New books for knitters.

Posted by Julia on April 7, 2016

Right as you walk into the shop, you’ll find a small wooden teacart, though you may not recognize it as such. We’ve disguised it by keeping it piled high with the newest books and magazines, along with the ever present swift and ballwinder. The past few weeks have brought a variety of new books to the teacart, from the silly to the serious.

Knit Superheroes is Rebecca Danger’s newest book of knitted toys, a collection of caped, masked creatures with lots of personality. Each critter can be made in either fingering weight or worsted weight yarns, depending upon how large a super-raccoon you intend to create.

On the more serious side is Elizabeth Doherty’s Top Down: Reimagining Set-In Sleeve Design, which is both a collection of attractive sweater patterns and a designer’s reference book on this rather specific subject.

I’ve always been fond of knitting books with an abundance of technical information, as I like how seriously they take their subject, and the promise of learning something new. This one is here to present practical methods for perfectly-fitting set-in sleeves, for those who prefer the seamless top-down approach to sweater knitting.

Another designer’s reference now in stock is Kate Atherley’s Beginner’s Guide to Writing Knitting Patterns, which is exactly what it sounds like. Pick this one up if you’d like to try your hand at pattern-writing, or for some insight into all the hard work that goes into designing, writing, editing, and publishing knitting patterns.

Look for these and other new books on the teacart here at the shop! See you there.

The Acadia Collection.

Posted by Julia on March 21, 2016

We just got a new pattern collection from Kelbourne Woolens, designers and distributors of Fibre Company yarns. This group is named for the yarn it features, a yarn that has become a classic in the few years we’ve stocked it: meet the Acadia Collection.

Fibre Company Acadia is a dk weight yarn made of merino wool, alpaca, and silk.

The silk fiber takes the dye differently than wool and alpaca, and stands out from those fibers, creating a tweedy, rustic look. The feel of this yarn is far from rustic, however; Acadia is just as soft as its fiber content suggests.

The Acadia Collection celebrates this special yarn in its natural undyed shades with classic garments that walk the line between casual and elegant.

Look for Acadia in the DK weight section here at the shop, and peruse the Acadia Collection while you’re here!

Bristol Ivy Collection Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on March 9, 2016

Another Fibre Company Trunk Show has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! From now til March 20th, 2016, we’ll have the Bristol Ivy Collection on display.

All six of these sweaters were designed by Bristol Ivy for Fibre Company Cumbria yarns, three in Cumbria Worsted and three in Cumbria Fingering. Both yarns are composed of merino and masham wools with a bit of mohair, and while plenty soft, they are also quite sturdy.

These designs appear simple at first glance, mainly smooth stockinette trimmed with tidy ribbing, but each one has a clever detail or surprising design element–a bit of lace at the shoulder, a mesh panel at the back, and so on.

Don’t hesitate to ask us to take these sweaters off the wall for a closer look! They’re here to be admired up close and personal, tried on for shape and size. Though we don’t keep print copies of these patterns in stock, they are all available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, where we print a copy for you and a digital copy is stored in your email and Ravelry pattern library.

Come by the shop before March 20th, 2016, to see the Bristol Ivy Collection Trunk Show. We’re offering a 10% discount on Fibre Company Cumbria yarns during the Trunk Show, so come by soon to plan your next project!

A reminder: discount applies to in-stock Cumbria Worsted and Fingering as well as prepaid Cumbria Worsted and Fingering special orders. All sales are final on discounted yarn; there can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks!

Show and tell: big projects.

Posted by Julia on March 3, 2016

Every finished project comes with a sense of accomplishment, but bigger projects, which tend to take longer and use more yarn, can bring us perhaps an even greater sense of satisfaction. Here are some of the larger-scale projects we’ve seen at the shop lately.

Leslie came in the other day wearing her “Teegan” sweater, knit in Fibre Company Knightsbridge. The color she chose flatters her as well as the stitch pattern, and looks great paired with the ever-popular “Honey Cowl.”

Paula knit this “Amsterdam” sweater for her husband, using Elsebeth Lavold Silky Wool XL. Paying careful attention to her stitch and row gauge, she modified it so that it would fit her husband perfectly, measuring against and improving upon an existing sweater that fit him well.

Alissa recently came in wearing her “Mia Cardi,” which she knit in Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK. The simple stockinette and garter stitch design shows off this special yarn so well!

Eileen knit this extraordinary blanket with three shades of Plymouth Galway, using Barbara Walker’s Learn to Knit Afghan Book, which has patterns for 63 different knit blocks. When one of her squares came out a few inches wider than she expected, Eileen boldly trimmed it by steeking, a clever fix.

A hearty thanks to all the fiber artists who start their projects here and share their work with us! We love to see our yarns grow up into finished pieces, and are so inspired by the work you do. See you at the shop!

Friends of Shibui Trunk Show.

Posted by Julia on November 9, 2015

Another trunk show has arrived, another opportunity to see hand-knit garments in person, which is always better than in photographs. Come by the shop before November 24th, 2015, to see garments by independent designers Julie Hoover and Steve Rousseau knit in Shibui yarns!

We have five of Julie Hoover’s designs on the wall, four sweaters and one cowl, and they all share that elegant, simple-with-a-twist aesthetic that Shibui is known for.

Steve Rousseau’s designs are something very different: contemporary lace shawls with graphic, geometric motifs. We have seven of his rectangular shawls on display and one triangular shawl, and they all beg to be admired and studied closely.

All the garments in this show are made with Shibui Pebble, a lace weight blend of 48% recycled silk, 36% wool, and 16% cashmere.

Most of these pieces use this delicate yarn held singly, but a few sweaters are knit with two strands of Pebble held together throughout, for a thicker fabric.

All of the patterns are available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, where we print a copy for you and a digital copy is also saved in your email or Ravelry pattern library. We’re offering all in-stock Shibui yarns at a 10% discount during this Friends of Shibui Trunk Show, so visit us before November 24th to plan your next project in Shibui yarns!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges, nor special orders–the discount applies only to what we currently have in stock. Thanks!

Hello, Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK.

Posted by Julia on October 17, 2015

Rowan’s newest yarn has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! Meet Pure Wool Superwash DK.

We’ve long been searching for a good quality superwash wool in DK weight, one that comes in loads of colors and at a reasonable price, and this yarn is it. Last fall, Rowan met a similar need with their Pure Wool Superwash Worsted, and this yarn is very much a thinner version of the same good stuff.

Superwash DK weight wools like this one are good for all kinds of projects, from accessories to home goods to garments. One 145 yard ball would make a nice pair of mitts, like the Churchmouse “Welted Fingerless Gloves,” or for that matter, my own “Welting Fantastic Mitts.” Baby and children’s things are also a good fit for Pure Wool Superwash DK; I’ve made “Milo” a couple of times using Rowan Wool Cotton, and this yarn would make a nice wintry version of the same little vest.

For adult sweaters, Martin Storey’s Easy DK Knits is a collection worth checking out. Rowan sent along a sample of the cover sweater, “Barbican,” a garter stitch pullover with drop stitch patterning at the bottom edge. Come by the shop to see it in person, and get a tangible sense of how this yarn works up. Easy DK Knits uses a variety of knitting techniques to make relatively simple sweaters, including texture patterns, cables, and beginner-level colorwork.

In addition to these patterns, consider Rowan’s recently-announced Fall Knit-Along, featuring this very yarn, and hosted by designer Amy Herzog. Herzog is a prolific sweater-designer, and one who cares deeply about how those sweaters fit the knitters who make them. Her Options Knit-Along will guide you through the creation of a highly-customizable sweater knit in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK, from choosing a size to making modifications to finishing. There’s a textured pullover option and a striped cardigan option, and it looks like there’ll be other options within each of those. Read more about it on her website, where you can download the shopping list and get ready to start the Rowan Options Knit Along this Monday, October 19th!

Look for Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK in the DK weight section of the shop, where we’re happy to help you plan your next project. See you there!

Berroco Portfolio, Vol. 1.

Posted by Julia on October 5, 2015

This fall marks the 10th anniversary of Berroco’s now-classic Ultra Alpaca yarn, a soft and sturdy blend of wool and alpaca. To celebrate, they’ve published a beautiful pattern collection showcasing the full range of Ultra Alpaca, from the fingering weight Ultra Alpaca Fine to the bulky weight Ultra Alpaca Chunky. Take a peek inside Berroco Portfolio, Vol. 1.

Berroco Portfolio, Vol. 1 features patterns from independent knitwear designers, the likes of Bristol Ivy, Mary Jane Mucklestone, Martina Behm, and Thea Colman.

Berroco sent along a sample of Thea Colman’s contribution, a seamless cardigan with texture panels called “Rye.” The pattern photo shows it in a heathered green shade of Ultra Alpaca, and our sample is in a no less fetching red. Come by the shop to take a closer look, or try it on for size.

Ultra Alpaca is a rare blend of luxury and practicality, a quality yarn for a reasonable price. We’re celebrating its 10 year anniversary by putting bags and bags of it on our shelves, refilling favorite colors and adding some new ones, too.

Our stash of Ultra Alpaca Chunky has also grown, just in time for cold weather stitching.

Berroco Portfolio, Vol. 1 has a few great patterns for Ultra Alpaca Chunky, too.

Come by the shop to plan some cozy fall and winter projects, and consider Ultra Alpaca when you do. See you there!

Swans Island All American Sport: patterns.

Posted by Julia on August 10, 2015

Swans Island has developed an outstanding yarn in All American Sport, and with it, an exciting collection of patterns.

I’m so excited to see all this colorwork! From pullovers and cardigans to hats, mitts, and cowls, you’ll find many different applications of two-color knitting in this collection, many of which are suitable for first-time colorwork knitters.

I had the opportunity to knit one of these patterns a few months ago, as Swans Island sent us a pair of sample skeins before the yarn was officially released. Here’s my “Paige Mitt,” a sample you’ll find on display here at the shop. I’m so pleased with how it came out, and loved the feel of the yarn in my hands along the way. All American Sport has lots of elasticity, one of my favorite qualities in a yarn.

The colors in my sample are somewhat low-contrast, and though that’s something we often talk about avoiding when it comes to colorwork patterns, I like the effect.

Selecting colors for colorwork projects can be intimidating. My strategy is to first identify the relationship between the colors used by the designer. How many light colors, how many medium, and how many dark? What color families do they belong to, where are they used, and how much contrast is there between them? From there, it’s easier to plug in other colors, so long as they relate to one another in a similar way. Since the “Paige Mitts” are shown in a low-contrast color combination, I came up with a few other such combinations, playing with the yarn as I unpacked it.

The “Vivian Mitts,” on the other hand, are shown in a high-contrast color pair, edged with a third bright color.

Here are a few possible colorways for the “Vivian Mitts” using that same color relationship.

These couple of colorways are just the beginning; with 36 colors and a binder full of patterns to choose from, there’s no limit to what’s possible.

Come by the shop to peruse the All American Sport pattern collection and play the color game as you plan your next project!

Splendid Apparel.

Posted by Julia on April 11, 2015

Designer Anna Zilboorg’s latest book is here! Meet Splendid Apparel: a Handbook of Embroidered Knits.

Zilboorg is local enough to visit our shop a few times a year, and even led a workshop here back in 2011. She taught what must have been the beginnings of this book: a bit of embroidery, and a bit of her signature almost-seamless panel sweater construction.

Splendid Apparel is an exhaustive resource on those subjects, showing how to embellish knit fabric of all kinds, from ribbing and lace to twisted stitches and cables. Zilboorg thoughtfully includes embroidery instructions for both right- and left-handed people.

The sweaters are intricate, colorful, and richly textured.

Zilboorg makes good use of HYS yarns like String Theory Merino DK, Berroco Ultra Alpaca and Ultra Alpaca Light.

Check out Splendid Apparel next time you’re in the shop, and while you’re at it, take a look at Zilboorg’s other books: Knitting for Anarchists and Magnificent Mittens & Socks.

See you at the shop!

New patterns for Isager yarns.

Posted by Julia on February 25, 2015

Isager yarns are a longtime favorite here at the shop. Anne’s passion for Marianne Isager’s yarns and designs has proved contagious, and we keep Alpaca 1 and Alpaca 2, Spinni, Tvinni, Highland, and Tweed in good stock as a result. We’re always on the lookout for new ways to use them, and to that end, we’ve recently added a nice bunch of patterns to the Isager binder.

Theresa Gaffey, who brought us the ever-popular “Stole,” has designed a new rectangular wrap with Isager yarns: “Stole 2.0.” This version is similarly simple to knit, but has a decidedly new construction and look, and brings Spinni and Alpaca 2 together for a different texture.

“Not Quite Plaid” is a striped garter stitch scarf made in Isager Alpaca 2, knit on the bias and decorated with dropped stitches. The pattern gives options for three different sizes, from skinny scarf to shawl, and instructions for 3 or 5 colors.

“Cardicho” is a buttoned poncho, also knit with Alpaca 2.

Like Shibui yarns, Isager yarns are often combined, two or three strands at a time, to create a range of gauges, unique fiber and color blends. These two patterns do just that.

Isager yarns, while not machine-washable, are suitable for children’s things as well as adult garments and accessories. Check out the adorable “Mathilde” and “Trille Rille,” as well as Susie Haumann’s All You Knit Is Love.

Look for even more Isager pattern ideas on our Pinterest boards. Come by the shop to peruse our growing selection of Isager patterns and yarns; you may find your next project there. See you at the shop!