Tag Archives: show and tell

Show and tell: for Anne’s grandchildren.

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Earlier this year, Anne set a lofty goal: she would knit a sweater for each of her five grandchildren for Hanukkah. When she mentioned this in conversation at the shop, eyes would widen in disbelief – even child-sized sweaters represent an awful lot of knitting, after all. For her granddaughters, she picked Anna Johanna’s “Taimi,” pattern, a colorwork yoke pullover from Strands of Joy, and for her grandsons, “Fresko,” a cabled pullover. She spent every possible moment knitting these sweet sweaters, determined to complete them in time. Anne is a woman of her word, and a determined one – even with this year’s early Hanukkah, she completed the five sweaters in time. Quite a feat!

Here’s “Taimi” in Swans Island All American Sport, with Malabrigo Caprino as the contrast color.

Here’s “Taimi” in Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03, with Alchemy Sanctuary as the contrast color.

Here are a pair of “Freskos” in Malabrigo Mecha, for her twin grandsons.

Here’s the littlest sweater for the littlest grandchild, another “Fresko,” in Brooklyn Tweed Quarry.

Above is a close up on a heartfelt detail – Anne ordered custom tags on Etsy for these heirloom knits, reading “Made with love by Bubbie.”

Hope you’ve met your own holiday knitting goals this season!

Thanksgiving break, colorwork show and tell.

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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 24 – 29. Feel free to place online orders or email inquiries during that time, but know that we won’t be monitoring our inbox until we’re back in the shop on November 30! We wish you all a peaceful and safe holiday.

In the meantime, let’s enjoy more show and tell, this time featuring colorwork projects!

Anne knit this “Spooky Hat,” by RosiePosieKnitCo, using Malabrigo Rios – all the contrast colors were leftovers from other projects, a great way to use them up!

Pam loves to do colorwork with Malabrigo Rios, too – here’s her “Dog Star,” a favorite pattern designed for all ages by Tin Can Knits.

Molly knit this “Machrihanish” vest using Cascade 220 Fingering, selecting and ordering the colors from a distance during our long closure. We were thrilled to see how beautifully it came together – there’s nothing like seeing yarn and handknit garments in person! Pattern by Kate Davies.

Above is Victoria’s “Lehto,” a pattern from Anna Johanna’s book Strands of Joy. She used Briggs & Little Sport for the main color and Kelbourne Woolens Andorra for the contrast color, and I must mention that this is her very first sweater – bravo, Victoria!

Thanks to Anne, Pam, Molly, and Victoria 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.

Hello, Isager Silk Mohair!

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We are delighted to announce a new arrival at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop: meet Isager Silk Mohair!

Isager Silk Mohair:

  • lace weight
  • 70% kid mohair, 30% silk
  • 233 yards/25 g
  • $16 each

Isager is a Danish yarn company led by designers and co-owners Marianne Isager and her daughter, Helga Isager. They are known for combining yarns to create unique fiber and color blends, and for their sophisticated color palette.

Silk Mohair is soft and shiny, lightweight with a fluffy texture, and often used in tandem with heavier yarns. We’ve seen more and more patterns calling for a lace weight mohair like this one, sometimes paired with a fingering weight yarn, sometimes a bulky – stay tuned for more blog posts on how to pair it up! Til then, here are a few ideas for using Silk Mohair on its own, or combined with other lace weight yarns.

Here’s a bit of show and tell, a close up on Margaretta’s own “Windy Fields,” knit with Isager Silk Mohair.

This gorgeous piece was the result of a special order we made for Margaretta before deciding to carry the yarn, and her beautiful knitting put us over the top – we are so happy to have Silk Mohair on our shelves! Look for it in the lace weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, or order online for local pickup or shipping.

Show and tell!

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these beautiful knits.

Pam has been busy making “Rainy Day Hats” with Pascuali Balayage – we love her modification to include more contrast colors, and more stripes! Pattern by Melanie Berg.

Here’s Hazel’s “Cloves Entwined Toque,” knit with Koigu KPPPM and Isager Alpaca 1 held together. Pattern by Tif Neilan.

Here’s another Koigu project – Linda in her “Solstice Sunset” shawl, knit with KPPPM and Shibui Silk Cloud held together throughout. Pattern by Andrea Hungerford.

Here’s Elizabeth with her “Slipstravaganza,” an impressive shawl knit with Malabrigo Sock during last year’s WestKnits MKAL. Pattern by Stephen West.

Michele came in wearing her lovely “Purl Strings,” a pullover she knit with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple. Pattern by Heidi Kirrmeier.

Thanks to Pam, Hazel, Linda, Elizabeth, 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: more sweaters!

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It’s been fun going back through show and tell photos from Instagram over the past year since our closure – there are so many incredible projects to share. Let’s take a look at some sweaters!

Like many of us, Linda spent much of the past year finishing lingering projects, and here she is modeling one of them – “Galloway,” a colorwork cardigan designed by Jared Flood for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

Above is Rosi’s “Cloudy Blouse,” an intricate embroidered pullover designed by Helga Isager for Isager Spinni.

Here’s Pat in her “Donner,” knit with Malabrigo Caprino and trimmed with Shibui Haven.

Linda knit this “Orime” top with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a smooth and springy yarn that’s perfect for showing off the subtle stitch pattern in Veronik Avery’s design.

Here’s Laura, showing off her beautiful “Zahavi,” designed by Emily Greene for Brooklyn Tweed Arbor – another yarn with superb stitch definition.

Above is Patricia’s “Peace Lily Blouse,” knit for her daughter using Kelbourne Woolens Mojave. She modified this cropped top by lengthening the ribbing, a clever and easy fix that changes the whole look of the garment.

Here’s Denise’s first ever steeked sweater, Caitlin Hunter’s “Ramblin Woman” cardigan, knit with Isager Jensen.

Thanks to Linda, Rosi, Pat, Linda, Laura, Patricia, and Denise for sharing their work with us! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

Show and tell: little sweaters.

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these sweet sweaters for babies and children.

Pam knit this “Ezra” cardigan with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a DK weight blend of merino and organic cotton. The skeins vary from light to dark, giving a special tonal look to each garment knit with Dapple.

Here’s Janese’s “Baby Surprise Jacket,” knit with Malabrigo Rios. Elizabeth Zimmermann’s classic pattern is knit all in one piece, then folded up and seamed at the shoulders. Instead of alternating skeins to blend the hand-dyed colors, Janese knit all the way through her first skein before switching to the second, letting the uniqueness of each one shine through – we love the result!

Emily knit the “Baby Colorwork Cardigan” above with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, a favorite yarn she’s returned to for project after project. With so many kinds of yarn to choose from, this is high praise for Peerie!

Above is Rosi’s “Dog Star,” a beloved Tin Can Knits pattern that Anne and I have each made several times. Rosi used Berroco Ultra Wool DK for the main color and Malabrigo Arroyo for the contrast color and cuffs.

Here are two of Anne’s finished knits, from the last batch of sweaters she made for her grandchildren. Above is “Atlas (For Kids)” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Loft, and below is “Leaf Sweater for Kids,” knit with Malabrigo Sock.

She’s already three sweaters into the next round of knits for her grandchildren – looking forward to sharing them with you here as they emerge from her knitting bag!

Thanks to Pam, Janese, Emily, Rosi and Anne for letting me share these inspiring knits. We love to see what all of you are making, and sincerely thank anyone who starts a project with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Show and tell!

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It’s been too long since I shared some show and tell here on the blog! Those of you who follow us on Instagram may have seen some of these inspiring projects over the past few months, but they’re all worth a bit more attention – let’s take a look.

Here’s Kathryn with her “Slipstravaganza” shawl, designed by Stephen West for his annual Mystery Knit-Along last fall. She used Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere for a soft and surprisingly sturdy accessory – she reported no pilling even after plenty of wear.

Another Stephen West pattern! Michele knit this “Brioche Soundwaves” with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, which has superb stitch definition, ideal for an intricate pattern like this.

Here Emily models her cozy “Nightshift” shawl, a popular pattern by Andrea Mowry. She used a mix of solid and marled colors to great effect – Brooklyn Tweed Shelter is the yarn.

Here’s another “Nightshift,” knit by Kay for her sister using Malabrigo Rios. We’ve seen this shawl knit with solids and hand-dyes, variegated and speckled shades, even self-striping colors, and many knitters come back to make a second or third!

Nancy brought her “Chrysalis Throw” in during an in-store shopping appointment, wowing us with her use of color. She’s crocheting this large and impressive blanket with Cascade Ultra Pima – pattern by Jen Tyler.

Deedra is an avid Koigu collector, and used some of her skeins to knit the “Pacific Shake Cowl” above. Taiu Landra designed it using two strands of Koigu KPPPM at a time, marling different shades for unique color blends.

Thanks to Kathryn, Emily, Kay, Michele, Nancy, and Deedra for sharing their work – we can’t wait to see what you make next. Stay tuned for more show and tell soon, a post featuring nothing but sweaters…!

New year’s eve.

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What are you working on as 2020 comes to an end? Anne and I have closed up shop for the day, and we’ll be closed tomorrow, Jan. 1, as well. Now’s the time for rest, year-end contemplation, and knitting, of course – here’s a peek at our current projects.

Anne has been busy stitching for her grandchildren all year, and is closing in on this intricate lace pullover, “Leaf Sweater for Kids.”

She’s using a semisolid shade of Malabrigo Sock, which shows off the lace pattern beautifully. I’m looking forward to seeing it after blocking!

I’ve started another “Stasis” pullover, a replacement for one of my most loved sweaters, which I’ve worn out and mended several times – you can see it here, in a long ago show-and-tell blog post. For my second “Stasis,” I’m using a marled shade of Brooklyn Tweed Loft as my main color, and assorted bits and pieces of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for my contrast colors. It took a bit of sketching and swatching to get to this particular arrangement of colors, which was good fun in and of itself. Below are my first and second drafts, and above is what I settled on.

 

Your kindness and support have meant the world to us this year – wishing health and happiness to you and yours in 2021!

Show and tell: HYS Hat Club!

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Before we get into today’s show and tell, a reminder: the shop is closed for a Thanksgiving break from November 25 – 30. We’ll be back in the shop for phone calls, emails, and pickups on Tuesday, December 1. Feel free to place orders during our closure, but know that we won’t be monitoring our inbox until December 1 – thanks for understanding! Enjoy the holiday.

We’re two months into the HYS Hat Club, a subscription of thoughtfully curated hat projects for knitters. It’s been so fun selecting patterns, yarns, and colors for our members, but even better to see their completed hats! Let’s take a look.

Pat’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Seaglass.

October’s pattern was “Gault,” by Jared Flood, a textured hat knit with two skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. This design was just published in BT’s new Terre: Verdant collection, a group of patterns inspired by the lush vegetation of a well-tended garden.

Cassie’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Norway.

Beth’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Humpback.

Arbor’s wooly softness and elasticity is ideal for making hats, and its excellent stitch definition shows Flood’s waffle texture pattern with precision.

Emily’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Firebrush.

November’s pattern was, fittingly, “November Hat,” by Meghan Kelly, a cable and twisted stitch hat knit with 1 skein of Kelbourne Woolens Germantown.

Beth’s “November Hat,” knit with KW Germantown in Tan.

Germantown is a yarn with history, a recreation of a classic wool that had been produced in Germantown, PA, under a few different brand names since the mid-to-late 19th century. Made of 100% North American wool, Germantown is a worsted spun yarn with a smooth texture, soft hand, and nice elasticity.

Pat’s “November Hat,” knit with KW Germantown in Persian Red.

Thanks so much to Pat, Cassie, Beth, and Emily for sharing their HYS Hat Club projects with us! If you’d like to join the HYS Hat Club for Quarter 2, starting in January, keep an eye out – we’ll be announcing the signup period early in December.

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! We know it will be a very different holiday this year for most of us; hope it finds you safe and sound, with time for stitching.

Show and tell at a distance.

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Since we closed our doors to walk-in visits back in March, we’ve seen a lot less of our community, and though it’s the right thing to do in terms of safety, we sure miss seeing all of you! We also miss the inspiring works-in-progress and finished projects you’d bring in for show and tell. Fortunately, we can still see your creations from a safe distance – we’ve had some folks send photos, and others bring their knits with them when they pick up their orders outside the shop! Let’s have a look.

Amy made this “Juneberry” shawl with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight Targhee wool yarn whose sharp stitch definition does this pattern justice.

Katherine used Malabrigo Rios to knit this “Scalloped Shawl,” which looks just lovely in this pastoral setting. Rios has been more popular than ever, and we’re doing our best to keep it in stock in spite of production delays and backorders!

 

Sue has a fondness for Rios, too – she’s been keeping herself busy knitting hat after hat with this soft and squishy yarn! Here are some of the patterns she’s used, all free downloads from Ravelry:

Yet another project in Malabrigo Rios is above, at right – Margaretta’s second (or third, or fourth? I’ve lost count!) “Umaro” blanket. She made the one on the left with Berroco Ultra Wool DK.

Here’s another of Margaretta’s projects, a “Furrow Cowl” knit with Austermann Merino Silk.

Nancy was the first of many to order yarn from us for “Katie’s Kep,” the Shetland Wool Week hat for 2020. We helped her pick colors of Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, and it’s delightful to see how beautifully they came together in the finished hat.

 

Thanks to Amy, Katherine, Sue, Margaretta, and Nancy, for sharing your work with us! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next, and encourage anyone working with yarn from our shop to send photos or bring along your projects when you’re picking up an order. Stay in touch, and keep stitching!