Crochet accessories and knit lace: two new books.

Posted by Julia on June 10, 2014

Two new books from Interweave have found a home at the shop: It Girl Crochet and New Vintage Lace.

It Girl Crochet boasts 23 patterns for crocheted accessories, from hats and mitts to scarves, cowls, and shawls. I spotted some HYS yarns as I flipped through the patterns; a hat in Mirasol Nuna, a shawl in Malabrigo Lace, and another in Shibui Silk Cloud.

Andrea Jurgrau’s New Vintage Lace is a collection of knitting patterns inspired by traditional lace doily patterns.

I was particularly impressed by the amount of information up front about the materials and design of garments like these, including detailed discussions of different fiber types and their various attributes, kinds of beads and how to apply them, gauge, swatching, blocking, and more.

The patterns are lovely, as well, with many familiar yarns at play; a hat in Malabrigo Silky Merino, and two shawls in Jade Sapphire Lacey Lamb.

Come by the shop to peruse the latest books and magazines, including It Girl Crochet and New Vintage Lace–you’ll find them on the teacart. See you there!

Two new classes.

Posted by Julia on April 25, 2014

Marsha recently brought in two new knit samples, demonstrating techniques and projects she’ll teach in upcoming classes.

The “Waterhouse Mitts” class will teach stranded two-color knitting, following this free pattern from Ravelry. This one was knit with Marion Foale 3-ply Wool and Sandnes Garn Sisu, two fingering weight yarns in high-contrast colors.

Above is the “Loose Lattice Keyhole Scarf,” a Marsha original. Consider the Loose Lattice Lace class a “beginning lace” workshop, where you’ll swatch the Loose Lattice stitch pattern in the yarn of your choice and then knit a scarf with or without a keyhole to the dimensions you desire. This bright summery sample was knit in the aran-weight Debbie Bliss Stella, a blend of silk, rayon, and cotton.

Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal.

Posted by Julia on April 18, 2014

I’m happy to announce that we now stock Knitter’s Graph Paper Journals at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, the perfect notebook to slip into your knitting bag.

These slim, unassuming notebooks are full of knitter’s graph paper, with squares that, like knitted stitches, are wider than they are tall. This makes them ideal for penciling in all manner of knitting charts, from cables and colorwork to lace, intarsia, and texture patterns.

The Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal is made in Oakland, CA, and designed by a knitter, Narangkar Glover. The pages may be blank, but the inside covers are packed with information: a ruler on one edge, a needle inventory, a key for common knitting symbols, a guide to yarn weights and fabric care symbols.

It’s simple and practical, but also beautiful, I think. I bought one the moment we got them in stock, and just having one in my hands makes me eager to sketch some new stitch pattern, or plan a colorwork project. I look forward to filling it with notes, charts, and ideas.

Come by the shop to pick up a Knitter’s Graph Paper Journal for yourself or a friend!

Vogue Knitting.

Posted by Julia on March 8, 2014

The Spring/Summer 2014 issue of Vogue Knitting is here!

Inside, you’ll find patterns for a mix of garments and accessories for warm-weather knitting: openwork tops for layering in transitional seasons, lightweight scarves and shawls, bright color-block sweaters, and a series of three-season hoodies.

I noticed a favorite yarn in this issue, too–one skein of the delightful Fibre Company Meadow, knit up into a floral lace scarf.

We always like to see what Meg Swansen is writing about in her Vogue column–this time, it’s tips and tricks for lace-knitting, a topic well-suited to the projects in this issue.

Look for Vogue Knitting on the teacart among the latest books and magazines. See you at the shop!

Sonetto shawl.

Posted by Julia on March 2, 2014

Last week, Amy brought in this new shop sample: the “Sonetto” shawl, knit in two shades of Fibre Company Meadow.

“Sonetto” is an asymmetric triangular shawl pattern suitable for new lace knitters, and one whose size is easy to adjust depending upon preference, or amount of yarn.

It’s cast on at one point of the triangle, increasing in width every row, and finished with a neat picot bind-off.

Amy altered the pattern a bit to knit it in two colors, using the intarsia technique of twisting one color of yarn around the other at a certain point in every row. She wrote a bit about how to make this change on her Ravelry project page, if you’d like to make the same modification to a “Sonetto” shawl of your own.

“Sonetto” calls for between 375 – 575 yards of fingering weight yarn, though this is somewhat flexible–we’ve seen one made up in Selku, a sport weight wool, and the Meadow used in Amy’s shawl is more a lace-weight than a fingering-weight yarn. Inspired by Amy’s “Sonetto,” several knitters have embarked on “Sonetto”s of their own in yarns like Malabrigo Finito, Isager Plant Fibre and Alpaca 2–I can’t wait to see how they come out!

Judy Marples’ “Sonetto” pattern is available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale here at the shop; we’ll print a copy for you and save a digital copy to your email or Ravelry Library. Come by the shop to see Amy’s “Sonetto” shawl and plan your next project. See you there!

Kindling shawl.

Posted by Julia on February 20, 2014

A new lace shawl now decorates the walls at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop: “Kindling,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn, knit with three skeins of Fibre Company Savannah.

If you’ve visited the shop on a Sunday recently, you may well have seen Rosi stitching on this shawl. Once the knitting was done, she passed it on to me so I could try my hand at blocking it with blocking wires–a new skill for me.

Using a Knitter’s Pride Lace Blocking Kit and some online tutorials, blocking the “Kindling” shawl was easier than I thought it might be.

It’s always amazing to me how the fabric changes with a good soak, and this is particularly true for lace patterns. When they first come off the needles, they look rumpled and bumpy, but after blocking, the eyelets open up and the lace pattern can really shine. It was satisfying to see, even though I hadn’t knit the thing myself.

Fibre Company Savannah is a sport weight blend of 50% wool, 20% cotton, 15% linen, and 15% soya, which gives it the elasticity of wool and the lightness of plant fibers–a perfect spring and summer yarn.

Come by the shop to admire Rosi’s handiwork and see our “Kindling” sample for yourself. You’ll find Savannah in the sport weight section, and the pattern is always available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale–we’ll print it out for you and save a digital copy in your email or Ravelry pattern library. Hope to see you there soon!

Knitter’s Pride blocking wires.

Posted by Julia on January 16, 2014

Blocking is a frequently recurring subject of conversation around the shop. What is blocking, and why do we do it? And perhaps more importantly: how do we do it? Many knitters are unsure about this last step, afraid they’ll somehow do it wrong and ruin their shawls or sweaters. Let us assure you: blocking is nothing to be afraid of, but simply the act of washing your finished piece and laying it out to dry. This resets the memory of the yarn, and can help to even out tension, open up lace patterns, and tweak the dimensions of your piece. Different kinds of projects require different blocking techniques. Sometimes it’s enough to smooth your knitted or crocheted fabric into shape with your hands and let it dry, and other times, you’ll want to pin it out to very specific measurements. For lace shawls and scarves, you may want a special tool to assist you: blocking wires.

We now carry Knitter’s Pride Lace Blocking Wire Kits, which feature stainless steel wires in two lengths, T-pins for holding them in place on your blocking surface, and measuring tape to check the dimensions of your piece as you block.

For more information on blocking with and without blocking wires, check out these helpful tutorials:

“Using Blocking Wires To Block A Lace Shawl,” from Interweave’s “Knitting Daily” blog
“Block Party,” by Sandi Rosner, from Twist Collective

Also, designer and knitwear photographer Caro Sheridan suggests using blocking wires to help install a zipper on a knitted sweater–clever! Check out the “Techniques and tutorials” board on the HYS Pinterest page for more links to knitting and crochet how-to’s.

Come by the shop to pick up a set of blocking wires, and banish your fear of blocking at last. See you there!

Knitting Traditions.

Posted by Julia on July 20, 2013

The Fall 2013 issue of Knitting Traditions is here!

Knitting Traditions is a magazine focused on the history of hand-knitting, and often profiles the knitting traditions of a particular place or time. In this issue, it’s a particular technique that’s highlighted: lace.

As always, there are plenty of articles to read along with patterns to knit.

Come by the shop during July to snag this issue of Knitting Traditions at 15% off. Our Annual Inventory Sale is on until the end of the month, so hurry in to take advantage of the 15% discount on magazines, books, patterns, needles, hooks, notions, bags, and of course, yarn. See you there!

Colorwork, crochet, lace, and children’s things: the newest books.

Posted by Julia on March 11, 2013

We recently received a shipment of new books from publisher Leisure Arts. This handful of new booklets covers so many techniques and projects that most could be tempted by one or two.

These two collections from designer Kathleen Taylor are perfect not only for those who love colorwork, but also for those who haven’t yet attempted the technique. The patterns are lovely, but perhaps even better are Taylor’s words of knitterly wisdom regarding gauge, steeking, and color theory for stranded colorwork.

Avid sock-knitters will be happy to see that Taylor covers lace socks, as well. This booklet gives good guidance on sock construction as well as lace patterning, so a knitter who hasn’t tackled either of those techniques can feel emboldened to try.

These two booklets focus on knitting for babies and young children. Baby Beanies, as you might guess, is all about hats: a perfect baby shower gift that is quick to knit. Fair Isle Flower Garden, on the other hand, has more intricate patterns for sweaters, dresses, and accessories, all in colorful fair isle.

For crocheters, here’s a collection of stitch patterns for Tunisian crochet compact enough to fit in a project bag. Stitch dictionaries of any kind can be the key to creating your own designs; this one can also assist in reading Tunisian crochet charts.

Look for these on the teacart, where we collect the latest in magazines and books. See you at the shop!

An Isager shipment. Part 1.

Posted by Julia on August 11, 2012

As I’ve written here before, Theresa Gaffey’s Stole from the book Wearwithall has been a popular project at the shop lately. Gaffey’s design is beautiful in its simplicity, allowing knitters to relax and let the exquisite yarn do the talking.

The yarn is Isager Alpaca 2, a fingering weight blend of merino wool and alpaca. Only two weeks into our inventory sale, we were completely sold out of Wearwithall and very nearly sold out of Alpaca 2. I’m happy to announce that both are now back in stock. To all who were interested in making the Stole your next project: come and get it!

You can find Wearwithall and Isager Alpaca 2 in the Fingering Weight section of the shop in the second room. See you there!