Tag Archives: kate davies

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!

Allover, by Kate Davies.

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Kate Davies’ newest book is here! Let’s look inside Allover ($28).

Allover is a vibrant collection of colorwork garments and accessories, drawing inspiration from the colorwork traditions of Norway, Sweden, Iceland, and Shetland.

Many of the patterns are shown and charted in multiple colorways, offering a glimpse into the limitless possibilities of each design – the same pattern can have a totally different look and feel in a different set of colors!

Come by the shop to browse this and other Kate Davies books – she’s a favorite of ours, so we do try to keep her books in good stock! Currently we have Inkling, Bluestockings, Yokes, Milarrochy Heids, Warm Hands, Argyll’s Secret Coast, Shore, Colours of Shetland, The Book of Haps, and Davies’ memoir, Handywoman. 

See you at the shop!

Hello, Fyberspates Cumulus!

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Meet our newest addition, Fyberspates Cumulus!

Fyberspates Cumulus:

  • lace weight
  • 74% baby Suri alpaca, 26% mulberry silk
  • 164 yards/25g
  • $8.60 each

Cumulus is a soft and fuzzy lace weight yarn, a lovely alternative to mohair for those who find it itchy. Use a single strand of Cumulus for lightweight shawls and sweaters, or pair it with a heavier yarn for more substantial garments with that fluffy halo that’s become so popular of late. Check out our blog post about Isager Silk Mohair for pattern ideas to that end, and keep an eye out for an upcoming post showing color and yarn combinations in Cumulus!

Today, we’ll let Cumulus take center stage and feature patterns for a single strand of this irresistibly soft yarn.

What to knit with Cumulus? Here are some pattern ideas!

Look for Fyberspates Cumulus in the lace weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket!

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Kelbourne Woolens is the source of some of our most popular yarns, beloved for the variety of high quality fibers they produce and the accessible price. Their latest is here at our shop – meet Cricket!

Kelbourne Woolens Cricket:

  • fingering weight
  • single ply
  • tweed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 415 yards/100g
  • $24 each

Cricket is a lighter weight version of KW’s popular Lucky Tweed, and comes in all the same colors.

Like Lucky Tweed, Cricket is manufactured in Donegal, Ireland, for an authentic tweed look and soft hand.

A few months ago, the folks at Kelbourne Woolens sent us a small ball of Cricket for swatching. I was the lucky knitter who got that job, and gave it a go in simple stockinette, first on a US 4, and then on a US 6 with a strand of Isager Silk Mohair in a contrasting color.

We’re expecting a Cricket pattern collection from Kelbourne Woolens early in the new year, but in the meantime, here are some pattern ideas that are a good fit for this new yarn!

For a single strand of Cricket:

For Cricket held together with Silk Mohair:

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Sark, by Kate Davies.

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Kate Davies’ newest book is here! Let’s look inside Sark ($28).

Davies’ newest collection is focused on twisted stitches, shown in delicate natural shades of wool that show off the embossed appearance of the texture patterns.

Davies took inspiration from designer Norah Gaughan and her recent Twisted Stitch Sourcebook. Sark includes an interview between Davies and Gaughan, and it’s a pleasure to listen in on their conversation.

All of the projects in this book are knit with Kate Davies’ own line of yarn, Ooskit, a DK weight wool. We don’t have it here at the shop, though we wish we could, but we have a great many excellent substitutes – Isager Jensen, Kelbourne Woolens Scout, Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, Fibre Co. Acadia, and more. We’re happy to help you come up with yarn and color substitutions!

Come by the shop to browse this and other Kate Davies books – she’s a favorite of ours, so we do try to keep her books in good stock! Currently we have Inkling, Bluestockings, Yokes, West Highland Way, Milarrochy Heids, Warm Hands, Inspired by Islay, Ten Years in the Making, Shore, Colours of Shetland, The Book of Haps, and Davies’ memoir, Handywoman. 

Argyll’s Secret Coast, by Kate Davies.

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Kate Davies’ newest book is here! Let’s look inside Argyll’s Secret Coast.

Argyll’s Secret Coast ($30)is a collection of essays and knitting patterns exploring the history and landscape of its namesake.

“Geographically proximate to lowland Scotland but topographically distinct,” writes Davies, “Cowal is a landscape of hidden places, surprising stories, many secrets.”

Ever the scholar, Davies uses the Secret Coast as a jumping off point to ask bigger questions about how places are remembered and histories narrativized, along with other contributing writers.

Come by the shop to browse this and other Kate Davies books – she’s a favorite of ours, so we do try to keep her books in good stock! Currently we have Inkling, Bluestockings, Yokes, West Highland Way, Milarrochy Heids, Warm Hands, Shore, Colours of Shetland, The Book of Haps, and Davies’ memoir, Handywoman. 

Thanksgiving break, colorwork show and tell.

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As you may have read in our most recent newsletter, the shop will be closed for our usual Thanksgiving break from November 24 – 29. Feel free to place online orders or email inquiries during that time, but know that we won’t be monitoring our inbox until we’re back in the shop on November 30! We wish you all a peaceful and safe holiday.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy more show and tell, this time featuring colorwork projects!

Anne knit this “Spooky Hat,” by RosiePosieKnitCo, using Malabrigo Rios – all the contrast colors were leftovers from other projects, a great way to use them up!

Pam loves to do colorwork with Malabrigo Rios, too – here’s her “Dog Star,” a favorite pattern designed for all ages by Tin Can Knits.

Molly knit this “Machrihanish” vest using Cascade 220 Fingering, selecting and ordering the colors from a distance during our long closure. We were thrilled to see how beautifully it came together – there’s nothing like seeing yarn and handknit garments in person! Pattern by Kate Davies.

Above is Victoria’s “Lehto,” a pattern from Anna Johanna’s book Strands of Joy. She used Briggs & Little Sport for the main color and Kelbourne Woolens Andorra for the contrast color, and I must mention that this is her very first sweater – bravo, Victoria!

Thanks to Anne, Pam, Molly, and Victoria for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Silk Mohair + Quarry.

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Isager Silk Mohair is the newest yarn here at our shop, a fine and fluffy yarn that plays well with others. We are particularly enthused about pairing it with Brooklyn Tweed Quarry, a woolen spun yarn found in our bulky weight section. Silk Mohair brings softness and a fuzzy halo to Quarry, which is lofty and structured, ideal for a cozy winter sweater.

Anne knit up a simple hat with this alluring combination, following Earth Guild’s “Super Simple Circular Hat Calculator.”

  • Isager Silk Mohair: lace weight, 70% kid mohair, 30% silk, 233 yards/25 g, $16 each
  • Brooklyn Tweed Quarry: bulky weight, 100% Targhee-Columbia wool, 200 yards/100 g, $25 each

One skein of each will make a hat like Anne’s; here are some more pattern ideas for this yarn pairing!

Look for Isager Silk Mohair in the lace weight section and Brooklyn Tweed Quarry in the bulky weight section – see you at the shop!

Bluestockings, by Kate Davies & Nicole Pohl.

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An intriguing new book arrived at the shop not long ago, along with Inkling – let’s look inside Bluestockings, by Kate Davies and Nicole Pohl!

Bluestockings is a book of history as well as knitting patterns, a celebration of the group of eighteenth-century learned women known as the Bluestockings in prose, images, and handknit socks.

Scholars, dyers, curators, and other experts have brought their perspectives to this book, making it a rich and intriguing read on the history of socks and stockings, as well as the lives and work of the Bluestockings.

The knitting patterns are varied in technique and style, from stripes and stranded colorwork to texture and lace.

Look for Bluestockings ($25) here at the shop, or order it online for local pickup or shipping!

New colors in Malabrigo Mecha!

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We are thrilled to have brand new colors in Malabrigo Mecha!

Malabrigo Mecha:

  • bulky weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 131 yards/100 grams
  • $16 each

These six shades are from Malabrigo’s Women on Screen collection, a palette of tonal pastels and low-contrast variegated colorways.

Because it’s so soft and easily machine-washable, Mecha is ideal for making cozy accessories and baby things. Here are a few pattern ideas:

Look for Malabrigo Mecha in our bulky weight section here at the shop! We are also happy to take your order online for local pickup or shipping – just fill out our online order form and we’ll get back with you as soon as possible.