Koigu Collector’s Club: The Wool Shed.

The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

The Wool Shed is a variegated mix of greens with subtle flourishes of raspberry, auburn, and cream.

“Pressed Flowers Hat,” by Amy Christoffers. Photo © Amy Christoffers

Anne has had her eye on Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” for a while now, so when this Collector’s Club colorway came in, I thought I’d put together some color combinations. 

I’ve paired Koigu KPPPM with semisolid shades of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk that is relatively new to our shop. One skein of each should make two hats, with NFC Capital Luxury Sport as the main color and Koigu KPPPM as the contrast color.

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

NFC Loft + fingering weight.

There are so many popular patterns that call for a lace weight mohair paired with fingering weight wool – sometimes in a matching color, sometimes a contrasting one, always creating an enticing fuzzy fabric. Neighborhood Fibre Co. Loft is just the yarn for this, and we’ve got loads of options in the fingering weight section here at our shop – you’ll find a few ideas below, and keep scrolling for patterns!

  • Brooklyn Tweed Peerie: fingering weight, 100% merino wool, 210 yards/50 grams, $17.25 each

Sweaters:

Accessories:

It can be tricky to visualize how different colors and textures of yarn will look when knit together – Tin Can Knits has a super helpful blog post about just that, “Layering With Mohair.” Read it and you are sure to be inspired – we can’t wait to see what yarn and color combinations you come up with!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: November 2022.

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. November’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

November’s special colorway is a pale lavender grey, with speckles of plum and burgundy.

It pairs beautifully with the David Hess colorway in Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft – this trio of skeins is perfect for Andrea Mowry’s “Birds of a Feather” shawl!

“Birds of a Feather,” by Andrea Mowry, photo © Andrea Mowry

Here are a few more such combinations using other Pop-Up Club colorways, a flock of shawls-to-be.

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We are open between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Hello, Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft!

We’d like to introduce an exciting new arrival from Baltimore’s Neighborhood Fiber Co – meet Loft!

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft:

  • lace weight
  • hand dyed in semisolid and variegated colorways
  • 70% kid mohair, 30% silk
  • 459 yards/1.75 oz
  • $28 each

Not to be confused with Brooklyn Tweed Loft, NFC Loft is a fuzzy and luminous blend of mohair and silk, hand dyed in Neighborhood’s unique colorways.

NFC Loft is soft and shiny, lightweight with a fluffy texture, and often used in tandem with heavier yarns. We’ve seen so many patterns calling for a lace weight mohair like this one, sometimes paired with a fingering weight yarn, sometimes a DK – think Tin Can Knits’ “Love Note,” or PetiteKnit’s “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition,” “Novice Slipover,” and “September Sweater Junior.” We’ll share some yarn and color pairings here on the blog soon – stay tuned!

Look for Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft along with Studio Sock, Capital Luxury Sport, and Ombre Mini Bundles here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry. See you there!

Capital Luxury Sport + Zauberwolle.

The newest arrivals to our sport weight section are Neighborhood Capital Luxury Sport and a restock of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberwolle, and they look like friends to me. Combining semisolid shades with self-striping yarn makes for exciting colorwork, whether stranded, striped, mosaic, or brioche.

What to make with these color pairs? Here are some ideas!

Sweaters:

Accessories:

Look for Capital Luxury Sport and Zauberwolle in the sport weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays! We’re still taking online orders for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Hello, Neighborhood Capital Luxury Sport!

A sumptuous new yarn just found a home here at our shop – meet Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport!

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport:

  • sport weight
  • hand dyed in semisolid and variegated colorways
  • 80% organic merino wool, 10% cashmere, 10% silk
  • 375 yards/4 oz
  • $38 each

We’ve been Neighborhood Fiber Co. stockists for a year now, and have seen some lovely projects made with Studio Sock and DK weight Ombré Mini Bundles. Capital Luxury Sport is right in between these two, in terms of gauge, but its super soft fiber content sets it apart.

What to knit with this special stuff? Here are a few pattern ideas!

Look for Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry. See you there!

What to knit with BT Tones Light?

Brooklyn Tweed’s new yarn, Tones Light, is already turning heads here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. What to knit with this colorful stuff? Here are some ideas!

Jared Flood designed two new patterns especially for this yarn, “Shadow Stripe Pullover” and “All Ways Hat.”

“Shadow Stripe Pullover,” by Jared Flood, photo © Brooklyn Tweed

“All Ways Hat,” by Jared Flood, photo © Brooklyn Tweed

Because Tones Light can easily substitute for Loft or Peerie, there’s a world of patterns to choose from; here are some ideas from both the Brooklyn Tweed pattern archive and independent designers!

Garments:

“The Weekender Light,” by Andrea Mowry – reverse stockinette pullover with slip stitch detail

“Bract,” by Sarah Shephard – colorwork yoke pullover with triangle motif

“Stasis,” by Leila Raven – colorwork yoke pullover with geometric motif

“Birkin,” by Caitlin Hunter – colorwork yoke pullover with floral motif

“Hello From My Colors Crop,” by Jessie Maed – short sleeved pullover with all over stranded colorwork

“Berenice,” by Julie Hoover – lace and cable pullover

“Culm,” by Fiona Alice – textured dolman-sleeved pullover

“Woodblock,” by Emily Greene – textured short-sleeved pullover

“Wool & Honey,” by Andrea Mowry – honeycomb cable yoke pullover

Accessories:

“Skipp,” by Jared Flood – brioche hat

“Seeds,” by Jared Flood – colorwork hat

“Ensata Scarf & Cowl,” by Amy van de Laar – lace and ribbing

“Nysa,” by Jared Flood – garter stitch and eyelet shawl

“SSP (slip stitch party) shawl,” by Isabell Kraemer – six color slip stitch shawl

“Lunae,” by Natasja Hornby – two color slip stitch shawl

I’m the lucky knitter with the assignment of making a shop sample in Tones Light, and all of these vibrant colors had me thinking of Stephen West. I picked “Painting Parallelograms” from Painting Shawls, a slip stitch scarf whose shape and texture intrigued me. I picked three shades of Tones Light for the contrast colors, and a speckled skein of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock for the main – here’s a peek at my progress so far.

Look for BT Tones Light in the fingering weight section here at HYS – see you at the shop!

WestKnits MKAL 2022!

We know many of you are fans of designer Stephen West and often participate in his annual Mystery Knit-Alongs – it’s that time of year again, and “Twists & Turns” is the pattern-to-be. It calls for 3 colors of fingering weight yarn: 780 yards of a Main Color, 780 yards of a Contrast Color, and 390 yards of an Accent color. We have tons of fingering weight yarns to choose from here at the shop, from saturated hand-dyes to muted heathers, fuzzy alpaca to smooth superwash merino, and so much more. Here are some color ideas!

  • Kelbourne Woolens Perennial: light fingering weight, 60% superwash merino, 25% suri alpaca, 15% nylon, 497 yards/100 g; $26 each, or $130 for “Twists & Turns”

  • Shibui Koan: fingering weight, 70% linen, 30% silk, 248 yards/50 grams; $22 each, or $220 for “Twists & Turns”

Join WestKnits MKAL 2022 by purchasing the pattern on Ravelry – you’ll get an introductory PDF with all the details, so you’ll be ready to cast on when the first clue arrives on October 6.

We’d love to help you find the perfect yarn for your “Twists & Turns” shawl! There are so many possibilities here at our shop – come by between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays, and we’ll be happy to show you around. We’re still taking online orders for local pickup or shipping, too; just fill out our online form. Hope to see you at the shop!

New colors from Neighborhood Fiber Co.!

Our most recent order from Neighborhood Fiber Co. was full of vibrant colors, speckles, and variegated shades, brightening our NFC Studio Sock cubby considerably!

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock:

  • fingering weight
  • hand-dyed
  • machine washable
  • 100% organic merino wool
  • 400 yds/4 oz
  • $32 each

Studio Sock is perfect for knitting socks, of course, but also great for knitting shawls and lightweight sweaters – here are some pattern ideas:

  • “Studio Sampler,” by Leslie Anne Robinson – 3 color shawl with brioche and garter stitch stripes
  • “Shades of Peony,” by Tamy Gore – 3 color shawl with eyelets and stripes
  • “Navelli,” by Caitlin Hunter – 3 color boat neck short-sleeved pullover with colorwork at bottom edge

Look for Neighborhood Fiber Co. Studio Sock in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. Online ordering is still available for local pickup or shipping – thanks for shopping with us!

Ombré Mini Bundles from Neighborhood Fiber Co.!

Brand new from Neighborhood Fiber Co. – Ombré Mini Bundles in Studio DK!

Each of these bundles has five mini skeins of NFC Studio DK, an organic superwash merino wool, hand dyed to create a gradient from light to dark. There’s a total of 685 yards, enough for a cowl, shawl, baby sweater, or a couple of hats.

What to do with these tempting bundles? Try Karida Collins’ “Zig,” a chevron cowl made with one Ombré Mini Bundle, or pick up two in different colors for Kristen Schaeffer’s “Multiverse Cowl.” You could also use an Ombré Mini Bundle as the contrast color in a colorwork pattern, selecting another solid DK weight yarn for the main color.

Each NFC Ombré Mini Bundle is $80; come by the shop to see them in person, the colors are even more beautiful! We’re open from 11am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays, though we will be closed on Dec. 25 and Jan. 1 for the upcoming holidays. See you at the shop!