Swans Island Limited Edition Ikat.

Posted by Julia on April 25, 2016

There’s a brand new, limited edition color in Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering, and we’re delighted to have it here at the shop! These unique blue and white skeins are hand-dyed with natural indigo using an Indonesian dyeing technique called Ikat. Hanks of undyed merino wool are tied tightly with cord, and the portions of the skeins that are wrapped resist the dye, creating a variegated colorway.

Indigo is a pigment rather than a dye, so you can expect to find blue streaks on your hands after knitting with indigo-dyed yarns for a while. Rest assured, it comes off easily with soap and water, and wont continue to crock once you’ve washed your finished project, rinsing til the water runs clear. I’ve written about indigo-dyed yarns here on the blog before; click here to read more.

Each 100 gram skein of this yarn boasts 525 yards, plenty for a pair of mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawl. Patterns with simple stitch patterns will allow this colorful yarn to shine; think “Sumatra Mitts,” “Hitchhiker,” or “Ahull.”

Look for a special Ikat-dyed skein tucked into our basket of Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering. See you at the shop!

New colors in Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton.

Posted by Julia on March 27, 2016

A new batch of colors in Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton now graces our shelves.

Cutthroat Yarn’s Gradients have been warmly welcomed by knitters at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, who are snapping them up for lightweight spring and summer shawls, the likes of “Spearmint Tea,” “Everyday Shawl,” and “Wildheart,” to name a few.

When we heard requests for more blues, greens, and neutral shades, we put it to Jeanette at Cutthroat, and she came up with these four colorways for us.

This run of Gradient Cotton, while maintaining the same yardage, weight, and gauge, is dyed on a different base yarn than the last batch. This a 2-ply fingering weight cotton that’s loosely spun for a soft hand and somewhat rustic texture.

Look for Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton and BFL in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Mechita.

Posted by Julia on February 22, 2016

Anne and I breathed a sigh of relief when we opened a box from Malabrigo last week, full of Malabrigo Mechita.

Malabrigo Mechita is a single-ply superwash merino wool in fingering weight, and though it’s only been in production for about a year, it’s become a kind of staple here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. A busy winter season left us with a dwindling supply of the stuff, and we just didn’t feel right til the Mechita cubby was full again.

Suitable for shawls, scarves, and cowls, socks and mitts, baby things and lightweight hats, a skein or two of Mechita has great potential. If you’re itching to cast on with Malabrigo Mechita, consider “Danzig,” “Emiliana,” “Starshower,” “Jewel Dragon,” and “Autumn Rain.”

Look for Mechita in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and peruse our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas. We hope you find inspiration there, as well as among these colorful skeins of yarn!

Hello, Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton.

Posted by Julia on February 15, 2016

Last week, we got another shipment from Cutthroat Yarn in Leesburg, Virginia. Meet the newest of our yarns, Gradient Cotton.

Like Cutthroat Yarn Gradient BFL, Gradient Cotton is a hand-dyed fingering weight self-striping yarn, where each shade is many yards long, for wide stripes. The big difference between these two yarns is in fiber content. The mercerized cotton in Gradient Cotton is grown right here in North Carolina, and like all plant fibers, it makes inelastic, drapey fabric that is cool to the touch, perfect for a lightweight spring or summer accessory.

All of the patterns I mentioned in my recent Gradient BFL post are suitable for Gradient Cotton, too. Consider also Tina Whitmore’s “Radiance Shawlette,” Mindy Ross’s “Reverse Psychology,” and Kateryna Golovanova’s “Spearmint Tea.”

Look for Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton in the fingering weight section here at the shop, on a shelf just beneath Gradient BFL. See you there!

New colors in Yarn Hollow Photograph.

Posted by Julia on December 30, 2015

Five new shades of Yarn Hollow Photograph are brightening a special basket here at the shop.

Yarn Hollow is a yarn company that has grown from one dyer in her garage to a three-person hand-dyeing operation out of Grandville, Michigan. For almost three years now, we’ve stocked Yarn Hollow’s Photograph, a worsted weight 100% bluefaced leicester wool.

Each skein 4 oz skein boasts 250 yards, a good-sized chunk of yarn at about 5 stitches per inch. Pick up one skein for a “Dustland Hat” or “Cumberland” cowl, two skeins for a “Big Herringbone Cowl,” or three for a “Range” wrap–all well-loved worsted weight patterns that we’ve knit as shop samples over the years. Check our “Worsted weight” board on Pinterest for more pattern ideas!

Look for Yarn Hollow Photograph in the worsted weight section here at the shop. See you there!

Hello, Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering.

Posted by Julia on December 7, 2015

Another new yarn has made a home here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Say hello to Sincere Sheep Cormo Fingering!

Based in Northern California, Sincere Sheep produces naturally dyed yarns from U.S. sourced fibers. Cormo Fingering is a 2-ply yarn made of 100% Cormo wool, a cross-breed of Corriedale and Merino sheep originating in Australia. The Cormo sheep whose fleece made this yarn live in Kaycee, WY.

Cormo is a finewool, much like its Merino ancestors, and makes a highly elastic yarn that’s velvety soft to the touch. The 2-ply structure of Cormo Fingering gives the yarn a pebbly texture, and gives the knitted fabric a lot of character.

I’m using a skein of Cormo Fingering to knit “Starshower,” a shawl-cowl hybrid by Hilary Smith Callis. It starts off like a traditional top-down shawl, with a garter tab cast-on, grows for a bit with regular increases, then is joined to work in the round. The end result is a shaped cowl, like a shawl with no dangling ends to worry about.

Each 4 oz skein has 500 yards, plenty for a cowl, shawlette, scarf, or hat and mitt set. A versatile skein like this makes a great gift, too, so consider it if there’s a knitter on your holiday gift list this year. Look for pattern ideas on our “Fingering weight” Pinterest board, and look for this special yarn in the fingering weight section here at the shop. See you there!

Back in stock: Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on November 27, 2015

Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply has only been on our shelves since February, and already we’re due for a second big reorder. Over and over again, knitters are drawn to our cubby full of Vivacious 4ply by the rich, hand-dyed colorways and the softness of the yarn.

I’m happy to report that a big box of Vivacious 4ply landed here at the shop last week. Our cubby is stuffed with more colors than ever, and there’s plenty to go around!

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Check our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas!

Vivacious 4ply is hand-dyed, so each skein is unique, even from the same dye-lot; remember you can alternate skeins to blend hand-dyed yarns in larger projects.

We carry lots of hand-dyed yarns, but each one has their own color personality. Vivacious 4ply seems to excel in low-contrast, painterly colorways, the kind that I’d expect to knit up looking well-blended rather than streaky. Their brightest shades are rich and eye-catching, but their muted browns and grays are not to be overlooked.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section at the shop. See you there!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Rasta.

Posted by Julia on November 23, 2015

Just in time for cold weather, we’ve restocked Malabrigo Rasta!

Rasta is a soft, squishy, single-ply merino wool that knits up quickly on US 13 – 17 needles.

Each 150 gram skein has 90 yards, which may not sound like a lot, but those 90 yards go a long way at 2 or 2.5 stitches per inch.

Rasta is perfectly suited to cold-weather accessories: hats, scarves, cowls, and the like. Anne knit this simple seed stitch cowl with one skein of Malabrigo Rasta.

Come by the shop to pick up a skein or two of Malabrigo Rasta for your last-minute holiday gift-knitting! See you there.

Technicolor cowl.

Posted by Julia on November 18, 2015

For the past year or so, Nancy Leuer’s “Technicolor Cowl” has been a popular project here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Calling for eight 50-yard mini-skeins of Dream in Color Classy, it’s a simple but entertaining project with a focus on color.

This cowl is knit in the round, with stripes of stockinette and reverse stockinette that make a squishy, textured fabric from this springy superwash merino yarn.

I knit the sample “Technicolor Cowl” that hangs over the worsted weight section, and it’s caught many an eye, inspiring knitters to put together their own color combinations. We’ve been lucky to capture some of them and share them here on the blog in show and tell posts.

Here’s Joanne in her “Technicolor Cowl,” knit in eight shades of Alchemy Sanctuary. With a wide variety of colors, from pastel to earth tones to vivid blue and orange, Joanne’s cowl is technicolor, indeed. Josie, shown below in her cowl, took a similar approach, using Dream in Color Classy and Malabrigo Rios.

This pattern looks more subdued, but just as good in fewer colors, too. Debbie knit the “Technicolor Cowl” below in just three shades, with two skeins of green and three skeins each in gold and rust.

The pattern is free when you purchase eight Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins for the project, which I’m happy to report are back in stock. We now have two cubbies full of the stuff!

Dream in Color produces the Classy mini-skeins only occasionally, and the color selection is different every time. I was pleased to see a nice range of teals and blues in this batch that had been absent in the last two rounds of mini-skeins.

Look for Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins in the worsted weight section, and have fun picking colors for a “Technicolor Cowl” of your own!

Back in stock: Dream in Color Smooshy with Cashmere.

Posted by Julia on November 16, 2015

Every year at TNNA, we visit the Dream in Color booth and pick out a new palette of Smooshy with Cashmere. Their selection of colors is overwhelming, ever-expanding, and cannot be contained by a color-card, so we wait to order until we can see them all in person.

Anne and I were delighted when a box arrived last week from Dream in Color, bursting with ten new shades of Smooshy with Cashmere and another special something that I’ll save for a later blog post.

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. It makes an amazing pair of socks or a special scarf, shawl, or cowl. Look for pattern ideas on our “Fingering weight” board over on Pinterest.

Look for Smooshy with Cashmere in the fingering weight section, and keep it in mind when an especially luxurious pair of socks is needed. See you at the shop!