Tag Archives: sport weight

Snow, show and tell, and new colors from Kelbourne Woolens.

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The shop was closed yesterday for inclement weather, and with the snow quietly falling as I write and the roads remaining hazardous, we do not plan to open the shop tomorrow. As ever, if you’re planning a trip to our shop and have any question about the weather, do check our website before you head out; we always list closures on the front page there, and are known for being risk-averse when it comes to snow and ice!

 

Even if the shop remains closed, a snow day is a good one for show-and-tell; let’s take a peek at some of the recently-completed projects that started their lives as yarns here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

Kate has been wearing her Kate Davies’-designed “Dunyvaig” hap a lot since completing it. She knit this cozy textured shawl with Kelbourne Woolens Scout, a DK weight wool that comes in lovely heathered shades and has great stitch definition for patterns like this.

Ruth has been knitting with Kelbourne Woolens yarn, as well – here she is in her lovely “Phyllis” sweater, made with the sport weight KW Andorra.

Margaretta also finished her “Phyllis” not long ago, and it, too, is very beautiful. I’m impressed at how crisp the lace looks even in a fuzzy yarn with a touch of mohair.

Anne’s “Jenny” was also knit with Andorra. You might even recognize it, as it has been on display at the shop for some time now.

The gentle halo of Andorra is perfect for this Bohus-inspired pullover, where purls in the colorwork yoke seem to blend one color into the next.

Last week brought four brand new colors of Andorra, a welcome addition that really rounds out the color palette.

Many thanks to the knitters who shared their work here today, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We hope everyone is staying safe and warm and doing a bit of stitching while it snows, and we’ll see you when it’s safe to open the shop again.

Shibui Sample of the Month: Madison.

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December is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

December’s sample is “Madison,” a tubular ribbed scarf designed to look like a sweater sleeve. The pattern is free when you purchase the yarn to make it from our shop, and the yarn is Birch, a single ply sport weight merino wool.

For this pattern, you hold three strands of Birch together as you knit, which makes a thicker gauge, a plush texture, and better stitch definition than you might expect.

Come by the shop this month to see “Madison” and get Shibui Birch at 10% off to make one of your own!

 

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

 

Swans Island colorwork kits.

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As the holidays approach, we meet more and more folks seeking presents for the knitters in their lives. With the gift-giving season in mind, we’ve put together some new kits featuring yarn and patterns from Swans Island.

Each kit features a colorwork pattern and all the yarn to complete it. They’d make great gifts for knitters who love colorwork, of course, but I’d also recommend them for those who haven’t yet mastered this particular technique, as small projects like hats and mitts are a good size for learning.

The yarn is All American Sport, a 2-ply woolen-spun yarn composed of 100% Rambouillet wool, which was grown, processed, spun, and dyed in the USA. It’s a unique combination of next-to-skin soft and holds-its-shape sturdy, and was created with stranded colorwork in mind. 

Come by the shop if you’re seeking gifts for a friend or materials to make them with – we hope you find inspiration here!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Graphique.

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September is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.

This month’s sample is “Graphique,” a small striped kerchief knit with Shibui Fern. It’s worked in the round, from the center out, in a stripe pattern that makes concentric squares.

Fern is a sport weight organic cotton, with 232 yards on each 50 gram skein. Two skeins is plenty for this little project – just one in each color. Which two would you choose for a “Graphique” kerchief? It looks quite classic in this high-contrast combination, but I’d be interested to see a more subtle version, too.

Come by the shop to before September 30th to see “Graphique” and get Shibui Fern at 10% off to make one of your own!

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

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Mojave.

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The women of Kelbourne Woolens are on a roll – meet Mojave, their third line of yarn this year!

Mojave is a sport weight blend of 60% cotton and 40% linen, with 185 yards on each 50 gram skein. It’s composed of five tiny 2ply yarns twisted together, for a yarn that’s smooth and soft but also strong, with the beautiful drape we expect from plant fiber yarns.

The color palette is Kelbourne Woolens’ biggest yet, 15 shades from subtle neutrals to blazing brights.

Meghan Kelly has designed six summer tops for Mojave using a variety of textures and techniques. Kelbourne Woolens has made their patterns available through Ravelry rather than in print, an effort to diminish the company’s paper usage.

We happen to have the Mojave Collection on display here at the shop as a Trunk Show until July 15 – hurry in to see it for yourself!

Look for Mojave in our sport weight section here at the shop, and keep it in mind for summer stitching. See you there!

Kelbourne Woolens Mojave Collection Trunk Show!

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Another trunk show has come to decorate our walls for a couple of weeks. Hurry in before July 15th to see the Kelbourne Woolens Mojave Collection!

The Mojave Collection is composed of six garments knit with Kelbourne Woolens’ newest yarn, Mojave. This cotton/linen blend landed in our sport weight section here at the shop less than a week ago, and so hasn’t had a proper introduction here on the blog – I’ll remedy that in the next couple of days.

Every piece was designed by Meghan Kelly of Kelbourne Woolens, whose love of plant fibers and bright colors are obvious in this collection.

Read more about the development of Mojave and the Mojave Collection in this interview with Meghan on the KW blog!

Look for the patterns on Ravelry, the yarn in our sport weight section, and the trunk show on our walls here at the shop until July 15th. Remember, July is our Annual Inventory Sale month, so everything in stock is 15% off – see you there!

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

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!

Cottons, old and new.

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Summer begins this week, and summer weather is well underway. Hot days like these find many of us reaching for cool plant fibers, rather than fuzzy wool. With that in mind, we’ve restocked several of our best-selling cotton yarns and added a couple of new ones, too.

Cascade Ultra Pima and Ultra Pima Fine are 100% mercerized cotton in DK and sport weights, respectively. They’re economically priced, shiny and smooth, and come in a rainbow of colors.

We’ve had lots of crocheters and knitters use these yarns for making Knitted Knockers, which we’re still collecting here at the shop so our friend Ana can take them to the UNC Cancer Center. 60 Quick Cotton Knits has many other project ideas, too – scarves, wraps, tops, bags, and more.

Cascade’s Nifty Cotton is new to our shop, an aran weight cotton that can be machine-washed and dried, one without a mercerized lustre. That matte quality makes the yarn “thirstier,” more absorbent, and thus, ideal for making dishcloths.

 

BC Garn Alba is another new addition, a fingering weight organic cotton in a pleasing array of colors. It’s been popular right off the bat because of its appearance in the latest issue of Pom Pom Quarterly; Lia Moya’s “Judoka” bag is knit with this soft, smooth yarn. Interested in making one of your own? Check out Marsha’s upcoming class on the subject!

Come by the shop to take a peek at these and other popular plant fiber yarns, like Shibui Fern, Twig and Reed, Isager Bomulin and Japansk Bomuld, and Berroco Modern Cotton. See you there!

Local Yarn Store Day.

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We’re looking forward to the first ever Local Yarn Store Day, this Saturday, April 21st!

LYS Day is about celebrating brick-and-mortar yarn shops and appreciating all that they offer. Here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, we are proud of our selection of high quality yarns, books and tools, our talented teachers, and our customer service. Our mission is and has always been to provide knitters and other fiber artists with quality materials and help connect them with the knowledge they need to make things they’re proud of.

Two of our favorite yarn companies have created special patterns for LYS Day that are only available through local shops. “Ewe So Summer” is knit with Ewe Ewe’s sport weight washable merino, Ewe So Sporty, and features a colorful slip stitch pattern.

Kelbourne Woolens has partnered with designer Laura Nelkin for “Adventura,” a choose-your-own-adventure shawl knit with Andorra, a sport weight blend of merino wool and mohair.

Come by the Hillsborough Yarn Shop this Saturday to pick up one or both of these patterns and a few skeins of yarn to make them – we love nothing more than helping you plan your next project!

Thanks for supporting local yarn shops like ours, we are so grateful for the community that sustains us!

Hello, Shibui Fern.

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Shibui’s newest yarn is here! Meet Fern.

Fern is a sport weight organic cotton, with 232 yards on each 50 gram skein.

Unlike Rain, Shibui’s DK weight cotton, Fern is matte rather than lustrous, and brushed for extra softness.

Like all Shibui yarns, Fern is designed to be used on its own or mixed with other yarns for intriguing fiber and color blends. By itself on a US 4, the suggested gauge is 24 stitches over 4 inches; we knit up a little swatch to give a sense of it.

Fern appears in several patterns from the new Shibui Spring/Summer 2018 collection, including “Oasis,” a bias knit scarf with thin stripes and a bit of texture.

This pattern is free when you purchase the yarn here at our shop. Other patterns from the new collection are sold singly; look for them in a binder near a basket of Fern.

Look for Fern in our Sport weight section here at the shop, alongside Shibui Twig. See you there!