Back in stock: Spindrift.

We got a big shipment from Jamieson’s this week, bursting with Spindrift!

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift is one of my very favorite yarns in the shop, a classic Shetland wool that comes in over two hundred colors! We don’t have every available shade here at the shop, but it’s a nice selection – we try to make sure there are plenty of lights, mediums, and darks in every color family, which makes for a tantalizing color palette.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% shetland wool
  • 115 yards/25 g
  • $8.40 each

Spindrift is a classic choice for stranded colorwork, a particularly beloved technique around here – here are some pattern ideas!

Hats:

Mittens:

Sweaters:

Look for Spindrift in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

Show and tell at a distance.

Since we closed our doors to walk-in visits back in March, we’ve seen a lot less of our community, and though it’s the right thing to do in terms of safety, we sure miss seeing all of you! We also miss the inspiring works-in-progress and finished projects you’d bring in for show and tell. Fortunately, we can still see your creations from a safe distance – we’ve had some folks send photos, and others bring their knits with them when they pick up their orders outside the shop! Let’s have a look.

Amy made this “Juneberry” shawl with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight Targhee wool yarn whose sharp stitch definition does this pattern justice.

Katherine used Malabrigo Rios to knit this “Scalloped Shawl,” which looks just lovely in this pastoral setting. Rios has been more popular than ever, and we’re doing our best to keep it in stock in spite of production delays and backorders!

 

Sue has a fondness for Rios, too – she’s been keeping herself busy knitting hat after hat with this soft and squishy yarn! Here are some of the patterns she’s used, all free downloads from Ravelry:

Yet another project in Malabrigo Rios is above, at right – Margaretta’s second (or third, or fourth? I’ve lost count!) “Umaro” blanket. She made the one on the left with Berroco Ultra Wool DK.

Here’s another of Margaretta’s projects, a “Furrow Cowl” knit with Austermann Merino Silk.

Nancy was the first of many to order yarn from us for “Katie’s Kep,” the Shetland Wool Week hat for 2020. We helped her pick colors of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and it’s delightful to see how beautifully they came together in the finished hat.

 

Thanks to Amy, Katherine, Sue, Margaretta, and Nancy, for sharing your work with us! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next, and encourage anyone working with yarn from our shop to send photos or bring along your projects when you’re picking up an order. Stay in touch, and keep stitching!

Katie’s Kep.

We’re so excited about “Katie’s Kep,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2020!

“Katie’s Kep,” by Wilma Malcolmson, Shetland Wool Week’s featured hat pattern for 2020. Shown in Colourway 4.

This five-color fair isle hat is currently available as a free pattern download from the Shetland Wool Week website. A new Shetland Wool Week hat pattern is something I look forward to every year, so I downloaded it as soon as it was available, and then went straight to our Jamieson’s of Shetland Spindrift to play the color game. I spent some time putting together four color combinations, inspired by the four colorways shown in the pattern.

Shetland Spindrift is $6.80 per ball, and the project requires 6 balls – 2 in the main color, and 1 each in 4 contrast colors, for a total price of $40.80. We just got a fresh delivery of Shetland Spindrift with this project in mind, so all four colourways are currently in stock – get in touch if you’d like to order yarn for a “Katie’s Kep” of your own!

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland Spindrift.

The appetite for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and colorwork knitting in general seems to be growing, if our frequent Jamieson’s orders are any indication. This weekend brought another big box of Shetland Spindrift our way, a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool.

We usually keep around 110 colors in stock, an awe-inspiring selection that we display in big trays, so you can see them all clearly. Because the yarn is so well-suited to stranded colorwork knitting, Jamieson’s makes a staggering 220 colors, and we are happy to special order any of them for you if you don’t see what you’re looking for on our shelves.

We have several patterns in stock for Shetland Spindrift, like Sandy Blue’s “Autumn Tam” and “Midnight Sun Tam,” Churchmouse’s “Wee Wooly Sheep,” and Janine Bajus’s “Redbud” vest.

This yarn is also popular for Gudrun Johnston’s “Bousta Beanie,” a featured pattern for Shetland Wool Week in 2017. This year’s SWW pattern also calls for Shetland Spindrift, and we’re busy putting kits together to make it – more on that soon!

Now for a bit of show and tell – here’s Nancy’s “Efflorescent” shawl, knit with Shetland Spindrift as a sample for a class she offered here at the shop last year. The pattern is from Felicity Ford’s KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Playbook, which is bursting with colorful inspiration, along with techniques and patterns. Nancy has graciously lent us the shawl for display, so you can see this work of art in person at our shop.

Kathryn wove this incredible guitar strap on an inkle loom, using Isager Bomuld and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Kate came in recently wearing her newest sweater, Leila Raabe’s “Stasis” pullover, knit with Shetland Spindrift in the colors Eggshell and Teviot, a charming combination. She made a few modifications for a perfect fit and is rightfully pleased with the outcome – well done, Kate!

Thanks to Nancy, Kathryn, and Kate for sharing their handiwork, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to our shop! Look for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in the fingering weight section  – we can’t wait to see what you make with it!

Show and tell: colorful shawls.

Time for another round of show and tell! We always love seeing what you make with our yarns, and lately I’ve had the pleasure of seeing and photographing more finished projects than I can share in one blog post. For today, let’s look at some colorful shawls that started life as yarn on our shelves.

Above is Donita’s “Wisdom Wrap,” knit with Alchemy Silken Straw and Sanctuary. She brought it in to show us before felting, which will transform this partly-wool shawl from a colorblock rectangle to a softer, more organic shape – we can’t wait to see it after she takes the leap!

Gwen loves working with Ewe Ewe yarns. She’s worked with Baa Baa Bulky and Wooly Worsted before, and has come back to the latter to make the “Whenever Wrap” above. With so many exciting yarns to choose from, this return to the same yarn for multiple projects is quite the endorsement!

Nancy recently knit this “Butterfly / Papillon” shawl with Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn, Peerie, and is preparing to teach a class on the subject here at the shop.

Many of the “Butterfly / Papillon” projects on Ravelry have been made with self-striping or hand-dyed yarns, so it’s particularly striking to see Nancy’s solid color version. I’m looking forward to seeing the shawls that come out of her class!

Nancy’s next project is another colorful shawl, Felicity Ford’s “Efflorescent,” from her latest book, Knitsonik Stranded Colourwork PlaybookThe swatches below were knit with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and show two of the three colorways for “Efflorescent,” more class prep. Read more about Nancy’s upcoming class on our Classes page – there are still a few spaces if you’d like to attend!

Many thanks to the talented knitters who shared the projects above, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!

Interweave Knits.

The latest issue of Interweave Knits arrived today, a reminder that Fall is getting closer!

The theme of this Fall 2018 issue is cables, and I spotted a couple of intricate cabled garments made with yarns we carry here at the shop.

The luxurious wrap above is shown in Shibui Drift, a worsted spun, worsted weight blend of merino and cashmere that’s smooth and round, for sharp stitch definition. The sweater below is a good example of what a woolen spun, worsted weight yarn looks like in a cable pattern, as it’s made with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter. Just as lovely, but somewhat more rustic, with a slightly softened stitch definition.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift showed up in this issue, too, in this oversized cardigan whose colorwork pattern suggests plaid.

Look for Interweave Knits on our teacart here at the shop!

Show and tell: colorwork sweaters.

Two blog posts full of colorwork knitting just aren’t enough – here’s a third, with a focus on sweaters.

Here Margie models her “Townes” pullover, knit with a clever combination of speckled Malabrigo Mechita and a few solid and heathered shades of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Emily’s first adult-sized colorwork sweater is a perfect fit and features a beautiful, distinctive color combination – the pattern is tincanknits’ “Dog Star,” and the yarn is the unbeatable Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

Kate has just finished a “Dog Star,” too, on a smaller scale for her daughter. For this one, she’s used Fibre Co. Arranmore Light, but she has another in the works in Arbor – can’t wait to see that one, too!

From left to right, here are Claire, Tom, Jayne, Barbara, Barbara, and Amy, all in their “St. Brendan” pullovers knit during Amy’s class on the subject. It’s so fun to see all these different color combinations together, not to mention all these happy knitters sporting their own handiwork!

Thanks so much to the knitters pictured above, and to everyone who’s ever taught or taken a class here, or started a project with a trip to our shop – we’re so grateful for all of you! It’s our community that makes our shop special. See you there!

Marie Wallin’s Shetland.

Happy to report that Marie Wallin’s Shetland is back in stock!

This exquisite book is full of intricate fair isle designs in a kaleidoscopic array of colors, all knit with the quintessential Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Wallin is a British designer known for her rich colorwork designs, inspired by traditional fair isle knitting, but applied to modern, wearable shapes and styles.

We’ve actually sold out of this book twice now – each batch we’ve ordered has disappeared before I have a chance to snap a photo or write about it here on the blog. Our third batch is half gone as I write this, but fear not – another is on the way!

Look for Shetland on the teacart here at the shop, amidst piles of new books and magazines, full of inspiration for new projects. See you there!

More Bousta Beanies.

Back in September, I wrote about Gudrun Johnston’s “Bousta Beanie,” a three-color fair-isle hat that I find absolutely irresistible. Since then, Anne has knit one, I’ve knit two, and so many of you have started on “Bousta Beanies” of your own!

Anne knit this “Bousta Beanie” for her daughter, adding a little extra length and a folded brim to keep her ears warm during New York winters. The main yarn is Tukuwool Fingering, and the inside hem is made with the extra-soft Isager Alpaca 2.

If you want to add a folded brim to your own hat, check out this Kelbourne Woolens tutorial on the subject – it helps to see it at several steps throughout the process.

Joanne knit the “Bousta Beanie” above with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, which offers an unparalleled selection of colors – we have 126 in stock at my last count!

Here’s my first “Bousta Beanie,” knit with Tukuwool Fingering. I selected two light shades and one dark, putting one of the lights in the background for a low-contrast effect. I had enough yarn left to knit a second and probably even a third, rearranging the color placement to make good use of the yardage. For my second, I placed the darkest color in the background, which caused the two lighter shades to pop out in the foreground.

I love how both hats turned out, though they’re very different; it was fun just to see what happened as the colors came together, row by row.

Anyone else out there knitting “Bousta Beanies”? We’d love to see them and hear about what yarns and color combinations worked best for you!

Restocking.

December is a busy month here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Knitters and crocheters rush in seeking bulky yarns for last-minute hats, others pop by to pick up gift certificates, hoping to delight the yarn-lovers in their life, and still more wander in, entranced by the ballwinder in the window, curious what our shop is all about.

Our educational calendar calms down to make room for the busy personal schedules of our teachers and students, though we’ll pick up the pace in January with a surge of new classes.

We unpack the occasional new book, magazine, or notion, but a lot of what we order and receive during this busy time is familiar territory – just your average restock, filling up on yarns that have sold out and need replenishing.

We’ve filled up on Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering and Tukuwool Fingering, brought back sold out colors in Berroco Ultra Wool and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and unpacked boxes of Malabrigo yarns at least once a week.

Come by the shop to browse the newest yarns as well as our old favorites, and plan a project for the new year ahead!