Tag Archives: merino

Back in stock: Malabrigo Sock.

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We were recently able to widen our selection of Malabrigo Sock with a few bright new colors.

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Malabrigo Sock is a favorite with which many of you are likely well-acquainted: a soft, machine-washable merino wool in a light fingering weight, dyed in the vivid multicolor and semisolid colorways we’ve come to expect from Malabrigo yarns. Perfect not only for socks, but also shawls, scarves, lightweight sweaters, and baby things.

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We’re happy to see familiar, but long-absent colorways like Lettuce, Impressionist Sky, Ochre, Ravelry Red, and Light of Love. Come by the shop to visit the Malabrigo Sock yarn cubby in the Fingering Weight section!

 

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New colors in Caper Sock and Bluestocking.

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String Theory yarns are a favorite here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Hand-dyed in Blue Hill, Maine, vivid in color, soft as can be–we’re always delighted to open a box from String Theory. Yesterday I got to do just that.

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We got two kinds of String Theory sock yarns: four colors in Caper Sock, a cashmere-spiked merino wool, and six in Bluestocking, a sturdy, lustrous yarn made of Bluefaced Leicester wool. A modest order; just enough to plump up a sad, empty cubby in the Fingering Weight section. Both Caper Sock and Bluestocking are excellent for socks, but they are equally well-suited to scarves, shawls, hats, or fingerless mitts. Come by the shop to see these new colors, and grab a coveted skein or two while they last!

Hello, Mountain Meadow Wool.

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We are thrilled to announce that we now carry Cody, a sport weight merino wool from Mountain Meadow Wool.

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Mountain Meadow Wool is a small yarn company out of Wyoming that is dedicated to producing locally sourced and naturally processed yarns. Run by co-owners Karen Hostetler and Valerie Spanos, Mountain Meadow Wool seeks to support the ranching industry, thereby preserving the open spaces of the American West. They pay ranchers fairly for their finest fiber, then spin it and dye it with vegetable-based spinning oil and natural dyes. Each skein is traceable back to the ranch the sheep were raised on, and a QR code can link those with smartphones to a video of that ranch.

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I fell in love with Cody after knitting a swatch.

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It’s springy and soft, and because it’s a 2-ply, the resulting fabric has a slightly pebbled texture. I worked it in simple stockinette, with a garter stitch border. The yarn doesn’t sugest a needle size or gauge, so I experimented, knitting a while on a US 4, then a 5, then a 6. Cody is happy at all three gauges; the thing is to pick a fabric that suits your intended use. I’ve already snatched up a sweater’s worth of this incredible yarn, and for my purposes, a US 5 is perfect. For a shawl or scarf, a 6 gives a slightly more open fabric that will drape beautifully. You’ll run into bits of grass as you knit, a reminder of how close this yarn is to the land; they are easily plucked out as you go. Give this yarn a try and see if you fall in love, too.

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Come by the shop to see Cody for yourself!

Lava Flow Cowl.

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A new sample is decorating our walls: here’s a Lava Flow Cowl.

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This Lava Flow Cowl was made by Amy, who’s teaching an upcoming class on the subject. It’s full of interesting techniques, like a provisional cast-on, reversible cables, and kitchener stitch in a ribbed pattern. If these techniques are new to you, consider taking the class and reap the benefits of Amy’s guidance, as well as the camaraderie of other knitters. The pattern is available as a free download from Ravelry, and is a perfect garment to showcase a special yarn in a dk or light worsted weight. Amy’s sample is made in Mirasol K’acha, a light worsted weight blend of merino wool, alpaca, and silk.

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Come by the shop to try it on for size, and see if you’d like to make one yourself!

Araucania Limari: now on sale!

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UPDATE: As of 11/19/2014, we are totally sold out of Araucania Limari!

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Next time you come into the shop, you may notice a big basket of bulky wool right in the middle of the front room, by the teacart. What’s in the basket? Why, it’s our latest sale yarn: Araucania Limari.

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Araucania Limari is a super-bulky blend of merino wool, alpaca, and silk, and because it’s no longer being produced, we’re now offering it at a 40% discount. It’s perfect for any accessory that needs to be thick, or quickly made: hearty cowls and scarves, cozy hats, and the like.

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Come by the shop to snatch up the deeply discounted Limari while it’s still available, and stash it away for next year’s gift-knitting!

Volt.

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Next time you come by the shop, keep an eye out for a new knit sample: a completed Volt shawl, lent to us by Nancy, who just finished teaching a class on the subject.

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Volt is a chevron-striped shawl framed by attached i-cord. The pattern is from Grace Anna Farrow’s collection, The Fine Line, which is sadly out of print (but still available as an ebook!). The pattern calls for Isager Spinni, a lace weight single ply wool which creates a lightweight but sturdy fabric. Having already worked with Spinni, Nancy wanted to make her Volt in another Isager yarn, the ever popular Alpaca 2. A fingering weight blend of alpaca and merino, Alpaca 2 makes for a slightly heavier shawl with fabulous drape and indulgent softness.

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Look for it hanging by the sofa, and consider Volt when you’re seeking an unusual knit shawl pattern. The Fine Line is full of them, all making great use of the Isager color palette. See you at the shop!

New colors in Acadia.

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The Fibre Company’s gorgeous Acadia has become quite popular at the shop. After a month and a half of life here, the Acadia basket was missing two colors, and looking quite sad indeed. When Anne and I reordered those colors, and others we were low on, we figured, why not get a few new colors, as well?

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This dk weight blend of merino wool, alpaca, and silk is tweedy-looking and soft to the touch, perfect for scarves, shawls, hats, mitts, and other accessories. I’ve been daydreaming about making a sweater in Acadia–that would be a treat.

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Come by the shop to see the new Acadia palette!

A new color from Swans Island.

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Last month’s Swans Island Trunk Show inspired many knitters to create garments with Swans Island’s organic merino wool yarns, which put quite a dent in our supply of the stuff. Last week, we placed an order of Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering in some of the most-loved colorways to replenish our stash: Fig, Winterberry, Oatmeal, Beetroot, Early Thyme, and several other deliciously-named colors. We also got the last bag of Sugar Maple, a limited edition color for Fall, and a first bag of this winter’s Limited Edition Dyer’s Choice: Reindeer Moss.

Reindeer Moss is a lovely, muted sage, which puts it somewhere between Early Thyme and Tarragon in terms of color value.

We also restocked the patterns that were most popular during the Trunk Show, some of which call for Swans Island Worsted, and some of which call for the Fingering.

Come by the shop to see Reindeer Moss in person, and give the Swans Island yarns a good squeeze. See you there!

Quaking Aspen shawl.

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I wrote a few days ago about a new yarn in the shop, the Fibre Company’s Acadia, and mentioned a shawl in the making with said yarn. I’m back now to report that the Quaking Aspen shawl is blocked and sitting happily in a basket at the shop with Acadia. Have a look.

The Quaking Aspen shawl is knit from the top down, with a garter stitch body, stripes, and a lace border. The Acadia, a dk weight blend of alpaca, merino wool, and silk, was very well-behaved in blocking, and drapes beautifully.

It’s available as a free download from the Fibre Company, so get yourself a copy of the pattern and then come by the shop to pair colors.

See you at the shop!

Show and tell: blanket, shawl, and sweater.

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The last three show and tell photos I’ve collected at the shop have been large-scale projects, long haul knits whose completion is cause for excitement. That excitement made its way to the shop to be shared with us, and now I’ll pass it along to you.

Betsy has been working on a lace patterned blanket in Jitterbug for some time now; it’s warmed her knees as she knit it. Now it is complete–a feat in this colorful fingering weight yarn.

Ever since our Hanne Falkenberg trunk show, Frances has been knitting away on her Promenade, a shawl kit designed by Falkenberg. At times, she had hundreds of stitches on her needle, more than one circular alone could hold. You can see why she’s thrilled to be done with this incredible piece; it’s a real accomplishment.

Margaretta brought a completed sweater in for show and tell, a New Zealand Pullover made in Swans Island Organic Merino Fingering. The pattern is from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knit One, Knit All, a collection of designs that make clever use of garter stitch. The New Zealand Pullover is no exception, a simple sweater full of smart details: short row shaping, underarm gussets, phony seams, etc.

Thanks to all for the impressive show and tell!