New fall scents from Harmony Farm Candles.

Posted by Julia on September 21, 2017

Each season brings a new selection of tempting scents from Harmony Farm Candles, and three just arrived at the shop to ease us into fall.

Harmony Farm Candles is run by our friend Erin in nearby Mebane, North Carolina. She hand-pours her candles in small batches using 100% US-sourced soy wax, with no added dyes. Their scents are fresh and bright, but not overwhelming – “delightfully fragranced,” as she puts it.

Smelling of spices and apple, Mulled Cider is a sweet, warm scent.

Fall Foliage is a unique woodsy scent, which Erin describes as having “citrus accents, touches of balsam, patchouli and oakmoss.” It’s the one I’m burning at home these days, and for me, it perfectly conjures my favorite season.

While Rosemary is one of Erin’s year-round scents, it’s a new one for us and seems to suit the season. Made with essential oil, it smells precisely like the herb it’s named for. Anne took one whiff and exclaimed, “Focaccia!”

Whenever Erin comes by with a delivery, Anne and I pick up some new candles for ourselves. We find Harmony Farm Candles a perfect companion to an evening of knitting, and we hope you do, too! As gifts, they are always warmly-received; keep them in mind for holiday and host gifts, birthdays, and the odd just-thinking-of-you occasion. Look for Harmony Farm Candles in our gifts section!

New buttons from Late Bloomer Pottery.

Posted by Julia on August 17, 2017

Frumet of Late Bloomer Pottery came for a visit this week, and brought along a fresh supply of buttons.

Frumet is a local potter who makes beautiful functional pieces here in the Triangle. We keep a supply of her yarn bowls in our Gifts section here at the shop, along with a little basket of ceramic buttons.

Late Bloomer buttons are a little different each time, varying in color, texture, and shape. Some are one of a kind, while others come in sets of two, three, or four.

Come by the shop to see what’s new from Late Bloomer Pottery, and check out our other locally-sourced goods while you’re here!

Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Posted by Julia on May 10, 2017

Mother’s Day fast approaches, a good time to remind you of our Gift section here at the shop. We’ve sought out makers in our local community as well as our wider community of suppliers and assembled a collection of items that make excellent gifts for knitters and non-knitters alike.

Harmony Farm Candles are always a welcome gift, hand-poured by Erin in nearby Mebane. We’re lucky enough to have a custom scent, Lavender Eucalyptus, on our shelves, along with a rotating selection of other Harmony Farm Candles, changing with the seasons and our moods.

We just got a new batch of ceramic yarn bowls, handmade in Durham by Frumet of Late Bloomer Pottery.

We also stock hand-painted silk scarves by Gina Wilde, the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy Yarns. Gina has been working with a fair trade collective in Cambodia to produce these silk scarves, and to develop work there centered in indigenous textiles. You can read more about what Gina described to us as her “heart project” on the Alchemy website. Gina herself paints the scarves, just as she paints Alchemy yarns, and the result is vibrant, elegant, and unusual.

We also have gift certificates available in any denomination, of course, and we so appreciate you thinking of us as a gift source. Thank you for supporting small businesses like ours, and shopping local for mothers and others! See you at the shop.

New from Harmony Farm Candles.

Posted by Julia on April 28, 2017

We are delighted to announce the newest addition to our gifts section here at the shop: a brand new scent from Harmony Farm Candles, custom made for the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Harmony Farm Candles is run by our friend Erin in nearby Mebane, North Carolina. She hand-pours her candles in small batches using 100% US-sourced soy wax and essential oils, with no added dyes. Their scents are fresh and bright, but not overwhelming – “delightfully fragranced,” as she puts it. We asked her to concoct a custom scent for our shop, one that evokes woolens but would be pleasing year-round, and after a thoroughly enjoyable period of testing, she delivered to us the scent you see here: Lavender Eucalyptus.

It’s everything we hoped it would be, herbaceous and calming, smelling exactly of its namesake. Come by the shop and give it a sniff!

We offer a rotating selection of other Harmony Farm Candles, as well, changing with the seasons and our moods. Here’s a snapshot of our current selection: Spring Meadow smells of fresh cut grass, a favorite of Anne’s; Wintergreen evokes fir trees; Sweet Orange is a clementine doppelganger; and Rose smells of roses, just so.

We find Erin’s candles a perfect companion to an evening of knitting, and we hope you do, too! As gifts, they are always warmly-received; keep them in mind for Mother’s and Father’s days, birthdays, and the odd just-thinking-of-you occasion. Look for Harmony Farm Candles in our gifts section!

Hello, Harmony Farm Candles.

Posted by Julia on December 2, 2016

One of the new products in our Gifts section is a small sampling of candles from Harmony Farm Candles, a one-woman operation out of nearby Mebane, North Carolina.

That one woman happens to be a friend of mine, the charming and conscientious Erin Hils. Her candles are hand-poured in small batches using 100% US-sourced soy wax and essential oils, with no added dyes. Their scents are fresh and bright, but not overwhelming – “delightfully fragranced,” as she puts it.

Anne and I chose three scents to bring into the shop, not an easy task with so many tempting fragrances on the menu. You’ll find Green Tea, Wintergreen, and French Lavender on the shelf here at the shop, in 8 oz travel tins as well as gift sets of three 4 oz travel tins.

I find Erin’s candles a perfect companion to an evening of knitting, so I’ve wound up with one or two in each of my habitual knitting spots in my home.

I have an 8 oz French Lavender tin in my living room, where most of my knitting tools live, and a 4 oz Wintergreen tin in my bedroom, where I often hunker down for a few rows of knitting before bed.

Look for Harmony Farm Candles in the Gifts section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and give them a sniff. Pick some up for holiday gift-giving and give one to yourself while you’re at it!

Gifts.

Posted by Julia on November 25, 2016

The holiday shopping season is upon us, and we’re always honored and appreciated to be considered a gift source. Some knitters make it plain, and send their loved ones directly to our website to order a HYS Gift Certificate. Others have mentioned our shop enough times that their family and friends know to look here for something special, but aren’t sure exactly what to get. Then there are those shopping for non-knitters, those who might appreciate something handcrafted. We are delighted to offer something for all of those gift-seekers, and others yet undescribed! Welcome to our new Gifts section.

We’ve sought out makers in our local community as well as our wider community of suppliers and assembled a collection of items we’re excited to share with you.

Here, you’ll find yarn bowls from Late Bloomer Pottery, shawl pins and closures from Jul Designs, sheep soaps from our Churton Street neighbor the Qi Garden, zipper clutches from Binkwaffle, and more that we’ve only just received. Come by this weekend to see it all!

Thank you for shopping local this holiday season and supporting small businesses like ours! See you at the shop.

Sheep soap.

Posted by Julia on April 22, 2016

Visitors to our shop often notice a certain recurring theme in our décor.

Yes, we love sheep, for they’re the charming creatures who provide our most beloved fiber: wool.

I can’t tell you how many times we’re asked if our sheep are for sale, and though we hate to disappoint, we can’t part with them; most were gifts given to us by fellow knitters, so they represent Anne’s personal collection.

We welcomed some new sheep to the shop this week, however, and these can go home with you, if you like. These sheep soaps were handmade by our Churton Street neighbor, Lucia Apollo Shaw, who owns a gift and garden shop called the Qi Garden.

They’re made of shea butter and scented with essential oils. Half of our flock smell of sweet grass, and the other, of white tea. You’ll find them nestled together in a big basket near the checkout desk, tucked away in their organza sachets.

Come by to pick up a sheep soap or two, and be sure to stop by Lucia’s shop next time you’re visiting us in Hillsborough!

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: Late Bloomer Pottery.

Posted by Julia on March 19, 2016

Happy to report that our shelves are once again full of yarn bowls and ceramic buttons from Late Bloomer Pottery!

Frumet is a local potter who makes beautiful functional pieces here in the Triangle. Her yarn bowls are a little different each time, varying the color, texture, and shape of the cut-outs.

Yarn bowls are designed to hold your ball of yarn as you’re knitting or crocheting from it, keeping it from rolling around on the floor or getting tangled with notions in your bag. Just place the ball in the bowl and thread your working yarn through the spiral cut-out in the side.

We also replenished our supply of Frumet’s smaller buttons, which come in sets of two and three.

Come by the shop to see what’s new from Late Bloomer Pottery, and check out our other locally-sourced goods while you’re here!

Hello, Echoview Fiber Mill.

Posted by Julia on March 12, 2016

We’re always on the lookout for locally-sourced yarns, and we’ve already brought a few in this year: Shenandoe Farm and Cutthroat Yarn. I’m delighted to announce that we found another, and that we now carry kits from Echoview Fiber Mill, in Weaverville, North Carolina!

Echoview Fiber Mill is exactly what it sounds like: a fiber processing mill where yarns are made, along with a variety of readymade machine-knits. What sets them apart is their commitment to domestically-sourced fiber and environmentally sound practices; in 2013, theirs was the first manufacturing mill to receive Gold LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

We have two Echoview Knit Kits to choose from, the “Espen” hat and the “Gimli Slouch and Mitts.” The “Espen” kit features a 100% merino wool naturally dyed in what Echoview calls “Coolidge Red,” a replica of a shade once produced at Asheville’s Biltmore Industries in the early 1900’s.

The yarn inside the “Gimli” kit is a DK weight blend of merino and silk with a rustic tweedy look but a soft texture.

Anne also ordered a machine-knit Echoview Fiber Mill blanket to decorate our sofa here at the shop, something to be sure and pet next time you’re here. We’re happy to special order one for you, too; we have sample swatches of all the available colors.

Come by the shop to see these Echoview Fiber Mill Knit Kits for yourself, and to plan your next project!