pattern. We have so many yarns that would work well for this, but Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering and Fyberspates Cumulus have the perfect colors to match the pattern photo!

Pom Pom Quarterly is $25.50 – come by to snag a copy between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. We’re also taking orders online for local pickup or shipping. Along with this issue, we have a cubby full of back issues available, now marked down 50%. See you at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Ammonite.

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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

Ammonite is a quiet variegated colorway with a surprising variety of hues mixed in – from a distance it reads pale green, but look closely, and you’ll see a whole rainbow!

Pair Ammonite 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!

I love the way a strand of lace weight mohair mutes a variegated yarn, bringing new texture and movement to the colors in the knitted fabric.

Here’s my finished “Sophie Scarf”, knit with Koigu KPPPM in Hoof Mushroom and Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair in 6315.

And here are more Tynn Silk Mohair pairings for all kinds of Koigu colors!

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out the lace weight section to see Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair, Isager Silk Mohair, and Fyberspates Cumulus!

Sunday and friends.

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Sandnes Garn Sunday has fast become a favorite here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a soft and springy fingering weight merino wool. Though it’s lovely on its own or held double, it plays well with others – here are some yarn and pattern ideas for holding Sunday together with other yarns!

Sunday + Fyberspates Cumulus

Pattern ideas: garments

Sunday + Isager Silk Mohair

Pattern ideas: hats

Sunday + Malabrigo Mohair

Pattern ideas: cowls, shawls, and scarves

Anne’s “Oslo Hat – mohair edition” in progress, knit with Isager Silk Mohair (color 12) and Sandnes Garn Sunday (color 4632). Pattern by PetiteKnit.

We can’t wait to see what other color combinations and patterns you come up with – see you at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Tourmaline.

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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

Tourmaline is a saturated golden orange colorway, with little streaks of olive, red, and pink.

There are so many fun ways to use variegated hand-dyed yarns like Koigu KPPPM – here are a few ideas!

Pair it with another fingering weight yarn in a contrasting color

Hold it together with an alpaca or mohair yarn

Look for Koigu KPPPM, Malabrigo Ultimate Sock, and NFC Studio Sock in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out the lace weight section to see Isager Bouclé, Silk Mohair, and Fyberspates Cumulus!

Show and tell: held together.

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It’s been too long since I shared show-and-tell here on the blog, though it’s an ongoing part of our daily Instagram posts – let’s see what folks have been making with yarn from our shop!

We have long extolled the magic of holding multiple yarns together, making unique color and fiber blends that delight and sometimes surprise us. All the projects in today’s show and tell post feature this technique, sometimes called marling. The shawl above is a great example, Pat’s “Duality.” She knit the larger wrap size using Isager Alpaca 2, a lovely substitution for the now-discontinued Shibui yarn that Jane Vanselous’s pattern calls for.

Joy recently completed this “Copenhagen Cardigan,” designed by PetiteKnit and made with Isager Alpaca 2 in a teal color and Silk Mohair in blue held together throughout. The result is so delightfully soft and fuzzy, she came back for more Silk Mohair to make a PetiteKnit “Cumulus Blouse O-neck.”

Here’s a more subtle marl, where the two yarns are similar in color – Kay’s “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition,” knit with Kelbourne Woolens Perennial and Fyberspates Cumulus held together throughout. Margaretta made one too, using the same two yarns in shades of teal.

Margaretta also knit a marled “Weekend Hat,” another PetiteKnit pattern, using Isager Alpaca 2 and Kelbourne Woolens Camper held together.

Thanks to Pat, Joy, Kay, and Margaretta for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Hoof Mushroom.

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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.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

This month’s special colorway is Hoof Mushroom, a vibrant variegated mix of green, blue, and marigold. As soon as I saw it, I pictured holding it together with a strand of lace weight mohair, a solid color to blend with the many shades in these skeins, like a drop of water into watercolor paints.

We have several colors of Isager Silk Mohair that match shades in this Koigu colorway – some that will soften it, others that may intensify it.

If mohair’s not your thing, try holding KPPPM together with Fyberspates Cumulus, a soft and fuzzy blend of alpaca and silk!

How to use these pairings? Think “Sophie Scarf” or “Oslo Hat – mohair edition,” by PetiteKnit, Andrea Mowry’s “Birds of a Feather” shawl, or Tin Can Knits’ “Simple Yet Effective” cowl.

Look for Koigu KPPPM, Isager Silk Mohair, and Fyberspates Cumulus here at the shop!