Tag Archives: shawls

“44 Lavender Lane Shawl” in Isager yarns.

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Meet “44 Lavender Lane Shawl,” a new design from our friend and teacher Katherine Applegate.

Katherine’s design process for this shawl began with yarn she loved, and curiosity about blending them together. She chose similar shades in three Isager yarns: Trio 1, Silk Mohair, and Alpaca 1.

Trio 1 is a crisp blend of plant fibers, Silk Mohair is gloriously fuzzy, and Alpaca 1 is drapey and soft. All together, they make a slinky fabric that’s ideal for an accessory like this one – warming but lightweight, with a bit of shimmer.

Katherine’s “44 Lavender Lane Shawl” got me thinking about other color combinations, of course – here are more ideas for blending Trio 1, Silk Mohair, and Alpaca 1!

Japansk Bomuld is another crisp lace weight yarn, a fine cotton tape that would also pair beautifully with Silk Mohair and Alpaca 1 – here are a few more color combinations to consider.

You can download Katherine’s “44 Lavender Lane Shawl” pattern for free on Ravelry. You’ll need 2 balls of Trio 1 or Japansk Bomuld, 3 balls of Silk Mohair, and 2 balls of Alpaca 1 – look for all four of these Isager yarns in our lace weight section. We can’t wait to see what yarns and colors you put together!

Show and tell: slip stitch shawls.

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Here’s another batch of show and tell, projects that started their lives as yarns here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. All of today’s knits happen to be shawls, whether rectangular or triangular, high contrast or low, warm and wooly or light as a feather. They also have a colorwork technique in common: mosaic or slip stitch knitting, with just one yarn in use per row.

Here are Debbie, Michele, and Dee, friends who often knit the same patterns. When they come into the shop together, we all have fun picking out colors and yarn combinations! I had to stop them for a photo when they came in modeling their “Xyla” shawls, a striking design by Natasja Hornby. From left to right: Debbie knit hers in Brooklyn Tweed Tones Light, Michele used Loft, and Dee used Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Mondim.

For more subtle but no less colorful slip stitching, we turn to Margaretta’s “Floating Squares Wrap,” by Amy Christoffers. She knit it with the best-selling Isager Silk Mohair in a stunning sunset palette.

Hazel was inspired to make this “Isla Shawl” in Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool after seeing Bailey’s sample here at the shop.

She had so much fun making it that she came back for another, and then a few more – I’ve only captured photos of two, but let her prolific “Islas” be an endorsement of Astrid Troland’s charming pattern!

We’ve since put together Isla Shawl Kits in all kinds of colorways, including Hazel’s own!

Cindy knit this “Picnic Shawlette” in Lang Cashmere Premium, letting the stitch pattern pop in solid colors.

Here’s Katherine, a familiar face to many of you – she’s been teaching knitting and crochet classes here at HYS for years! Here, she wears Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift,” knit with one of her favorite yarns, Malabrigo Rios.

Thanks to the many knitters, crocheters, and weavers who bring in their work to show us what they’ve made! You inspire and amaze us, and we can’t wait to see what you get into next.

Malabrigo Seis Cabos KAL.

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We’re delighted to have a few new colors in Malabrigo Seis Cabos, just in time for Malabrigo’s upcoming KAL!

This Malabrigo KAL features “Barnstable,” by Lisa Hannes, a shawl that mixes contrasting colors in a beginner-friendly mosaic pattern.

Because the mosaic motif relies on color contrast to shine, we recommend pairing high-contrast shades to really make the pattern pop. The shawl is shown here in Vicenial and Natural, a bold mix of variegated and solid shades.

Here are a few more “Barnstable” color ideas!

Want to join the Malabrigo KAL, which starts on September 1? Head to their blog to sign up, and come by our shop to pick out your yarn. You’ll need 2 skeins of Seis Cabos in your main color and 1 skein in your contrast color.

Look for Seis Cabos and other Malabrigo yarns here at HYS – we can’t wait to see your shawls take shape when the Knit-Along begins next month!

Show and tell: Malabrigo.

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It’s time for another round of show and tell! Today I’m here to share some finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all made with yarn from the beloved Uruguayan company Malabrigo.

Carol knit this “Lehigh” shawl with Malabrigo Rios, a soft superwash staple of our worsted weight section.

She chose a high contrast combination that shines in this textured pattern, a neutral semisolid background color punctuated by variegated stripes. Pattern by Melanie Berg.

Katherine also chose Rios for her “Sundial Shawl,” by Monika Anna, another shawl featuring garter stitch stripes, as well as a little bit of brioche on the edging.

Here’s a whimsical way to use colorful Malabrigo yarn – Laroka’s felted “Trout Fishy,” knit with Malabrigo Seis Cabos!

Nancy has been using Malabrigo yarns, among others, to crochet “Floralai,” a richly textured floral block designed by The Floral Hook.

The block above was made with Malabrigo Ultimate Sock, and the block below with Malabrigo Dos Tierras, Fibre Co. Acadia, and Koigu KPPPM.

Nancy floralai mix of Acadia and Malabrigo and Koigu

Many thanks to the talented stitchers who shared the projects above, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!

“Isla Shawl” in Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool.

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Bailey’s most recent project for the shop is “Isla Shawl,” a sweet little kerchief knit with Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool.

“Isla Shawl” was designed by Astrid Troland, using a slip stitch colorwork motif she has returned to again and again.

Bailey’s color palette is relatively low contrast, so she knit a few swatches with the colors in different arrangements until she came up with one she liked. We encourage you to do the same, since there’s plenty of yardage on each ball for the whole “Isla Shawl,” along with extra swatches!

I picked out six more color combinations besides, and doodled them for a preview of the scarves I hope they become!

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Inspired to make an “Isla Shawl” of your own? Come by the shop and see all the options in our fingering weight section, from Biches & Bûches and others!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: Montauk & Acrid.

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Dream in Color’s Pop-Up Club is back! Each month, we get 10 skeins of Smooshy Cashmere in a limited edition colorway, hand-dyed in Texas. They’re always popular for Ysolda Teague’s “Musselburgh” hat, Andrea Mowry’s “Free Your Fade” shawl, or a special pair of socks.

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, each skein is unique; we recommend alternating skeins to blend in a larger project
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100 grams
  • machine wash cool on gentle/hand wash setting, lay flat to dry

Montauk arrived in April, a soft variegated mix of cream, lavender, peach, and dove gray.

Two skeins of Montauk makes Lena Skvagerson’s “Shoreline Shawl,” a shallow crescent shaped shawl with lace and stockinette.

Acrid popped up earlier this month, a sunny aqua colorway streaked with marigold.

Jenny Noto designed her “Garden Shawl” for two skeins of Acrid, a half circle shawl with eyelets and slip stitches.

Our friend Margaretta recently knit this lovely pair of “Avena” socks with Smooshy Cashmere in Fen.

It’s great to see variegated skeins like this one knit up – this intricate twisted stitch pattern breaks up the color pooling in a lovely and intriguing way. Pattern by Natalia Vasilieva.

Inspired to cast on? Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at HYS, and in our online store!

“Nightshift” in Noro Ito.

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The shop just got more colorful… we’ve got six new shades of Noro Ito in stock!

Noro Ito:

  • aran weight
  • single ply
  • self striping
  • 100% wool
  • 437 yards/200 grams
  • hand wash, lay flat to dry

Noro Ito has long been a popular choice for Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift.” This triangular shawl is decorated with bands of a simple slip stitch pattern, trimmed with an attached i-cord edging, then finished off with a clever striped i-cord bind off. Though Mowry calls for six different colors, two balls of Noro Ito will do the color changing for you – just switch colors A and B every 20 rows.

Carolina came in wearing this gorgeous “Nightshift” in two shades of Noro Ito, knit for her by her aunt, Vera. It inspired us to order these new shades!

Here’s a color combination similar to Vera’s beautiful creation, followed by a few more ideas from us.

Look for Noro Ito in the aran weight section here at HYS – see you there!

“Artus” shawl in Kelbourne Woolens Scout.

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Our friend Debbie recently knit this stunning “Artus” shawl with Kelbourne Woolens Scout.

Natasja Hornby’s cozy pattern uses a mix of colorwork techniques and texture to great effect. The narrow bands of 1×1 color are made with stranded knitting, while the eye-catching diamond pattern is made with mosaic or slip stitch knitting – just one yarn in use per row.

Debbie spent a long time considering color values and placement in order to get the maximum impact out of her Scout. Her color palette is below.

Looking closely at Hornby’s “Artus” pattern photos and projects on Ravelry helped me to understand the color placement, too – where I might want the most contrasting colors to meet, and where lower contrast would also appeal.

Above is a color palette inspired by Hornby’s “Artus” pattern photos, and below are more ideas in Scout!

Inspired to make an “Artus” of your own? Check the pattern for yardage details, and shop Kelbourne Woolens Scout here at HYS!

Show and tell: from our classroom.

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Show and tell is an ongoing part of our daily Instagram posts, but I like to share it here on the blog from time to time, too. Today, let’s look at knitting projects completed during classes here at our shop!

First up, here’s Claudia and her first completed “Stitch-Sampler Handwarmer,” knit during Anne’s Beginning Knitting class. Anne uses this Churchmouse pattern to teach new knitters because it takes very little time but uses so many techniques – casting on, knitting and purling, of course, but also seaming!

Like Claudia, Dustin used Kelbourne Woolens Germantown for his “Stitch-Sampler Handwarmers,” our go-to worsted weight wool. It’s smooth, easy to work with, comes in all kinds of colors, and holds up to frogging and reuse, if it comes to that!

Stephanie knit this “Field Slipover” during a recent class with Anne. She used Berroco Ultra Wool DK and Isager Silk Mohair together throughout, creating a rich blend of greens and a soft texture. Pattern by Camilla Vad.

Jaime knit this “Shetland Solstice” hat during Nancy’s recent class, using Kelbourne Woolens Camper. As soon as she completed this one, she cast on for another, rearranging the colors to change the look. Then she bought a fresh colorway in Camper, to make it yet again – a ringing endorsement of Gudrun Johnston’s pattern!

Here’s Linda’s “Scout Shawl,” made during Nancy’s class. Florence Spurling’s intricate intarsia and fair isle shawl has a patchwork look, but is worked in one piece, from end to end – a feat, and Linda’s looks lovely in Brooklyn Tweed Loft and Tones Light. Here are a few close-ups!

Many thanks to our teachers and to all the knitters who challenge themselves to learn something new in classes here at our shop. We love seeing what you make and watching as you grow your skills!

A Little Book of Moon-Inspired Shawls, by Pauliina Kuunsola.

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The latest book from Laine is here! Let’s page through A Little Book of Moon-Inspired Shawls ($22), by Pauliina Kuunsola.

Pauliina Kuunsola is a knitwear designer and tech editor who works as a senior editor at Laine Publishing. Inspired by the colors and textures of nature, the night sky and mystic realms, Kuunsola designed nine shawls for this petite paperback collection.

The patterns within use a variety of techniques, from lace and texture patterns to embroidery, slipped stitches, and marling.

The designs feature different shawl shapes, such as crescent, asymmetric triangle and pi, and use yarns from lace weight to DK. We may not have exactly the yarns called for in the pattern, but we have many lovely substitutes, and are happy to help you find the perfect yarn for your project!

A Little Book of Moon-Inspired Shawls is $22, and available here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with many other inspiring publications and hundreds of yarns to choose from!