Tag Archives: socks

Dream in Color Sock-It Club: July.

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The Dream in Color Sock-It Club is back! This time around, each limited edition skein comes with a 100-yard mini skein for coordinating heels and toes.

July’s colorway is inspired by green tiger barbs, flashy fish that swim in dyer Veronica’s aquarium. It’s a variegated mix of aqua, teal, and silvery blue, with little dots of green that echo the accompanying olive mini-skein.

The base is Smooshy, a tightly-plied fingering weight yarn that’s ideal for sock knitting, composed of 85% superwash merino and 15% nylon for strength.

Look for these limited edition skein sets in our fingering weight section while supplies last!

Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 11: Wanderlust.

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The eleventh installment of the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide series is here! Let’s take a peek inside.

Ann Shayne and Kaye Gardiner’s series of Field Guides are pocket-sized booklets focused on a particular theme or knitting technique. The theme of this eleventh Field Guide is Wanderlust, interpreted by designer Wendy Bernard as a choose-your-own-adventure approach to sock knitting.

This little book is all about hitting the road with the ultimate travel project: a pair of socks. Bernard includes instructions for socks from the cuff down or from the toe up, along with a variety of stitch patterns to play with.

We have a lot of tempting sock yarns here at the shop, the likes of CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, Malabrigo Sock, Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply, Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering, and of course those tempting limited edition colorways from Dream in Color and Koigu.

Maybe your stash is already bursting with sock yarns you’ve picked up as souvenirs over the years – this book is just the thing to get those yarns on your needles.

Come by the shop to pick up a copy and a skein of sock yarn for your next road trip!

New Arne & Carlos sock yarns.

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We have not one, but two new sock yarns designed by Arne & Carlos!

Both are sturdy superwash wool and nylon blends from Schachenmayr Regia, self-patterning yarns just perfect for sock-making.

These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, stripes or faux fair-isle colorwork come out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

The Mountains & Fjords colorways come in 100 gram balls, each with 459 yards, enough for an average adult pair of socks.

The Pairfect Kids Color, however, comes in 60 gram balls, with only 276 yards – perfectly sized for children’s feet.

Furthermore, Pairfect yarns are designed to make an identical pair of socks, and do so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread.

Look for these Arne & Carlos colorways in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out our upcoming Churchmouse Basic Socks class if you’re not yet a sock-knitter!

CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK: Volume 1.

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Rachel Coopey’s latest book is here – let’s look inside CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK: Volume 1.

This is a collection of sock patterns knit with CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK, a soft and sturdy blend of superwash merino wool and nylon designed with heavier weight socks in mind.

Coopey’s sock designs are colorful and cozy, making use of a variety of techniques. Many are striped or color-blocked, some feature a bit of lace or texture, and on the whole they look like fun to knit.

Look for CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK: Volume 1 on our teacart with the newest books and magazines, and look for the yarn in our DK weight section!

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

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I’m back with more show and tell, focused this time on accessories and garments knit with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie. Peerie is one of the four yarns featured in our current BT Wool People 12 Trunk Show, so it seems fitting to share some of the projects folks are making with this special yarn.

Kathryn knit this “Lucerne” hat with Peerie, enlisting her young daughter’s help in selecting colors. I love what they came up with, as well as Kathryn’s description of Peerie – “supernaturally springy.”

Elsbeth knit this “Architexture” scarf with Peerie and came back for more to make another one, an excellent endorsement of yarn and pattern alike. Peerie’s smooth, round texture is perfect for showing off knit and purl texture patterns like those featured here.

Margaretta has also been charmed by Peerie, having used it to knit both the “Afton” scarf above and the “Hazelfern” socks below.

Both of these texture-rich patterns were thoughtfully designed by Jared Flood, and Margaretta appreciated the quality and clarity of the patterns as much as the yarn.

Jane knit this impressive “Butterfly / Papillon” shawl with six shades of Peerie during Nancy’s recent class here at the shop.

I’m particularly struck by Jane’s unique color combination, a balance of warm and cool colors, light and dark. Well done, Jane!

Here’s Ruth in her “Boardwalk,” knit with Peerie in a cheery pink shade. This pattern has been a popular one, whether knit in Peerie or in Loft, in part because of how wearable it is. The design is clever and flattering, a layer that manages to look both smart and casual.

Thanks to Kathryn, Elsbeth, Margaretta, Jane, and Ruth for sharing these knits with us, and to everyone whose projects begin with trips to our shop.

Come by before March 3rd to see the Wool People 12 Trunk Show and get 10% off Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, Loft, Vale, and Arbor. See you there!

 

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

 

Dream in Color Sock-It Club, part four.

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Dream in Color’s Sock-It Club has arrived again! Every month from July to November, we’re getting sock yarn in a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns.

October’s special colorway was inspired by a trip to New Orleans’ French Quarter, a mix of purples, pinks, and chocolate brown, with sections of speckled ivory. It’s dyed on Smooshy, a soft, sturdy, and springy blend of superwash merino and nylon.

Colorful skeins like these are perfect for simple ribbed socks that let the yarn take center stage – try the Churchmouse “Basic Socks,” Glenna C.’s “A Nice Ribbed Sock,” or Erica Lueder’s “Hermione’s Everyday Socks.”

Look for this limited edition colorway in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

Hello, Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering.

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Last week, we welcomed a brand new yarn to the shop: Fluffy Fingering, from Ewe Ewe!

Ewe Ewe specializes in soft and springy machine-washable merino wool yarns. Each one has its gauge or weight in its name, for easy yarn selection. First came Wooly Worsted, then Ewe So Sporty, then Baa Baa Bulky, and now Fluffy Fingering has arrived.

Like all Ewe Ewe yarns, Fluffy Fingering is tightly plied for excellent stitch definition, and comes in a range of solid colors from neutral to pastel to bright. Its machine-washability makes it suitable for socks, baby things, and frequently-worn accessories, but it’s just as happy in a shawl, perhaps paired with a hand-dyed yarn for contrast.

Looking to give Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering a try? Consider Meghan Schmaltz’s new “Stripe it to Me” socks, which I had in mind when I put together the color pairs above. What two shades would you pair up?

Look For Fluffy Fingering in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

Dream in Color Sock-It Club, part one.

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We’re happy to announce that we’re participating in Dream in Color’s Sock-It Club! That means that every month from July to November, we’re getting sock yarn in a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns.

Our July shipment did, in fact, arrive in July, but it sold right out in two days! In light of this positive response, we decided to increase the number of skeins we’ll receive through the rest of the club, and ordered some extra July skeins for good measure. So, if you saw this colorway on Instagram a couple of weeks ago and didn’t make it to the shop in time to snag a skein, here’s a second chance!

The limited edition Sock-It Club colorway is dyed on BFL Sock, a fingering weight blend of bluefaced leicester wool and nylon, with 420 yards on each 4 oz skein. BFL is naturally sturdy, but the addition of nylon makes it even more so: perfect for a special pair of socks.

Look for this limited edition colorway in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

Show and tell: CoopKnits.

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Happy to be back with more show and tell, this time featuring projects made with yarn from CoopKnits!

Hazel knit her second “Smilla’s Dress” with CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, a superwash fingering weight blend of merino wool and nylon. This yarn was designed to wear well and wash easily, attributes that make it as applicable to baby things as to socks, and its tight twist provides excellent stitch definition.

Glen knit these striking “Tetrahedron Socks” with two shades of CoopKnits Socks Yeah! The pattern is from Rib Magazine No. 3, which we still have a couple of copies of.

Below is Emily’s “Lush,” designed by Tin Can Knits, knit with CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK, a heavier weight version of the same great yarn shown in the projects above. I love her perfectly matching buttons!

Many thanks to the talented knitters who shared the projects above, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!

Show and tell: Malabrigo.

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It’s high time for another round of show and tell! Today I’m here to share some finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all knit with yarn from the beloved Uruguayan company Malabrigo.

Above is Janet’s first-ever knitting project, a ribbed scarf made with the worsted weight, hand-dyed Malabrigo Rios. Rios is one of the most popular yarns in our shop because of its versatility, smooth, soft texture, and vibrant colors. Well done, Janet!

Here’s another scarf in Rios, showing a more subtle, tonally variegated colorway. The pattern is “Rockcliffe” and the knitter is Donita, who comes back to Rios again and again, as so many of us do.

I knit this little “Dog Star” with Malabrigo Arroyo for a friend who’s having a baby next month, having made the same sweater for another pregnant friend earlier in the year. Malabrigo’s superwash yarns are perfect for baby things, as they’re easy to care for and soft to the touch.

Malabrigo yarns also play well with others. Glen used Malabrigo Sock in natural white as the background color in his “Broken Seed Stitch Socks,” letting another variegated yarn shine.

Winnie took a similar approach with her “ZickZack Scarf,” pairing a semisolid Malabrigo Sock with the self-striping Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball for a lovely effect.

Emily used a variety of leftover yarns, including bits and pieces of Malabrigo Rios, in this “Randolph Raccoon,” a gift for her son. Toys like these are an excellent use of odds and ends, which is why I never get rid of even the smallest length of leftover yarn – Emily did a great job putting some of hers to use!

Many thanks to the talented knitters who shared the projects above, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!