The Spring/Summer 2017 issue of knit.wear is here!
This stylish magazine from Interweave is notably garment-oriented, a publication with more sweater patterns than accessories.
So many of our favorite yarns are represented in this issue – Fibre Company Acadia and Arranmore, Brooklyn Tweed Loft, Shibui Twig, and more.
Come by the shop to pick up a copy of knit.wear, and browse our latest acquisitions while you’re at it. We hope you find inspiration here!
Spring is here, and at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, that means favorite lightweight yarns must be restocked. With this change of season in mind, we recently more than doubled our supply of Shibui Twig.
Twig is a slightly textured blend of 46% linen, 42% recycled silk, and 12% wool. Each 50 gram skein has 190 yards, and it knits up at a sport or dk weight gauge into an open, draping fabric.
Twig has a crisp feel and a plant fiber’s tendency to stretch rather than cling, qualities that make it ideal for warm weather garments and accessories like Shibui’s “Slope” and “Tier,” or Churchmouse’s “Simple Tee.” If you like a little more elasticity, consider holding Twig together with Cima or Pebble, as in Shibui’s “Apex” or Julie Hoover’s “Wintour”.
Look for more pattern ideas on our sport weight Pinterest board, and look to our sport weight section for the yarn itself. See you at the shop!
Back in December, we rearranged the front room at the shop a bit, moving the ballwinder from the teacart, shifting a few shelves, and adding a new table. That table houses the swift and ballwinder, a dedicated winding station right by the front window, which does double and triple duty as a window display and a naturally-lit spot for blog photography.
A rainbow of CoopKnits Socks Yeah! getting wound and ready for sock-knitting.
The table came from Anne’s mother’s apartment in New York, where it had been living for many decades before it moved south with Phyllis herself. It’s the perfect shape and size for our space, but it also came, importantly, with good memories for Anne of her mother cutting out patterns there to sew her clothes. Take a close look at its surface next time you’re here at the shop, and you can see dotted lines in the wood from her tracing wheel.
Just as Phyllis began sewing projects on this table, so do we begin knitting and crochet projects here, with that important first step: winding the yarn.
Getting wound up and ready to knit a shop sample in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.
Yarns that come in twisted hanks need to be wound into a ball before use, a task that some knitters find pleasure in, but others consider a chore. We have a swift and ballwinder here at the shop to make quick work of that task, and we’re happy to do it for you. Now that the winding station is such a pleasing place to be, I often find myself photographing the yarns that pass through it, admiring the clever and sturdy design of Nancy’s Knit Knacks Heavy Duty Ballwinder. These photos are some of my personal favorites, and they’ll look familiar if you follow us on Instagram.
Winding Brooklyn Tweed Shelter, a “Hadley-Pullover”-to-be.
As I wind yarn at the shop, I’m frequently joined by customers and passers-by, looking on from the worsted weight section or the sidewalk, just enjoying the simple pleasure of the spinning swift and the growing ball of yarn.
Isager Alpaca 2 and Shibui Staccato getting wound and ready to become a “Find Your Fade” shawl.
Come by the shop to plan your next project, and leave with your yarn ready to use right away. See you there!
It’s time for more show and tell! Here are some finished pieces that began their lives as HYS yarns.
Not long ago, April came in wearing her “Guriddo Stole,” a lace and garter stitch wrap that she knit in the delightful Shibui Staccato, a fingering weight blend of superwash merino and silk. This wasn’t a planned visit, rather, April found herself near the shop wearing a wrap she’d recently completed and decided to drop in and share it with us. It makes me so happy to see knitters wearing their work! Thanks for stopping by, April!
On the right is a commercially-made hat Mary’s daughter wore and loved. Mary saw the seam in the back and rightly thought, “I can do better than that!” The blue hat on the left is her handknit interpretation, based on Emily Ingrid’s free “Copy.Cat C.C Beanie” pattern, using one skein of Ewe Ewe Baa Baa Bulky, a smooth and springy superwash merino.
Above is Judie’s “Dovetail Wrap,” a free pattern from Purl Soho. I could have sworn I took another photo that showed the whole piece, but all I can find is this close-up shot; I must have been drawn to the glorious, colorful Malabrigo Mecha yarn Judie used. This simple garter stitch shawl pattern is a great one for showing off variegated yarn.
Here’s my “Finn Valley,” knit with Fibre Company Arranmore. It knit up pretty quickly in this soft bulky weight tweed, an interesting but manageable project made even more satisfying with the help of clever Cocoknits tools.
You’ll find it hanging on the wall here at the shop; come by to try it on and get a tangible feel for a garment knit in Arranmore – lighter weight than you might expect!
Margaretta knit this exquisite pair of “Terpander” socks with String Theory Bluestocking. A semi-solid hand-dyed yarn like this is great for showing off cables and texture with just a touch of added interest. Bravo, Margaretta!
Karin first decided to tackle the double-knit “Mix No. 23” cowl because it seemed a good use of some yarns from her stash – Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering and Araucania Ranco. She stuck with it because she loves a challenge, and finds satisfaction in mastering new knitting techniques, no matter how much swatching or ripping back it entails. I’d only seen this cowl knit in solid colors, but her hand-dyed version is absolutely stunning.
Intrigued by double-knitting, and interested in knitting a “Mix No. 23” of your own? Sign up for Amy’s upcoming class on the subject!
Many thanks to the knitters and other fiber artists who share their work with us. We are so inspired by your ideas and expertise, and we learn from you each day. See you at the shop!
February is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.
This month’s featured sample is “Stanza,” by Shellie Anderson, a stylishly simple cowl knit with 2 skeins of Shibui Drift.
Drift is a worsted weight blend of 85% extra fine merino wool and 15% cashmere, and it’s as soft as its fiber content suggests. It’s just the kind of yarn you’d want wrapped around your neck in a cozy cowl.
The pattern is free when you purchase Shibui Drift from us, and we’re offering a 10% discount on Drift purchased for this project til the end of the month. Come by the shop to start a “Stanza” of your own before February 28th!
Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!
Our January Shibui Sample of the Month is one of our own, that’s always on display here at the shop. While it’s the featured sample, we’re offering Shibui Cima for this project at 10% off!
This “Mix No. 23” is knit in a relatively low-contrast combination of Ivory and Ash, though it still shows well due to the thickness of the stripes.
When I made one a few years ago, I chose a higher-contrast pair, Caffeine and Suit.
Here are a couple of other colorways that would make a nice “Mix No. 23.”
Above is Pollen and Ash; below is Brownstone and Graphite.
Above is Brick and Grounds; below is Fjord and Cove.
Come by the shop to create your own “Mix No. 23” color combination, and get Shibui Cima for this project at 10% off during January!
Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!
The shop was closed today for inclement weather, and as the snow quietly fell this morning, Anne texted me some knitterly show-and-tell from her friend Sherri. A snow day is a good one for show-and-tell; let’s take a peek at some of the recently-completed projects that started their lives as yarns here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.
Above, Sherri’s daughter in law models the Churchmouse “Easy Folded Poncho” Sherri knit for her with Shibui Dune, a soft and lustrous blend of alpaca, camel, and silk.
A couple of weeks ago, I shared a bundle of colorwork projects here on the blog, only to have Judie walk through our door the next day wearing this beautiful sweater. Consider this an addendum! The pattern is Courtney Kelley’s “St. Brendan,” and the yarn is the rustic yet luxurious Fibre Company Arranmore. Judie changed the color palette just slightly from the pattern photo, switching the ribbing color from dark gray to a warm camel – a small adjustment that makes a big difference and looks great.
Above is the first of Margaretta’s “January Mitts,” knit with Fibre Company Cumbria Fingering. I have a special fondness for this yarn, as I’ve shared before, and it’s especially nice to see its sharp stitch definition in this lace and bobble pattern.
Speaking of Fibre Company yarns and of sharp stitch definition, here’s Leah’s exquisitely textured “Arctic Circle” cowl, knit with Fibre Company Tundra. This was her first project after completing a Beginning Knitting class here at the shop, and it’s clear it wont be her last – well done, Leah!
Loretta knit this “Arrowhead Shawl” with Swans Island All American Worsted, a soft yet sturdy blend of US-sourced Rambouillet wool and alpaca. The traditional guernsey stitch patterns are placed on a stockinette background for a subtle effect, one that’s harder to capture on camera than it is to perceive in person.
Thanks to all who begin their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and thanks especially for bringing them back to share your work with us! Hope everyone stayed safe and warm this snowy weekend, and spent some time stitching. We’ll be open again at our regular hours on Tuesday, January 10th.
January is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarns purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.
This month’s featured sample is one of our own, a “Mix No. 23” cowl that Amy knit. This reversible double-knit cowl was designed by Lidia Tsymbal, and knit with Shibui Cima held double throughout.
I knit a “Mix No. 23” for myself a couple of years ago, and it served as my introduction to Shibui and to double knitting. It’s by far my favorite handknit accessory, I wear it every day of the winter and most of the fall and spring. Knitters often ask me if it’s difficult to do, and though “difficult” is in the eye of the beholder, I’d consider this a bit of a challenge, but a rewarding one. The double-knit chart took a bit of getting used to, and it was a few long rows before I realized how I was making two pieces of fabric at once. Since both colors are in use on every row, I found it really useful to hold one color in my right hand and one in my left as I worked.
We’re offering a 10% discount on Cima purchased for this project til the end of the month, so come by the shop to start a “Mix No. 23” of your own before January 31st!
Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!
December is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarns purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.
Our current Shibui Sample of the Month is “Trace,” by Shellie Anderson, a simple stockinette pullover framed by ribbing along the sides and bottom edge.
The main body of the sweater is knit with Shibui Maai, a soft blend of merino and alpaca plied into a springy chainette.
The ribbed details are knit with Shibui Pebble and Cima held together throughout, with tweedy Pebble providing a slight contrast even in a matching colorway; here are sets of all three yarns in “Trail” and “Pollen” to illustrate.
You can also up the contrast by selecting Pebble in a different colorway entirely; here’s Maai and Cima in “Brownstone” with a pop of Pebble in “Poppy.”
We’re offering a 10% discount on Maai, Cima, and Pebble purchased for this project til the end of the month, so come by the shop to see it before December 31st!
Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!
Over the weekend, one trunk show came down, and a new one went right up. Come by the shop soon to see Shibui’s Fall/Winter 2016 Collection.
The Fall/Winter 2016 pattern collection, by Shellie Anderson, makes good use of their newest yarn, Drift, though you’ll also see plenty of other familiar Shibui yarns like Staccato, Cima, Dune, Maai, and Pebble.
These garments continue in the Shibui tradition of modern, wearable pieces, designed with elegant simplicity but great attention to detail.
We’ll have the Fall/Winter 2016 Collection on display here at the shop until December 13th. Hurry in to see these exquisite garments and try them on for size!
