Tag Archives: hand-dyed

Hello, Malabrigo Vientos!

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Brand new from Malabrigo!

Meet Vientos, a bulky yarn to defy the winds. In terms of length, weight and gauge, it’s just like Mecha, but plied, creating an expressive texture.

Two plies bring depth to the colors and a unique personality to the knit or crocheted fabric, a celebratory symbol of Malabrigo’s two decades.

Malabrigo Vientos:

  • bulky weight
  • 2ply
  • hand-dyed (each skein is unique; we recommending alternating skeins to blend in a larger project)
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 130 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cold, lay flat to dry
  • gauge: 12-15 stitches = 4”
  • needles: US 9-11 (5.5-8mm)

Malabrigo is well known for their vibrant variegated colorways as well as their tonal semi-solids, and we made sure our Vientos basket had plenty of each.

Use Vientos anywhere you’d use Mecha – cozy cowls and hats are always popular for soft bulky weight yarns like these. Here are some pattern ideas!

Look for Vientos here at HYS, along with many other Malabrigo yarns!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: Midnight Carnival & Sugar Rush.

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Dream in Color’s Pop-Up Club is back! Each month, we get 9 skeins of Smooshy Cashmere in a limited edition colorway, hand-dyed in Texas. They’re always popular for Ysolda Teague’s “Musselburgh” hat, Andrea Mowry’s “Free Your Fade” shawl, or a special pair of socks.

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cool on gentle/hand wash setting, lay flat to dry

Midnight Carnival arrived in September, a saturated, high-contrast variegated colorway with streaks of cobalt, burgundy, aqua, and eggplant. One skein makes a “Wishbeam Hat,” whose textured lace pattern breaks up the color pooling in an intriguing way.

Sugar Rush just arrived last week, a lower contrast colorway with just as much impact – hot pink with dashes of lavender, cantaloupe, and bright blue.

One skein makes the “Robbie Scarf,” which shows how these bright shades can blend subtly together.

Inspired to cast on? Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and in our online store!

Malabrigo Seis Cabos KAL.

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We’re delighted to have a few new colors in Malabrigo Seis Cabos, just in time for Malabrigo’s upcoming KAL!

This Malabrigo KAL features “Barnstable,” by Lisa Hannes, a shawl that mixes contrasting colors in a beginner-friendly mosaic pattern.

Because the mosaic motif relies on color contrast to shine, we recommend pairing high-contrast shades to really make the pattern pop. The shawl is shown here in Vicenial and Natural, a bold mix of variegated and solid shades.

Here are a few more “Barnstable” color ideas!

Want to join the Malabrigo KAL, which starts on September 1? Head to their blog to sign up, and come by our shop to pick out your yarn. You’ll need 2 skeins of Seis Cabos in your main color and 1 skein in your contrast color.

Look for Seis Cabos and other Malabrigo yarns here at HYS – we can’t wait to see your shawls take shape when the Knit-Along begins next month!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Folk Festival and Dolled Up.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we 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

Folk Festival and Dolled Up are the two most recent Collector’s Club shades, both variegated and bright. They made me think of Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering right away, a springy superwash merino that favors Koigu KPPPM in structure, but comes in clear solid colors.

What to knit with these playful pairs? Here are a few ideas!

Fuzzy lace weight yarn is another irresistible pairing for variegated wool – some of our newest shades of Fyberspates Cumulus matched these Koigu colorways perfectly. Here are a few patterns to try:

Look for Koigu KPPPM and Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out the lace weight section to see Fyberspates Cumulus!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: Montauk & Acrid.

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Dream in Color’s Pop-Up Club is back! Each month, we get 10 skeins of Smooshy Cashmere in a limited edition colorway, hand-dyed in Texas. They’re always popular for Ysolda Teague’s “Musselburgh” hat, Andrea Mowry’s “Free Your Fade” shawl, or a special pair of socks.

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cool on gentle/hand wash setting, lay flat to dry

Montauk arrived in April, a soft variegated mix of cream, lavender, peach, and dove gray.

Two skeins of Montauk makes Lena Skvagerson’s “Shoreline Shawl,” a shallow crescent shaped shawl with lace and stockinette.

Acrid popped up earlier this month, a sunny aqua colorway streaked with marigold.

Jenny Noto designed her “Garden Shawl” for two skeins of Acrid, a half circle shawl with eyelets and slip stitches.

Our friend Margaretta recently knit this lovely pair of “Avena” socks with Smooshy Cashmere in Fen.

It’s great to see variegated skeins like this one knit up – this intricate twisted stitch pattern breaks up the color pooling in a lovely and intriguing way. Pattern by Natalia Vasilieva.

Inspired to cast on? Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and in our online store!

Show and tell: stripes.

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Time for another round of show and tell! Today’s projects all feature stripes, whether high-contrast or low, many-colored or few.

First up, Margaretta’s “Chevron Cloud,” knit with Hand Maiden Superkid Silk and Isager Alpaca 2. Pattern by Espace Tricot.

The color and yarn combination here is subtle, but exquisite – variegated mohair creates painterly stripes, and Margaretta picked a shade of sage green Alpaca 2 that matches without blending in or disappearing.

Karin came by the shop wearing her “DRK Everyday Cowl,” by Andrea Mowry, knit with Malabrigo Arroyo. The solid Natural is a perfect complement to the wildly variegated Aniversario.

Here’s the “Versa Cowl” I knit as a shop sample with Malabrigo Seis Cabos. Pattern by Aimee Pelletier.

People often ask how hard the slip stitch pattern is, and I’m happy to say that it’s neither hard nor a slip stitch pattern – just knits, purls, and stripes!

Last but not least, here’s Kristin’s “Stole” in Isager Merilin. Like Anne, she used just five colors to make a narrower wrap that’s just right for spring.

Many thanks to the knitters who shared their stripes with us today, and to everyone who starts their project with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We are inspired by your stitches and can’t wait to see what you come up with next!

Hello, Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée!

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For years now, Anne has been on the lookout for her ideal merino and silk blend. She hoped it would be fingering weight, tightly plied for strength, and non-superwash for elasticity. I’m delighted to report that she’s found it: meet Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée, a brand new yarn to HYS!

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée:

  • fingering weight
  • 3 ply
  • hand dyed; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in larger projects
  • 90% non-superwash merino wool, 10% silk
  • 420 yards/115 grams (4oz)
  • hand wash cold, lay flat to dry

Julie and Jean-François are the craftspeople behind Julie Asselin Yarns, hand dyers based in Sherbrooke (Quebec, Canada). Ethical sourcing is important to them, and they keep the process as close to home as possible by working exclusively with yarn mills in Canada and the US.

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée is smooth and soft, as its fiber content suggests, but also springy and sturdy. In the knitted fabric, this means sharp stitch definition for showing off texture patterns, and a balance of drape and structure. Leizu Fingering Non Traitée looks like a lovely choice for sweater- and accessory-making alike. Here are some pattern ideas!

  • “Mara,” by Audrey Borrego – sideways-knit ribbed scarf/shawl with eyelets
  • “Rose Petals,” by Janina Kallio – triangular lace shawl
  • “Go Go Dynamo,” by Stephen West – a “geometric adventure” with modular sections, brioche, stripes, and more
  • “Pampas Tee,” by Samantha Guerin – circular yoke tee with lace motif
  • “Moon Mint,” by Andrea Mowry – 2-color slip stitch pullover
  • “Alden,” by Jennifer Steingass – colorwork yoke pullover

Look for Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and in our online store!

Limited edition colors from Koigu & Dream in Color.

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Koigu & Dream in Color are two of our favorite hand-dyers, and we love to see the special limited edition colorways they come up with each month.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 grams

Rococo is the latest shade from Koigu Collector’s Club, a subtle mix of salmon pink and terracotta, with mini streaks of ivory and deep blue. New Koigu colorways always make us think of PetiteKnit’s “Sophie Scarf” – KPPPM held together with a strand of lace weight mohair is a magical blend!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cool on gentle/hand wash setting, lay flat to dry

Dream in Color’s new Pop-Up Club colorway is Inflorescence, a wild rainbow mix of neon colors. One skein is enough for a “Prism Twist Reversible Hat” – two layers in different stitch patterns makes a two-in-one accessory!

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

Limited edition colors from Koigu & Dream in Color.

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Koigu & Dream in Color are two of our favorite hand-dyers, and we love to see the special limited edition colorways they come up with each month.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 grams

Mocha Mousse is the latest shade from Koigu Collector’s Club, inspired by Pantone’s color of the year. These variegated skeins are streaked with warm shades of brown, and would make a cute PetiteKnit “Sophie Scarf” held together with a strand of lace weight mohair!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cool on gentle/hand wash setting, lay flat to dry

Snowy Twilight is a saturated mix of blues and purples, a low-contrast variegated colorway that reads solid from a distance. This subtle color variation makes it a great choice for more complex stitch patterns, like Alicia Plummer’s “Grant’s Point Socks,” or Emily Greene’s “Bevel Mitts.”

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

Hello, Fleece Artist Bluenose Socks!

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We’re thrilled to introduce our newest arrival, from Hand Maiden’s sister brand, Fleece Artist – meet Bluenose Socks!

Fleece Artist Bluenose Socks:

  • fingering weight
  • 2ply
  • hand-dyed
  • each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 75% treated bluefaced leicester wool, 25% nylon
  • 440 yards / 100g
  • suggested needle size & gauge: US 2/2.75mm; 32st/4″
  • machine wash cold, lay flat to dry

Fleece Artist is a small family run company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The folks at Fleece Artist are dedicated to breed specific fibers such as bluefaced leicester, fine kid mohair, merino and other fuzzy beasts. Bluenose Socks is a great example of this, a practical and hardwearing sock yarn made of treated bluefaced leicester wool – BFL, for short.

BFL is known for its strength, luster, and drape, a combination of qualities that makes it quite versatile – socks, hats, mitts, and shawls would all be good uses for Bluenose Socks.

I went searching for new-to-me sock patterns that have a little bit of texture, enough to keep the knitting interesting but not so complex that the stitch pattern gets lost in variegated colorways. Summer Lee has a few that fit this description perfectly: check out “The Daily Socks,” “Hibernal Socks,” “Stillwater Socks,” “Mermaid Avenue Socks,” and the especially whimsical “Classic Bobble Sock Set.”

Look for Bluenose Socks in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and click here to check it out on our online store!