Tag Archives: show and tell

Show and tell: stripes.

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Time for another round of show and tell! It’s been a busy season for show and tell, so I have a big collection of photos, and among them, some themes have emerged – today’s projects all feature the humblest color technique: stripes.

I love the colors and buttons Marie-France chose for this little “Seaside Set” sweater, knit with a smooth merino wool, Sandnes Garn Sunday. Pattern by PetiteKnit.

Michele added thick stripes to her “Tolsta Tee,” knit with Cascade Nifty Cotton in an eye-catching color combination. Pattern by Rebecca Clow.

Speaking of eye-catching colors, check out Sudi-Laura’s “Terra” tee! Made with Knitting for Olive Cotton Merino held double, this tee exudes joy in chartreuse and cream stripes. Pattern by Melody Hoffmann.

Below is Anne’s garter stitch baby blanket, knit with a cool cotton, Kelbourne Woolens Skipper. Big garter stitch stripes are simple as can be, but they shine in this thoughtfully chosen colorway.

Liz’s “Heimathafen” showcases another kind of stripe, made with a dip stitch colorwork technique. She chose a high contrast color combination in Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool, something to let the design shine. Pattern by Isabell Kraemer.

Thanks to Marie-France, Michele, Sudi-Laura, Anne, and Liz for sharing their striped projects with us! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

Show and tell: textural details.

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It’s show-and-tell time again! I’m always collecting photos of finished projects as they’re brought into the shop by proud knitters, the better to share them on Instagram and here on our blog. Each of these has a special textural detail, whether subtle or bold – let’s have a look.

Katherine designed and knit this “Diamonds in Bloom Shawl,” using one of her most favorite yarns, Julie Asselin Leizu Fingering Non Traitee. This smooth, round yarn is ideal for showing off patterns like this one, with texture and lace – download her pattern for free on Ravelry!

And what’s on Katherine’s needles now? Another textured shawl in purple! This is Andrea Mowry’s “Anemoia,” which really shines in De Rerum Natura Gilliatt.

Josie came in wearing her “Mellow Mood Top,” a simple stockinette tee framed with broken rib. She used Sandnes Garn Line, the most popular yarn around here this time of year – linen, cotton, and viscose make for a cool and loose fitting summertime garment.

Becky knit this “Left Bank” cardigan with Malabrigo Rios, another bestselling yarn here at HYS. Yoko Hatta’s pattern features a honeycomb cable on each sleeve, a small detail that I imagine kept the knitting interesting.

Texture is the main event in Margaretta’s “Field Slipover,” a popular vest pattern by Camilla Vad.

Margaretta used Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Vovó and Isager Silk Mohair held together, giving this wheat stitch pattern a lovely fuzzy halo.

Thanks to Katherine, Josie, Becky, and Margaretta for sharing their projects, and thanks to everyone whose projects begin with a trip to our shop! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

Show and tell: marls.

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Time for another round of show and tell, this time focusing on marled knits!

Marling is what we call it when two or more strands of yarn are worked together. You can use it to achieve unique fiber blends, textures, and, most fun of all – color combinations.

The sweater above is Katherine’s “Colder than Yesterday,” knit with a light shade of Isager Baby and a dark shade of Silk Mohair. Mohair in particular can make fascinating things happen in a high contrast color combination – this one seems to glow from certain angles. Pattern by by Maren Sgries.

Kathy loved making her first marled “Lento” so much that she knit another for her daughter, this time in shades of orange.

She used the same yarns as before, textured Isager Bouclé and smooth Kelbourne Woolens Camper – a wonderful pairing for Jonna Helin’s pattern.

Becky made beautiful use of Isager Bouclé, too, pairing it with another smooth fingering weight yarn, Highland Wool.

She knit Lene Holme Samsøe’s “Foundation Sweater,” another great pattern for highlighting marls. Look for Samsøe’s amazing array of marled swatches on the Ravelry page for this pattern, it’s inspiring!

Sometimes yarn itself is marled, where each ply is a different color – Malabrigo Caracol is an intriguing example. Michele knit this cute “Aguas Blancas Hat” with a black and white skein of Caracol, trimmed with solid white Rasta at the brim. Pattern by Kristel Nieves.

Thanks to Katherine, Kathy, Becky and Michele for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Show and tell: Harrisville Designs.

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We’ve carried yarn from Harrisville Designs for just a year now, but they already feel like go-to skeins that I can’t imagine the shop without. As soon as I finished one sweater with Harrisville Highland, I cast on for another with Harrisville nightshades, and as I knit it, I’m daydreaming about a future sweater I’ll make with Harrisville Shetland. I’ll show and tell about one of those here, along with other finished knits from our community, all made with Harrisville yarn!

Bailey knit this cozy v-neck in worsted weight Harrisville Highland, the raglan “Sunday Brunch Sweater,” by Hiromi Nagasawa. Her mom has claimed it and wears it often!

My Harrisville Highland sweater is also a v-neck, Ozetta’s “Lakes V-Neck Pullover.”

This sweater is an instant classic that you have probably already seen me in at the shop – I wear it as often as the weather allows! The pattern by Ozetta, and I would gladly knit it again, possibly with a round neck.

Kristin added a strand of Isager Silk Mohair to Harrisville Highland for her “Karla Cardigan,” by Anne Ventzel.

This lightweight addition adds a bit of fuzz and so much drape. Here she and Bailey wear their “Karla Cardigans” together, which had me wanting one of my own.

Liz knit this “Bray” pullover in Harrisville nightshades, a DK weight Cormo wool that comes in 12 shades of black.

The cable, lace, and texture patterns of Jared Flood’s pattern are somewhat subtle in this dark shade, but they still come through.

Here’s Polly’s “Maple Vest,” knit with nightshades’ sunshine counterpart, daylights. This lighter shade shows off the twisted stitches in Yung Jeong’s design.

I hope this inspires you to knit with Harrisville yarns if you haven’t yet – these rustic woolen-spun yarns come in the most spectacular colors, and soften beautifully with wear. Look for them here at HYS!

Show and tell: stranded colorwork.

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Time for another round of show and tell! Let’s look at what folks are making with yarn from HYS.

Over the years, many knitters have told me that HYS has a reputation for colorwork, thanks to our fair isle samples, our love of this technique, and our selection of yarns well suited to it. The knitters in our community also contribute to this reputation with their amazing projects – check out Becky’s gorgeous “Forget-Me-Not-Jumper,” by Florence Miller!

Becky knit this sweater with WYS Morris DK, a smooth blend of British wool that comes in a color palette inspired by the art of William Morris.

Liz’s “Polina Pullover” also has bold colorwork at the yoke, along with thoughtful textural details at the neck. She knit it with Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Vovó, a versatile sport weight wool that absolutely sings in stranded knitting as well as stockinette – just look at these stitches!

The lovely stitches above were knit by Nancy, a longtime knitting teacher and friend of the shop. The yarn is Kelbourne Woolens Scout, one of our consistent best-sellers, and the pattern is “Epistropheid,” by Kate Davies.

Above is Victoria’s amazing “Jolly Spots,” a playful child’s cardigan designed by Martin Storey.

The yarn is Skipper, a bit of an unexpected choice for colorwork – 100% cotton, with none of the elasticity or wooliness we tend to think of for stranded knitting. The result is stunning, however, and a steek-free pattern like this is a good fit for cotton.

Thanks to Becky, Liz, Nancy, and Victoria for sharing their work with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to HYS – we can’t wait to see what you make next!

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.

Show and tell: Victorian Housecats and other critters.

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Time for another round of show and tell! Sharing finished projects from our crafty community is an ongoing part of our daily Instagram posts, but I have a glorious backlog of projects I want to share here on the blog, too. Today, let’s admire these cute critters!

First up is Anne’s “Porch Cat,” from Sara Elizabeth Kellner’s Victorian Housecats to Knit. This book has become a bestseller here at our shop, charming cat-lovers with its charismatic felines in a range of poses.

Anne used a variety of yarns held together, switching them out as she went to blend colors and texture, making a turmeric colored cat just like her Gurkemejr. Isager Bouclé and Silk Mohair were among those yarns, along with Kelbourne Woolens Camper, Koigu KPPPM, and other bits and bobs from her collection. Look for this sweet kitty here at the shop, or get a peek online – Gurkemejr stars in this Instagram Reel!

Anne’s cat inspired many other knitters to cast on for Victorian Housecats – above is Jayne’s “Miss Morgan’s Manx,” knit with Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky.

Ann used Berroco Ultra Alpaca Chunky for her “Master Timmy’s Tuxedo” cat, and came back for yarn to make another!

Here’s April’s “M’Lady’s Marmalade,” a cat modeled after her own Scout. She knit with all kinds of yarn from her collection, marled to get the colors just right.

Leaving cats for the moment, here’s another wildly popular knit critter: the iconic “Emotional Support Chicken.” Karen made this one with Berroco Ultra Wool, and has nearly lost track of how many others have come off her needles!

Pam found another way to knit a critter – here’s her “Halibut” sweater, designed by Caitlin Hunter, and knit with Malabrigo Rios.

Thanks to Jayne, Ann, April, Karen, Pam, and everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We love hearing your ideas and helping you find just the right yarns and tools to realize them. See you at the shop!

Back in stock: Isager Highland Wool.

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It’s been a while since we restocked Isager Highland Wool, a light and lofty fingering weight wool in muted, earthy colors.

Isager Highland Wool:

  • light fingering weight
  • solid and heathered colors
  • 100% Peruvian Highland wool
  • 301 yards/50 g
  • gauge: 26 sts / 30 rows using 3mm needles
  • hand wash, lay flat to dry

Like many of Isager’s yarns, Highland Wool is most often used in combination with other fibers. I paired it with Isager Bomulin for the “Ranunculus” that hangs at the shop, and Bailey paired it with Silk Mohair for the “Darcy Cardigan” she’s wearing here.

Isager Highland Wool held with Silk Mohair is a lush and lightweight combination with just enough drape – no wonder there are so many patterns that pair them up. Here are a few!

Bouclé is another good playmate for Highland Wool, a looped alpaca yarn that brings its teddy bear texture to the knitted fabric.

“Foundation Sweater,” by Lene Holme Samsøe, knit with Isager Highland & Bouclé

Lene Holme Samsøe’s “Foundation Sweater” showcases this combination, a top-down raglan in magical marled colors.

Bailey helped me come up with a few more unexpected combinations in Bouclé and Highland Wool – I can’t wait to see what else folks dream up!

Look for these and other Isager yarns here at HYS – we can’t get enough of them!

Show and tell: cozy hats.

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We love to see finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and when I’m able, I love to photograph them and share them here on the blog. At the moment, I have enough photos stockpiled for at least four blog posts – for today, let’s look at hats!

First up are a couple of intricate hats knit by Rosi. Above is her “Tjärn – hat,” by Tina Hauglund, knit with Berroco Ultra Wool DK.

Here’s Rosi’s “Snowfall Hat,” by Susan Rainey, knit with Ewe Ewe Sporty and beautifully embellished with beads.

Anne has taught Ellen Bartz’s “Ardelle Hat” several times now, a next step for her Beginning Knitting graduates. It packs a punch in terms of new techniques – provisional cast-on, cables, grafting, picking up stitches and more. Here’s a recent version she knit with Kelbourne Woolens Erin.

Nancy also has a hat to share in Kelbourne Woolens yarn – here’s her “Fernhill,” from KW’s Year of Bulky Hats, knit with the now discontinued (and on sale!) Germantown Bulky.

Last but not least, here’s another of Nancy’s hats, “Aal Ower Toorie,” designed by Shetland Guild of Spinners, Knitters, Weavers and Dyers for Shetland Wool Week 2025.

Inspired to make one of your own? Check out our kits, featuring 8 shades of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift!

Thanks to the 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.

Show and tell: sweater weather.

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As you may have read in our most recent newsletter, the shop will be closed for our usual Thanksgiving break from November 23 – December 1. Feel free to shop online during that time, but know that we won’t be shipping or monitoring our inbox until we’re back in the shop on December 2! We wish you all a peaceful holiday.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy some show and tell!

Joanne knit this gorgeous “Field Slipover” with Isager Merilin and Silk Mohair, a luxurious and unique blend of fibers. Pattern by Camilla Vad.

 

Katherine seems to have a new sweater on her needles each time we see her, and a new sweater just off her needles, too – here are two of her latest.

Above is her “Emberstone Cardigan Aran,” by Dear Knits, made with Sandnes Garn Double Sunday and Isager Silk Mohair held together. Below is her “Astrid Sweater,” by Pernille Larsen, made with Isager Baby and Silk Mohair held together. It would be hard to say which sweater is softer – these are both such decadent yarn combinations!

Michele knit this “Rosie Sweater” using Biches & Bûches Le Petit Lambswool and Isager Silk Mohair. The main color had been lingering in her stash for a while, awaiting the perfect project, and this pale lavender sets it off beautifully. Pattern by Lene Holme Samsøe.

Here’s another design by Lene Holme Samsøe: Nancy’s “Musling Tee,” knit with Retrosaria Rosa Pomar Mungo. She left it with us to display at the shop – look for it near the checkout desk when you’re here next!

Thanks to Joanne, Katherine, Michele and Nancy for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.