Tag Archives: Julie Asselin

Show and tell: textural details.

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It’s show-and-tell time again! I’m always collecting photos of finished projects as they’re brought into the shop by proud knitters, the better to share them on Instagram and here on our blog. Each of these has a special textural detail, whether subtle or bold – let’s have a look.

Katherine designed and knit this “Diamonds in Bloom Shawl,” using one of her most favorite yarns, Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitee. This smooth, round yarn is ideal for showing off patterns like this one, with texture and lace – download her pattern for free on Ravelry!

And what’s on Katherine’s needles now? Another textured shawl in purple! This is Andrea Mowry’s “Anemoia,” which really shines in De Rerum Natura Gilliatt.

Josie came in wearing her “Mellow Mood Top,” a simple stockinette tee framed with broken rib. She used Sandnes Garn Line, the most popular yarn around here this time of year – linen, cotton, and viscose make for a cool and loose fitting summertime garment.

Becky knit this “Left Bank” cardigan with Malabrigo Rios, another bestselling yarn here at HYS. Yoko Hatta’s pattern features a honeycomb cable on each sleeve, a small detail that I imagine kept the knitting interesting.

Texture is the main event in Margaretta’s “Field Slipover,” a popular vest pattern by Camilla Vad.

Margaretta used Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Vovó and Isager Silk Mohair held together, giving this wheat stitch pattern a lovely fuzzy halo.

Thanks to Katherine, Josie, Becky, and Margaretta for sharing their projects, and thanks to everyone whose projects begin with a trip to our shop! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

Back in stock: Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée.

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We have new shades in Julie Asselin’s elegant Leizu Fingering Non Traitée!

We’re so happy to have these skeins at the shop at last – shipping and sourcing delays made our wait a little longer than usual, but this subtle hand dyed merino/silk blend is worth the wait.

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

Our friend and teacher Katherine fell especially hard for this smooth and springy yarn when it first landed at our shop a year ago.

She crocheted Saskia Paulich’s “Crochet Shawl CLEO” with Leizu Fingering Non Traitée, and came back for a sweater quantity.

Above is Katherine’s “Plain Yoke Tee 20” in progress, using a strand of fuzzy Isager Silk Mohair to bring Leizu Fingering Non Traitée up to gauge. The combination is delicious – soft and smooth, drapey but substantial, with a little flicker of contrast between the colors.

She loved this yarn blend so much that she cast on with it again – here’s her “Eloïse Shawl” in progress, rich with cables and illustrating the stellar stitch definition of Leizu Fingering Non Traitée.

Katherine’s “Crochet Shawl CLEO” is on display here at the shop, and it’s a good example of why we have so many samples – the finished shawl is so much softer than the yarn in the skein! In part this is because the skein is tightly twisted, putting a little tension on the yarn that relaxes beautifully when it’s wound and stitched into fabric. Come by and give it a squeeze to see what I mean.

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

Color crush: pool blue.

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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. Here’s one such case.

For months, Bailey’s been searching for a certain shade of blue: a little turquoise, a little cerulean, a little arctic. She calls it pool blue, and points it out when we’re ordering new yarn or restocking our favorites. I’ve learned to look for it, too, and though we’ve never quite found the perfect pool blue, we’ve come up with a lot of close shades. Perhaps it takes all of these to make pool blue, the way sunlight, movement, and depth alter the color of water.

Here are some of our favorite pool blues, with pattern ideas for each!

Harrisville Shetland in Peacock and Seagreen

With its springiness and structure, Harrisville Shetland is well suited to Andrea Mowry’s “Moon Mint,” a textured slip-stitch pullover with a plaid like pattern.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in Cloud, Seabright, and Sapphire

Match up a few shades of pool blue for Gudrun Johnston’s “Riggies Cowl” & “Riggies Beanie,” two simple but clever garter stitch accessories.

Isager Soft in 10 and Silk Mohair in 66

Aegyoknit’s “busan sweater” features a large central cable, and at 16 stitches = 4″, it’s a perfect match for one of the fluffiest yarn combinations at the shop: Isager Soft and Silk Mohair.

Isager Tweed in Raw White + Silk Mohair in EO, Tvinni in 102, and Tweed in Turquoise + Silk Mohair in 66

The popular “Norma Sweater” still has our attention, a design by My Favourite Things for the Isager Archives collection last year. How about a creamy white “Norma” with pool blue colorwork stripes?

Sandnes Garn Sunday in 6315 + Hand Maiden Superkid Silk in Topaz

Hold a solid merino with a hand dyed mohair/silk for PetiteKnit’s “Oslo Hat,” a simple stockinette accessory that particularly shines in a bold bright color.

BC Garn Bio Balance in 12 + Sandnes Garn Tynn Line in 6044

Bailey is working on Susanne Müller’s “Sabai Top” using this same yarn combination in different colors, and the fabric is so soft and light. I like the idea of a marled pool blue for that pattern, the aqua and cornflower blue coming together to make a unique shade.

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traiteé in Biarritz + Sandnes Garn Tynn Silk Mohair in 5824

Here’s another subtle marl, perfect for PetiteKnit’s “Monday Sweater.”

Malabrigo Mecha in Green Gray and Thereza

For instant gratification in pool blue, reach for bulky weight Mecha and make an“Arcade Cowl,” by Kristel Nieves.

 

What colors 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!

2025 in review.

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It was another big year here at HYS – though we were sad to say goodbye to Brooklyn Tweed, we refilled the space they left on our shelves with no less than 12 new kinds of yarn. They’re a diverse group: solids, heathers, and variegated colorways, cool plant fibers and fuzzy animal fibers, and a variety of weights from lace to bulky. This year, I wrote a blog post about each one of them, with my impressions, insights, and pattern ideas for how to use them. Click the links below to review our year in new yarn!

Which of these new yarns have you worked with, and which is next on your wish list? Tell us in the comments, we love hearing about the things you make!

Color crush: light blue and brown.

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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.

Bailey’s most recent shop sample is the “Escher Beanie,” by Rows Knitwear, an intriguing two-color slip stitch rib pattern.

She used one ball each in Isager Soft and Queensland Llama Seta, a contrast in textures and in color.

As she worked on it, curious knitters asked about the color combination, so like her “Karla Cardigan,” a striking combination of light blue and dark brown. Could it be a color crush?

Since then, we’ve been pulling out similar shades from all over the shop, robin’s egg and chocolate, baby blue and espresso, sky and carob – here they are, with pattern ideas for each pair!

Lang Cashmere Premium in 21 + 268

Make the most of two precious balls of cashmere yarn with Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Kerchief.”

Isager Soft in 10 + E8s

Lindsay Degen’s “Six of Daisies Cardigan” features large scale floral motifs, an ideal use of a high contrast color combination like this one.

Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Iceberg + Meteorite

Hoods and bonnets are more popular than ever – stripe these complementary shades of Shelter for Milena Juhola’s “Harriet Bonnet.”

Brooklyn Tweed Imbue Sport in Vapor + Peat

Use this super soft merino for Aimée Gille’s “Le Bandana,” a simple kerchief that can be knit with stripes of all sizes.

Isager Tweed in Topaz + Chocolate and Isager Silk Mohair in 41 + 34

I’ve been eyeing Other Loops’ “Lace Loop Sweater” lately, and this dreamy yarn combination would make a nice one.

Isager Spinni in 10s + 8s + 6s and Isager Soft Fine in 11 + E8s + E6s

Bailey came up with this combination for My Favourite Things’ “New Norma,” an oversized pullover with simple colorwork stripes.

Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitée in Hydrangées + Brownstone

While Brownstone is more rouge than brown, we still love it with pale blue – a lovely color pair for the simple stripes of Florence Miller’s “Tombo Tee.”

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!

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!