Tag Archives: malabrigo

Meet Rios Solidos!

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Malabrigo is known for their vibrant hand-dyed colorways, so we were intrigued to hear they were coming out with a line of solid colors in Rios. The weight, yardage, fiber content, gauge, and texture is the same as ever, but the colors are industrially dyed, so there’s no need to alternate skeins!

Malabrigo Rios Solidos:

  • worsted weight
  • solid, industrially dyed colors, no need to alternate skeins!
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $16 each

There are endless good uses for Malabrigo Rios, such that hardly a day goes by without our selling at least a few skeins. Here are a few recently published patterns to get you started!

Look for Rios in the worsted weight section here at our shop; we’re open from 11 am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. You can also order online for local pickup or shipping – thanks for your support of our shop!

Show and tell: for Anne’s grandchildren.

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Earlier this year, Anne set a lofty goal: she would knit a sweater for each of her five grandchildren for Hanukkah. When she mentioned this in conversation at the shop, eyes would widen in disbelief – even child-sized sweaters represent an awful lot of knitting, after all. For her granddaughters, she picked Anna Johanna’s “Taimi,” pattern, a colorwork yoke pullover from Strands of Joy, and for her grandsons, “Fresko,” a cabled pullover. She spent every possible moment knitting these sweet sweaters, determined to complete them in time. Anne is a woman of her word, and a determined one – even with this year’s early Hanukkah, she completed the five sweaters in time. Quite a feat!

Here’s “Taimi” in Swans Island All American Sport, with Malabrigo Caprino as the contrast color.

Here’s “Taimi” in Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03, with Alchemy Sanctuary as the contrast color.

Here are a pair of “Freskos” in Malabrigo Mecha, for her twin grandsons.

Here’s the littlest sweater for the littlest grandchild, another “Fresko,” in Brooklyn Tweed Quarry.

Above is a close up on a heartfelt detail – Anne ordered custom tags on Etsy for these heirloom knits, reading “Made with love by Bubbie.”

Hope you’ve met your own holiday knitting goals this season!

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.

Show and tell!

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these beautiful knits.

Pam has been busy making “Rainy Day Hats” with Pascuali Balayage – we love her modification to include more contrast colors, and more stripes! Pattern by Melanie Berg.

Here’s Hazel’s “Cloves Entwined Toque,” knit with Koigu KPPPM and Isager Alpaca 1 held together. Pattern by Tif Neilan.

Here’s another Koigu project – Linda in her “Solstice Sunset” shawl, knit with KPPPM and Shibui Silk Cloud held together throughout. Pattern by Andrea Hungerford.

Here’s Elizabeth with her “Slipstravaganza,” an impressive shawl knit with Malabrigo Sock during last year’s WestKnits MKAL. Pattern by Stephen West.

Michele came in wearing her lovely “Purl Strings,” a pullover she knit with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple. Pattern by Heidi Kirrmeier.

Thanks to Pam, Hazel, Linda, Elizabeth, and Michele 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.

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.

Show and tell: more sweaters!

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It’s been fun going back through show and tell photos from Instagram over the past year since our closure – there are so many incredible projects to share. Let’s take a look at some sweaters!

Like many of us, Linda spent much of the past year finishing lingering projects, and here she is modeling one of them – “Galloway,” a colorwork cardigan designed by Jared Flood for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

Above is Rosi’s “Cloudy Blouse,” an intricate embroidered pullover designed by Helga Isager for Isager Spinni.

Here’s Pat in her “Donner,” knit with Malabrigo Caprino and trimmed with Shibui Haven.

Linda knit this “Orime” top with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a smooth and springy yarn that’s perfect for showing off the subtle stitch pattern in Veronik Avery’s design.

Here’s Laura, showing off her beautiful “Zahavi,” designed by Emily Greene for Brooklyn Tweed Arbor – another yarn with superb stitch definition.

Above is Patricia’s “Peace Lily Blouse,” knit for her daughter using Kelbourne Woolens Mojave. She modified this cropped top by lengthening the ribbing, a clever and easy fix that changes the whole look of the garment.

Here’s Denise’s first ever steeked sweater, Caitlin Hunter’s “Ramblin Woman” cardigan, knit with Isager Jensen.

Thanks to Linda, Rosi, Pat, Linda, Laura, Patricia, and Denise for sharing their work with us! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

New colors in Malabrigo Sock!

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This week brought us 15 new colors in Malabrigo Sock!

Malabrigo Sock:

  • light fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated and semi-solid colorways
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 440 yards/100g
  • $20 each

This is Malabrigo’s new Encantados collection, unique hand dyed colorways inspired by fairytales and children’s stories.

I’ve arranged these shades in coordinating trios, thinking of Malabrigo’s popular “Temperance Shawl,” but there are so many other ways of combining these shades – it’s a rich palette, full of possibilities!

You may recognize this last combination, Jasmine, Gingy, and Myths – they were premiered earlier in the year, and you can see them knit into a “Temperance Shawl” below.

Want to knit a “Temperance Shawl” of your own? Order online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail shipping, or swing by the shop between 11:00 am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays!

Knit Hats with Woolly Wormhead.

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Woolly Wormhead’s new book is here!

Knit Hats with Woolly Wormhead is a collection of 22 hat patterns for all ages from a designer who self identifies as a Hat Architect. Her designs are innovative, surprising, and fun to knit – Anne is a big fan!

Woolly Wormhead has dedicated her entire knitwear design career to hats, exploring the possibilities of texture and construction with whimsical style.

Malabrigo Caprino + “Azula”

We may not have exactly the yarns shown in her pattern photos, but there are so many good substitutions on our shelves – here are some yarn and pattern pairings I came up with while paging through the book!

Swans Island All American Sport + “Joyce”

Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn DK + “Staggered”

Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply + “Infilare”

Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed + “Turbine”

Along with inspiring and intriguing patterns, Knit Hats with Woolly Wormhead features tutorials on special techniques and sage advice on hat fit and styling.

Knit Hats with Woolly Wormhead is $24.95; swing by to pick up a copy or order online for local pickup or shipping!

Show and tell: little sweaters.

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these sweet sweaters for babies and children.

Pam knit this “Ezra” cardigan with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a DK weight blend of merino and organic cotton. The skeins vary from light to dark, giving a special tonal look to each garment knit with Dapple.

Here’s Janese’s “Baby Surprise Jacket,” knit with Malabrigo Rios. Elizabeth Zimmermann’s classic pattern is knit all in one piece, then folded up and seamed at the shoulders. Instead of alternating skeins to blend the hand-dyed colors, Janese knit all the way through her first skein before switching to the second, letting the uniqueness of each one shine through – we love the result!

Emily knit the “Baby Colorwork Cardigan” above with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a favorite yarn she’s returned to for project after project. With so many kinds of yarn to choose from, this is high praise for Peerie!

Above is Rosi’s “Dog Star,” a beloved Tin Can Knits pattern that Anne and I have each made several times. Rosi used Berroco Ultra Wool DK for the main color and Malabrigo Arroyo for the contrast color and cuffs.

Here are two of Anne’s finished knits, from the last batch of sweaters she made for her grandchildren. Above is “Atlas (For Kids)” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Loft, and below is “Leaf Sweater for Kids,” knit with Malabrigo Sock.

She’s already three sweaters into the next round of knits for her grandchildren – looking forward to sharing them with you here as they emerge from her knitting bag!

Thanks to Pam, Janese, Emily, Rosi and Anne for letting me share these inspiring knits. We love to see what all of you are making, and sincerely thank anyone who starts a project with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: April.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. April’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

This month, dyer Veronica was inspired by Allen’s hummingbirds, a particular species of hummingbird whose warm, bright colors are reflected in these skeins – golden yellows, olive and leafy greens, and streaks of coral, orange, and purplish brown.

As I was unpacking these vibrant skeins, I noticed how well they played with these skeins of Malabrigo Sock – these three would make a striking “Temperance Shawl,” or a “Free Your Fade,” by Andrea Mowry!

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these pretty skeins directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront remains closed to walk-ins!