Tag Archives: show and tell

Sale of the Week: Shibui Vine and Silk Cloud!

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We’ve decided to keep our doors closed through the month of June, though we’re still virtually open for online orders. As we have done throughout April and May, we’ll have a special sale each week – 15% off a featured yarn, our Sale of the Week!

We have two yarns on sale this week – Shibui Vine and Silk Cloud are 15% off from June 15 – 20!

Vine is a unique combination of 41% paper, 31% cotton, and 28% silk. The texture is notable, too – a flat yarn wrapped in lustrous, overlapping threads.

Silk Cloud is a lace weight blend of 60% mohair and 40% silk, a fuzzy and luminous yarn.

 

They’re very different, Vine and Silk Cloud, but together they make an incredible fabric: Vine is cool to the touch and brings elegant drape, and Silk Cloud brings unmatched softness.

“Torrent” is a textured triangular shawlette knit on the bias, holding Vine and Silk Cloud together. The pattern is available for free when you buy Vine and Silk Cloud here at our shop.

The “Torrent” below was made by Maxine, one of the biggest Shibui fans we know!

 

Hold matching colors of Vine and Silk Cloud together for seamless blending.

Or combine two different colors for high or low contrast marls!

You’ll need 2 skeins of Vine and 1 skein of Silk Cloud to knit a “Torrent” of your own.

  • Vine: usually $20 each; $17 at 15% off
  • Silk Cloud: usually $26.50 each; $22.50 at 15% off
  • Special Julie Hoover shades of Silk Cloud: usually $28.50 each; $24.25 at 15% off

Head to our online order form if you’d like to place an order – it’ll be on sale through June 20. Thanks for all your support!

 

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges or returns. Thanks!

Nightshift.

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The knitters and crocheters who populate our shop are a diverse bunch, with all kinds of projects on their hands – any given week could find us suggesting yarns for striped shawls, intarsia cowls, granny square blankets, and all kinds of sweaters. When someone asks “What’s popular?” or “What’s everyone making around here?” I usually don’t know where to begin. Every once in a while, however, a particular pattern seems to appear on everyone’s needles.

Right now, that popular pattern is Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift.” This triangular shawl is decorated with bands of a simple slip stitch pattern, the background and foreground colors changing every so often. It’s trimmed with an attached i-cord edging, then finished off with a clever striped i-cord bind off.

I made one with Malabrigo Caprino, selecting a variety of dark, medium, and light colors. It was fun to watch how they interacted with one another, sometimes popping out in high contrast, other times receding when the color values were close.

Joanne and Sue have “Nightshifts” going in Caprino, too – I love seeing the variety that’s possible even when these knitters were choosing from the same small selection of colors!

Emily recently finished her “Nightshift,” also made with Caprino, and models it here, though she plans to gift it to a friend in need.

We’ve also had folks reach for worsted weight yarns to make “Nightshifts,” a natural choice since that’s what the pattern calls for. Nancy and Pam both used Malabrigo Rios for their shawls, below:

Andrea Mowry has more than one “Shift” pattern, of course – below is Toya’s “Shiftalong” hat in progress, and the next item on her to-knit list is “The Shift” cowl. She’s using Malabrigo Arroyo and Caprino for both projects, combining semi-solids with speckles.

I can’t wait to see these projects complete, and all the other “Nightshifts” I know are underway out there. Happy stitching to all of you, and special thanks to those who shared their projects on the blog today!

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted a bunch in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, which is currently 10% off as it’s featured in our BT Sample of the Month. With its sophisticated colors and superb stitch definition, Arbor is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Last year, Amy taught a couple of classes on Norah Gaughan’s “Geiger,” an intricately cabled and tailored cardigan knit with Arbor. Above is Amy in her completed garment, a perfect fit!

Leslie, Jane, and Linda also used Arbor for their own “Geiger” cardigans – bravo to all on completing these impressive sweaters!

Nancy also taught a sweater class featuring Arbor last year – above is her lovely “Newhaven” gansey, from Beth Brown-Reinsel’s classic Knitting Ganseys.

Above is April in her “#14 Arbor Cardigan,” another striking cabled cardigan designed by Norah Gaughan. She had some Arbor leftover and made the “Brioche Knots” hat below.

Emily recently made this pint-sized version of Andrea Mowry’s “Weekender” sweater for her daughter, taking advantage of Arbor’s smaller gauge to get the perfect fit.

Thanks to Amy, Leslie, Jane, Linda, Nancy, April, and Emily for sharing their Arbor projects with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their project with a trip to our shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next. If these talented knitters have inspired you, place an order during April to get Brooklyn Tweed Arbor at 10% off!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks! 

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Loft.

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Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted a handful in Brooklyn Tweed Loft, which has been featured in our BT Sample of the Month throughout March. With its heathered colors and rustic texture, Loft is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Kathryn designed and knit this “Bradshaw” cardigan for her son using Brooklyn Tweed Loft. This lightweight, woolen spun yarn beautifully shows the cables and gives this sweater a classic look. The pattern comes in a wide range of sizes, covering 0-6 months up to 10 years.

Above is Sidney’s “Perch,” designed by Gudrun Johnston, a triangular half hap featuring “old shale,” a classic lace pattern. I’m always pleased by the flecks of color that pop out of Loft when its knit up – in this case, they’re bright and festive against the overall dark brown color of the yarn.

Nancy knit Bristol Ivy’s “Bayard” hat with two shades of Loft, a high contrast color combination that blurs and blends a bit in one-row stripes and slipped stitches.

Thanks to Kathryn, Sidney, and Nancy for sharing their work with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

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Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted three in Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, which is currently 10% off as it’s featured in our BT Sample of the Month. With its soft hand, bold colors, and superb stitch definition, Peerie is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Above is Pam’s “Butterfly / Papillon,” a striking shawl decorated with short rows, which she knit using six shades of Peerie.

Emily was in a mood for colorwork one day, and came by the shop to select an open-ended palette of Peerie for hat-making. She wound up knitting two “Lucerne” hats and a “Bousta Beanie,” two of our favorite fingering weight colorwork hat patterns. These are great fun, whether you’re trying stranded knitting for the first time or just in a colorwork mood, like Emily!

Margaretta has worked with Peerie several times now, coming back again and again for the smoothness, bounce, and stitch definition.

This is her “Ensata Scarf,” rich with twisted stitches, texture, and lace, all of which shine in this special yarn.

Thanks to Pam, Emily, and Margaretta for sharing their work with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next. If these talented knitters have inspired you, come by the shop during February to get Brooklyn Tweed Peerie at 10% off!

 

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks! 

Show and tell: blankets.

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Time for another round of show and tell! I love to take photos of finished projects when folks bring them into the shop to share with us, and to share them here on our blog. I always seem to have a backlog of photos, thanks to the many productive knitters and crocheters who frequent our shop. Here’s a batch of show and tell featuring those most ambitious of projects – blankets!

Above is Nancy’s “Karoo Vintage” blanket, a magnum opus of colorful crochet. She used a variety of yarns, all plant fibers – Cascade Ultra Pima, Universal Bamboo Pop, Shibui Rain, Tahki Cotton Classic, and others. Bravo, Nancy!

The next two blankets come from a different Nancy, one who prefers to knit. Above is her “Tweed Baby Blanket,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in a pleasing gradient of red and pink.

Nancy also made this “Umaro” baby blanket with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. The simplicity of white brings clarity to this incredible stitch pattern. Nancy was generous enough to create this blanket for the shop as a sample – don’t miss admiring it next time you’re in!

Amy also completed an “Umaro” blanket recently, using Brooklyn Tweed Quarry held double. This intricate stitch pattern looks entirely new at such a large gauge.

Amy has an “Umaro” class underway at the shop now, and we’re so looking forward to seeing all the cozy blankets that come out of it!

Thanks to Nancy, Nancy, and Amy for sharing their work, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We can’t wait to see what you make next.

The Weekender KAL: show and tell.

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Back in April 2019, Anne and I embarked on an informal knit-along, knitting Andrea Mowry’s “The Weekender” sweater and inviting anyone and everyone to join us. We were delighted that so many folks were inspired to make the sweater, each bringing their own style and taste to this simple design, each knitting at their own pace. Some finished right away and then had to wait patiently for sweater weather to arrive, others signed up for Amy’s Weekender class to have her guidance as they knit along through the fall and winter. Many are still knitting, and we’re looking forward to seeing their sweaters in use this winter or next. As far as I’m concerned, our KAL has no end-date, so consider this round of Weekender KAL show and tell the first of many!

Michele was the first to finish. She knit her “Weekender” with Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed she picked up on sale a few years ago, putting that sweater quantity to good use.

Here’s Debbie in her “Weekender,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Snowbound, BT’s softest gray. Something about the reverse stockinette seems to let the heathered colorway shine – flecks of dark gray and black pop out from the overall light color, giving a simple stitch pattern more interest.

Anne and I had our own “Weekenders” on display at the shop all through the fall, and in fact, hers is still hanging – I was excited to wear mine and brought it home last month! Anne’s is on the left, knit with Shelter in Soot, and mine is on the right, knit with Kelbourne Woolens Scout in Sunflower Heather.

Amy is well into teaching a handful of classes on “The Weekender,” and so finished hers in a productive flurry of preparation for teaching. She used Shelter in the marled Caraway color, a good match for this design, with its plain texture and simple shape. She also modified the neckline for a turtleneck, and opted to knit the entire body in the round and steek the armhole openings – very clever!

Many thanks to Michele, Debbie, and Amy for sharing their sweaters and knitting along with us! We know there are many other Weekenders in various stages of completion out there in our HYS knitting community – let us know how it’s going, we can’t wait to see you all in your sweaters!

New year’s eve.

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2019 was a big year for us here at the shop, full of exciting new yarns, books, bags, and classes. We celebrated our thirteenth year in business with an exclusive Malabrigo colorway, delighted in an informal knitalong, and worked every day toward our goal of bringing the best quality yarns and information to the wonderful community of knitters, crocheters, and weavers that we feel lucky to serve.

Looking back over the past year of this blog, the posts that stand out all feature show and tell. All of us who shop, work, teach, and learn at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop are drawn together by a love of working with yarn, and the fruits of our labor are something special to behold. I try to photograph them when I’m able and share them here, and in 2019, I devoted no less than 15 blog posts to show and tell. Look back with me, if you like, and look forward to exciting things in new in the year ahead – Happy New Year, everyone!

A reminder: the shop will be closed Wednesday, January 1, 2020, but we open again at our regular business hours on Thursday. See you then!

Back in stock, show and tell: Malabrigo.

Back in stock, show and tell: Isager Alpaca 2.

Show and tell: for the home.

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland Spindrift.

Show and tell: Shibui.

Show and tell: lace.

Show and tell: cables.

Show and tell: Shibui.

Show and tell: colorful shawls.

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Quarry.

Show and tell: colorwork hats.

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland.

Show and tell: stranded colorwork.

Back in stock, show and tell: Malabrigo.

 

Brooklyn Tweed and Shibui Samples of the Month!

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December is here, and with it, new featured samples from Brooklyn Tweed and Shibui!

Our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month is Jared Flood’s “Umaro,” an impressive lace and cable blanket knit with two strands of BT Quarry held together.

Quarry is Brooklyn Tweed’s heaviest yarn, a bulky weight, woolen-spun Targhee-Columbia wool. Each plump 100 gram skein boasts 200 yards, quite a bit for a yarn that knits up at 3-3.5 stitches per inch. It’s what our friend Emily used for her own “Umaro” blanket, below – she brought it in this week for show and tell, and reports that she snuggles underneath it on the couch with her kids all the time. A success!

Our Shibui Sample of the Month is “sequences,” by Lori Versaci, knit with Shibui Drift.

Drift is a treat to work with, a luxurious worsted weight blend of merino and cashmere.

We’re offer a 10% discount on Brooklyn Tweed Quarry and Shibui Drift until the end of the month – come by soon to take advantage and see these beautiful knit items!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

Back in stock, show and tell: Malabrigo.

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Year in and year out, Malabrigo yarns are among the most popular in our shop. Sometimes it feels like we place Malabrigo orders for the shop every week, but not every week yields an order as big as our most recent – this was a sizeable restock, indeed!

Here are bags and bags of Malabrigo Sock, Mechita, Washted, Mecha, Rasta, Caracol, and Nube, waiting to be unpacked.

As usual, knitters and crocheters we know have been busy making shawls and sweaters using Malabrigo yarns – time for some show and tell!

Here is Nancy’s “Kelp Garden Sweater,” which she crocheted using Malabrigo Mechita and CoopKnits Socks Yeah! This incredible sweater won second place at the NC State Fair this year – congratulations, Nancy!

Above is another Mechita project – Anne knit Joji Locatelli’s “Storm” shawl with just one skein, in the pattern’s namesake colorway. She started and ripped out several other shawls with this speckled yarn before landing on “Storm,” which turned out to be just the right pattern, the dropped stitches showing off the painterly yarn just so. 

Below is Cindy’s “Troupe” shawl, knit with Malabrigo Dos Tierras in a playful color combination.

Pam knit this “Dog Star” pullover for her grandson using Malabrigo Rios. This is a favorite sweater pattern of mine, and Anne’s, too – we’ve each made several of these, and seen knitters around us make many more. I love Pam’s color choice, the bright “Cian” blue jumping out against the deep “Paris Night.”

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.

The shop is currently closed for a Thanksgiving break, but we’ll reopen at our regular business hours on Tuesday, December 3, and look forward to seeing you soon!