Tag Archives: gudrun johnston

“Shetland Solstice” in Kelbourne Woolens Camper.

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Gudrun Johnston’s “Shetland Solstice” hat caught my eye when Simply Shetland released Gudrun’s Holiday Hat kits featuring Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift back in November.

“Shetland Solstice,” by Gudrun Johnston, knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. Photo © Gudrun Johnston

I adore knitting with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, but toothy Shetland wool isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. Luckily, any fingering weight wool can be used for Johnston’s pattern, and we have a nice, soft substitute in Kelbourne Woolens Camper. There aren’t quite as many colors in Camper as there are in Spindrift, but the palette is robust enough for some serious colorwork – below is a close approximation of Gudrun Johnston’s first “Shetland Solstice” colorway, shown in the hat pictured above.

“Shetland Solstice,” by Gudrun Johnston, knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. Photo © Gudrun Johnston

I was pleased to approximate Johnston’s second “Shetland Solstice” colorway in Camper, too!

Camper is what I used to make my own “Shetland Solstice” hat for the shop, and I love the result: classic looking fair isle with a soft and cuddly feel.

We recently got a fresh supply of Camper along with a few new colors – here are some more “Shetland Solstice” color ideas I came up with.

 

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Camper and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in our fingering weight section here at the shop, and pet our knit samples to pick the perfect yarn for you!

Grand Shetland Adventure Knits, by Gudrun Johnston & Mary Jane Mucklestone.

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Laine’s latest book has been much anticipated here at HYS; let’s look inside Grand Shetland Adventure Knits ($50), by Gudrun Johnston & Mary Jane Mucklestone!

Grand Shetland Adventure Knits is part travelogue, part knitwear collection, a celebration of Johnston and Mucklestone’s time together on Shetland.

Pick up this book to read essays and travel stories, love letters to Shetland that spotlight these seasoned knitwear designers’ favorite places to visit.

The patterns are beautiful and varied – plenty of stranded colorwork, of course, but also a few lace designs, all knit up in a range of yarns from Shetland and beyond.

Grand Shetland Adventure Knits is $50, and available here at the shop, or order online for local pickup or shipping. Come by to peruse this new title for a bit of armchair travel, and to gather materials for your next project! We hope you find inspiration here.

Show and tell: sweaters.

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We’re closing the shop for a summer vacation from August 17 – 28, reopening at our usual hours on Tuesday, August 29. In the meantime, enjoy another round of show and tell, featuring the juiciest of knitting projects: sweaters!

Here’s April’s “Little Love,” by Ankestrick, a textured cardigan knit with Kelbourne Woolens Cricket. April has also made Ankestrick’s “Big Love,” a heavier version in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, and can vouch for the pleasure of knitting and wearing these designs!

Anne began this “Kirigami” years ago, when Brooklyn Tweed first launched Dapple, but then put it aside while she worked on other things. When the most recent new colors came out in Dapple, she returned to it and was delighted to discover it was nearly finished! Look for it hanging on the wall here at our shop.

Linda finished her “Kirigami” recently, too, using Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. I love how crisp Gudrun Johnston’s highly textured design is in this yarn!

In fact, I made a “Kirigami” in Arbor a few years ago, and though it never made an appearance on the blog, I wear it frequently and love it so.

Here’s a more recent project of mine, a PetiteKnit “Anker’s Summer Shirt” in Sandnes Garn Line. This one is up on display at the shop, and seems to have inspired many of you to pick up Line for an “Anker’s Summer Shirt” of your own – I can’t wait to see them take shape!

Connie knit this “Kaav” cardigan in a recent class here at our shop, where a small group of knitters all tackled Kate Davie’s lovely design, along with their very first steeks. Connie modified the pattern a bit, omitting the colorwork from the sleeves, and used the super soft Kelbourne Woolens Scout.

 

Thanks to April, Anne, Linda, and Connie for sharing your projects with us, and thank you all for letting me show and tell, too! Looking forward to seeing you and your projects after our summer break!

Simply Shetland Hapkerchief KAL!

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We are excited to announce that Gudrun Johnston and the Simply Shetland team are hosting their first ever Knit-Along!

Gudrun Johnston’s “Hapkerchief,” knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in Colorway 1

The Hapkerchief Knit-Along is open to knitters worldwide, starting on June 2 and running through June 30 only on Instagram – follow @simply_shetland on Instagram for details about prizes and how to participate.

Gudrun Johnston’s brand new “Hapkerchief” is the featured pattern, a quick, 4-color cowl knit with Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift that introduces Shetland-inspired techniques in a modern, approachable way. Perfect for the adventurous beginner and beyond!

Johnston’s pattern shows the “Hapkerchief” in three Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift colorways, all of which use a mix of light, medium, and dark shades for a balanced look.

Gudrun Johnston’s “Hapkerchief,” knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in Colorway 2

Gudrun Johnston’s “Hapkerchief,” knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in Colorway 3

I knit up a sample “Hapkerchief” myself, in a colorway Anne and I put together.

Gudrun Johnston’s “Hapkerchief,” knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in our own HYS palette

I learned a few things along the way – the German twisted cast-on, a wrap-and-turn technique for working garter stitch in the round without purling, and a purled i-cord bind-off. All of those techniques and more are shown clearly in Johnston’s video tutorials, so you’ll have plenty of support as you knit along!

Look for these “Hapkerchief” yarn bundles here at the shop, and purchase the pattern separately on Ravelry. We have over 150 shades of Spindrift on hand if you want to make your own color combination, of course – can’t wait to see what you come up with!

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh batch of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor on our shelves!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor:

  • DK weight
  • 100% Targhee wool
  • 145 yards/50 g
  • $18.75 each

This shipment brought us ten of the most popular shades of Arbor, from moody neutrals to saturated earth tones. You can see all of the colors Arbor comes in on the Brooklyn Tweed website – we have most of them here at the shop, and will happily check on any colors and quantities you’re seeking!

Arbor is known for its springy elasticity, soft hand, and stellar stitch definition. We’ve seen so many incredible garments made with Arbor over the years – here are some of the most popular patterns:

Look for Arbor in the DK weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with lots of other Brooklyn Tweed yarns – we have Tones and Tones Light, Dapple, Peerie, Loft, Shelter, Quarry, and more!

Loft and Spindrift + Kellister.

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As I was putting together pattern recommendations to go with our recent Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift restock, I took a shine to Gudrun Johnston’s “Kellister.”

“Kellister,” by Gudrun Johnston. Photo © Gudrun Johnston

The classic fair isle XO pattern, the perfectly subtle slouch, the combination of neutrals and warm autumn shades – it spoke to me, and got me thinking about combining Brooklyn Tweed Loft and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for a few more colorways.

You’ll need more yardage in the main color than the three contrast colors, but one skein of BT Loft is enough to cover it; the cost for 1 Loft and 3 Spindrift is $46.35.

We have 35+ shades of Loft on our shelves and 150+ shades of Shetland Spindrift – plenty to make your own unique “Kellister” color combinations! Come by the shop to see them all, or order online for local pickup or shipping if one of these colorways is right up your alley.

Peavine + Tukuwool Fingering.

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Gudrun Johnston’s “Peavine” is our featured hat pattern for September, the final month of the HYS Hat Club!

HYS Hat Club members received four skeins of Tukuwool Fingering for the project, enough to knit two or three “Peavine” hats with the colors in different arrangements. Here’s a trio in each of the HYS Hat Club color palettes – Warm, Cool, Neutral, and Surprise.

Warm 

Cool

Neutral

Surprise

For HYS Hat Club members, we also included a Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal, and we have some for sale at the shop, as well – knitter’s graph paper has squares that, like knitted stitches, are wider than they are tall. This makes them ideal for penciling in all manner of knitting charts, from cables and lace to intarsia, texture patterns, and – of course – colorwork.

  • Tukuwool Fingering: fingering weight, 100% Finnish wool, 220 yards/50 grams; $12.50 each or $50 for 4 skeins needed to make “Peavine”
  • Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal: $12 each

Order online if one of these colorways piques your interest – we’re also open for drop-in shopping, no appointment required, from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. See you at the shop!

Laine Magazine, No. 11.

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Laine Magazine is back with their 11th issue!

Laine Magazine is a publication out of Finland, a knitting and lifestyle magazine with a love of natural fibers as its focus, and a reputation for beautiful designs and tantalizing photography.

Issue 11 features patterns from an amazing group of designers, the likes of Gudrun Johnston, Paula Pereira, Stephen West, Eri Shimizu, and more.

Beyond the patterns, there are seasonal recipes and plenty of good reading – I’m particularly excited to read Jeanette Sloan’s interview with Diane Ivey, the dyer behind Lady Dye Yarns. We’re proud to have her Superwash Fingering and SW Merino DK on our shelves here at the shop.

Laine No. 10 is $30 each – order online for local pickup or shipping! We also have Laine No. 8 and No. 10 in stock, and Laine’s most recent books, Fair Isle Weekend, Strands of Joy, and 52 Weeks of Shawls.

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh batch of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor on our shelves!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Klimt (left) and Butte (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor:

  • DK weight
  • 100% Targhee wool
  • 145 yards/50 g
  • $18.75 each

This shipment brought us eight of the most popular shades of Arbor, a few pops of color and lots of neutrals. You can see all of the colors Arbor comes in on the Brooklyn Tweed website – we have most of them here at the shop, and will happily check on any colors and quantities you’re seeking! Just fill out our online order form.

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Rainier (left) and Norway (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Heron (left) and Porter (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Driftwood (left) and Thaw (right).

Arbor is known for its springy elasticity, soft hand, and stellar stitch definition. We’ve seen so many incredible garments made with Arbor over the years – here are some of the most popular patterns:

  • “Kirigami,” by Gudrun Johnston – bottom-up seamless pullover with textured yoke
  • “Geiger,” by Norah Gaughan – tailored, intricately cabled cardigan, knit in pieces
  • “Soldotna Crop,” by Caitlin Hunter – top-down, short-sleeved, cropped colorwork pullover
  • “Dog Star,” by Tin Can Knits – bottom-up seamless pullover with colorwork yoke

We’re happy to help you plan your next project – order online, we can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for supporting our small business!

Join us for a Dapple KAL!

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Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn, Dapple, has captured our imagination.

Sample skeins acquired in advance of the launch allowed Anne to get it right on her needles, casting on for Gudrun Johnston’s “Kirigami” pullover in Honeycrisp.

Not wanting to miss out on this fun, I’ve decided to cast on with Dapple, too, and selected Anchor and Natural for a “Pātikitiki Hat,” by Francoise Danoy. I can’t wait to see how the striking geometric colorwork comes out in this simple, high contrast combination!

We’re excited to announce an informal Dapple knit-along! How to participate? Simply embark on a project of your choosing with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, and stitch at your own pace. There will be no deadline, just the camaraderie of working with the same yarn at the same time. Anne and I are here to answer questions as you select your pattern, colors, and needles, and will post our progress along the way.

Anne has already made great strides on her “Kirigami,” and we are both having fun watching it come together. This is a bit of a departure for her in terms of color, which is to say, it’s bold and bright instead of subdued and neutral. She sorted the skeins by value before casting on, making a gradient from light to dark. “Kirigami” is worked in the round from the bottom up, so she cast on the sleeves and body with the darkest skeins, making the sweater lightest at the textured yoke.

What else to knit with Dapple? It substitutes well for BT Arbor, for which there are a great many patterns available, but we’ve come up with all kinds of other projects for Dapple besides. Here are some ideas!

Garments:

Accessories:

Cast on with us this week, or next week, or whenever suits you – knit along at your own pace, and use the hashtag #HYSDappleKAL to share your progress on Instagram!