Tag Archives: shop samples

Flower Child.

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Sometimes knitters come into the shop with something in mind. They have a pattern, they need some yarn. They have some yarn, they need a pattern. They have a problem, they need some help. They have an idea, they need some encouragement. Other times, though, knitters and crocheters make their way to the shop with nothing particular in mind, looking to be inspired. That’s why we have samples lining every square inch of wall that isn’t already occupied by yarn, books, needles, or hooks. “Flower Child,” designed by Norah Gaughan, is one of our samples that has caught the eye of many a knitter in search of inspiration. 
Just right for spring and summer, this top is knit in Berroco Pure Pima. Pure Pima is a dk weight cotton yarn that comes in many hues, from the subdued to the crayon-bright.
It’s the unusual construction that draws knitters to this sweater, a common trait among Norah Gaughan’s designs. This one comes from her Berroco collection, Volume 4, which we just got back in stock.
Because the pattern has been out for some time, many Ravelers have already completed and posted pictures of this sweater, likely offering many helpful hints. Long sleeves have been a common modification to the pattern. Take a look at what’s there, and come by the shop when you’re seeking inspiration!

Mission Falls baby sweaters.

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Happy Mother’s Day, folks. Speaking of which: look at what’s hanging in our window.

Two tiny baby sweaters, one in Mission Falls 1824 Cotton, and one in 1824 Wool. Perfect baby gifts for brand new mothers.

1824 Cotton.

As I mentioned before, the Mission Falls yarns are perfect for baby things. Each one is soft and machine-washable, and each comes in a range of subtle hues that look wonderful together. These sweaters, knit by myself and by Nancy, make for nice examples of the fine qualities of Mission Falls yarn. The fact that these two yarns are also currently on sale makes for another fine quality: these yarns are inexpensive.

1824 Wool.

The pattern is “Baby Sophisticate,” by Linden Down, a simple, well-written, free Ravelry download that calls for only three skeins of Mission Falls. Nancy and I both knit the 0-3 month size in only two skeins, making for incredibly quick knitting. If I had to make a gift for a baby in a hurry, I’d turn to this yarn and this pattern.

We’re busy cooking up a baby sweater class to take place sometime soon, for an intermediate knitter. If you’re interested, don’t hesitate to let us know. In the mean time, come by the shop to plan a Mission Falls baby sweater of your own!

Habu cotton shawl.

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Perhaps you remember our Habu cotton, a soft, airy, laceweight boucle yarn that Anne has been using in a striped shawl.

Perhaps you remember my promise to post pictures of said shawl soon. I was reminded of this promise when the latest shipment of Habu cotton came in this week, boasting more of all the existing colors as well as one brand new teal, completing the Habu cotton spectrum. The shawl is still in progress, and only becomes more alluring as each successive stripe is added.

I said it in the last Habu post and it still holds true: you have to touch this shawl. It’s light, soft, drapes beautifully, and is so open on size 11 needles as to be transparent.

Come and admire it, and begin planning a similarly weightless summer shawl if you are so inclined.

Japanese Inspired Knits.

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Marianne Isager’s Japanese Inspired Knits is quite possibly the best-selling book in the history of the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. In the two years since it was published, we’ve taught several classes based upon it, carried more and more Isager yarns, and reordered the book countless times.

Recently, though, we managed to sell all our copies before we had a chance to reorder, resulting in a week or two without it. And wouldn’t you know it, those were the weeks I got the most requests for this particular book. Every couple of days, someone would point to Anne’s Carp sweater and say, “Where can I get the pattern for that?“

Once or twice, someone would come in from the street wondering about Nancy’s Fan sweater. “Do you have the pattern for the red sweater in the window?”

Well, everyone, I’m happy to report that Japanese Inspired Knits is back in stock. Sweater-knitters looking for interesting construction ought to have a look at this title (and these sweaters!) if they haven’t already. May we have it on hand forevermore.

A surprise from Berroco.

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I was surprised to see a box from Berroco this past week. A box of yarn is no surprise at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, of course, but this particular box made me think to myself: Wait. What did we order from Berroco again? But look what we discovered upon opening said box!

Not yarn at all, but a new sample to display in the shop. This incredible afghan is knit from a book called Comfort Knitting and Crochet: Afghans, by Norah Gaughan, Margery Winter, and the Berroco Design Team. If you’re looking for a copy, we keep them in a stack near the Shenandoe Farm yarn.
The pattern is “Aran,” by Norah Gaughan, and it’s made out of Berroco Comfort, a yarn that we don’t carry, though we do carry many other Berroco yarns. As I explained in an earlier post, we’re all about yarn substitution, so if you’d like to knit a blanket from this book, don’t fret about the absence of this particular yarn. We have so many wonderful yarns to choose from, and we’d be happy to help you find one that suits your pattern.

Such a pretty thing, no? Come in to the shop to cuddle and admire this new addition to our collection of samples.

Shenandoe Farm.

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Perhaps if you’ve been in the shop sometime in the past two weeks, you’ve noticed a new little nook I created for locally produced and dyed yarns.

The local yarns live in the Noro corner, above the Noro. Here, you’ll find a lone skein of local llama yarn, a bit of handspun, and a sock- and dk-weight yarn dyed locally by The Unique Sheep. Those local yarns we’ve had for some time now. It was the introduction of a brand new local yarn that inspired this grouping.

Shenandoe Farm, right here in Orange County, is home to the angora goats that helped produce the beautiful undyed yarn pictured above. Their wool was shipped off to Michigan to be mixed with a bit of cotton and mill-spun. To me, this is some of the most exciting new yarn we’ve received in a long time. It’s rustic looking, pleasant to work with, and fuzzy without shedding. The skeins vary some in color, thickness, yardage, and weight: something to keep in mind when you’re planning a project. That very uncertainty, though, requires you to try out different needle sizes and work a swatch before casting on–a blessing in disguise. This is wonderful stuff to experiment with.

To me, the yarn said, honeycomb cables, and so that’s what I did. What you see above is about half a hat. I only get to work at it during the slow moments at the shop, but it’s growing quickly anyway. Come by the shop to give those cables a nice squeeze, and to admire the fiber that our corner of the world produces.

Swatching.

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Lately I have been knitting swatches for the shop.

Takhi Mia.

We try to have a sample of every yarn we sell, whether it’s an elaborate sweater hanging on the wall, or just a few inches of garter stitch tucked into the basket with the yarn. A swatch can tell you a lot about a particular yarn. How’s the stitch definition? How will it drape? Where will the colors fall in a variegated yarn? Does it soften after knitting? Sometimes we knit up an entire skein, which can give a tangible sense of how far a skein goes. Most importantly, but hardest to describe, swatches can give you a sense of just how it knits up.

Mirasol Sawya.
Swatches teach the knitter other important lessons, too, which are not immediately apparent from a finished swatch. Does the yarn have a tendency to split? How does the skein behave on the ball-winder? Is it a more delicate yarn, or a tough one that can take a few rippings-out? Another big reason for us to swatch our yarns is to answer these kinds of questions for you. I can’t have knit a sweater out of each yarn in the shop, but most yarns either Anne or I have at least swatched with, so we can tell you a little something about it that you might not otherwise know.
Queensland Haze.
The triangular kerchief above is one I knit as an oversized swatch of Queensland Haze, a dk weight blend of cotton and corn viscose. One 100 gram skein goes quite a long way, as you can see. It’s a simple construction, but for whatever reason I started and ripped out at least five or six times before I got a shape I liked. Haze more than survived all that ripping out. On the sixth start, the yarn was just as smooth and sturdy as it was on the first. It’s these kinds of things we learn from swatching. If you’re curious about a particular yarn, don’t hesitate to ask one of us just how it knits up.