Tag Archives: the fibre company

Candy Darling.

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One of the great pleasures of our work here at the shop is making samples that show how our yarns knit up, and that hopefully inspire our customers in their own creative projects. When it was time to make a sample in Fibre Co. Arranmore Light, it was easy to decide what to make. Colorwork is one of Anne’s favorite knitting techniques, so “Candy Darling” stood out from the Kelbourne Woolens Pop Collection.

“Candy Darling” is a three-color hat and mitten set in high contrast colors, with stripes in all directions and playful geometric motifs. The hat pattern includes instructions for three different color arrangements, so that you can make good use of three skeins of Arranmore Light – there’s enough yardage among them for at least three hats.

And three is just how many “Candy Darling” hats Anne knit this fall. The first was a sample for the shop – look for it on a hat-stand in our DK weight section – and the next two went to her granddaughters.

Left to right: Arranmore Light in Malin Head, Slieve Sunset, and St. Clare.

Often when I’m selecting multiple colors for a knitting project, I look at them through the black and white filter on my camera. This grayscale effect shows the contrast in the value of the colors, and how they relate to one another. For example, “Candy Darling” is shown in black, hot pink, and white, a punchy combination of dark, medium, and light.

Here are a variety of other color combinations in Arranmore Light that have similar spreads of dark, medium, and light.

Left to right: Arranmore Light in Meara, Odhran, and River Esque.

Left to right: Arranmore Light in Ciaran, Cronan, and St. Clare.

Left to right: Arranmore Light in Ruari, Bradan, and St. Clare.

Left to right: Arranmore Light in Kinnego Bay, Orla, and Narin Beach.

 

This is just a starting place, of course – there is so much to choose from, and the great fun in colorwork projects is seeing how they all come together as you knit. Come by the shop to start a “Candy Darling” trio all your own!

Kelbourne Woolens Pop Collection Trunk Show!

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We’re pleased to present our latest Trunk Show: Kelbourne Woolens’ Pop Collection, featuring Fibre Company Arranmore Light!

Kelbourne Woolens is our US distributor of Fibre Company yarns, and as such, they often develop pattern collections for those yarns. The Pop Collection is what they dreamed up this season for Arranmore Light, inspired by fashion, music, and youth culture of the 1960’s.

Arranmore Light is a DK weight tweed, composed of 80% merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% silk.

We’re offering a 10% discount on Arranmore Light for as long as this Trunk Show is on display, so be sure to visit us before December 10th to take advantage of that!

A reminder: discounted yarns are considered final sale, meaning no returns or exchanges can be made after purchase. Thanks!

Rib Magazine No. 3: Alchemy.

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We’re happy to report that the latest issue of Rib Magazine is here!

Rib is a magazine for men who knit and those who knit for them, one filled with patterns and articles of interest to male knitters, who so rarely see themselves reflected in craft magazines.

One of the recurring columns is “Why I knit,” authored this time by knitwear designer and Brooklyn Tweed founder Jared Flood.

Look for Rib on the teacart here at the shop, amidst piles of exciting new publications for all kinds of knitters!

Show and tell: lace.

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Our Thanksgiving break continues, and the shop will be closed until we reopen on Tuesday, Nov. 28th. Til then, I have more show-and-tell to share! The theme of this bunch is lace.

Betty knit this “Stone Point” poncho during Amy’s class here at the shop, her first-ever lace project! The yarn is Fibre Company Luma, a dk weight blend of wool, cotton, linen, and silk.

Sherri knit this beautiful blanket for her new daughter-in-law, Leah. The stitch pattern is good old feather and fan, a great introduction to lace knitting, and the yarn is a wide range of odds and ends from Sherri’s stash – this is a great way to use those bits and pieces and play with color along the way!

Here is a lace pattern on a somewhat smaller scale: Lois’s “Feather the Waves Socks,” knit with Malabrigo Sock. Lois has found a favorite in this vibrant hand-dyed yarn; this is the third pair she’s made with Malabrigo Sock!

Margaretta is an especially prolific lace-knitter, and lately her projects are made with Brooklyn Tweed yarns. After knitting a “Your Ice Cream Shawl” with Vale, she came back for another; this is her second project with Vale, Jared Flood’s now-classic “Girasole.”

After completing that, Margaretta took on Jared Flood’s “Lucca,” this time with Arbor. The heavier gauge of this yarn made a more substantial fabric and a larger piece, turning a circular shawl into a spectacular blanket.

Kellie has been knitting with Brooklyn Tweed, too – here she is modeling her “Hop Brook” shawl, knit with Loft. What a lovely match of yarn and pattern – a little rustic, a little delicate, and the light color lets the lace edging shine.

We love seeing what folks make with our yarns – thank you so much for sharing your projects with us. Hope you’re enjoying the holiday weekend, and we look forward to seeing you on or after the 28th!

Show and tell: texture.

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While the shop is closed for a Thanksgiving break, let’s enjoy another batch of show-and-tell! Here are some highly-textured knits made with yarns from our shop.

Corey knit the cowl above with Fibre Company Knightsbridge, a luxurious blend of camel, alpaca, and silk. The pattern is “Alastair,” a textured loop scarf that we were pleased to see Corey wearing when he attended our Anniversary Party back in October.

Amy knit this “Blackberry Cable Pillow Cover” with Berroco Peruvia Quick, a sturdy bulky weight wool that’s well-suited to this kind of project.

Mary put a different Berroco yarn to use in her “Cumberland” cowl; Maya is a chain-plied, worsted weight blend of cotton and alpaca. It makes a lightweight accessory suitable for the transitional weather of spring and much of the fall here in North Carolina. It also renders texture patterns beautifully!

Here is Michele’s “Spectrum,” knit with Shibui Rain and Silk Cloud. The only stitch pattern in this luxurious wrap is stockinette – it’s the yarns that make this a textural piece. Sometimes the two yarns are held together, and other times the lace weight Silk Cloud is worked alone for those sheer stripes.

Rosi’s textured show-and-tell is still underway, but I couldn’t resist sharing a picture of her work-in-progress: “Vanora,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Loft. I made the same sweater earlier this year using Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering and it’s amazing how different it looks just on account of the color and the texture of the yarn.

Marsha knit this tiny “Fine Fella” with Malabrigo Sock, sizing an adult hat down to a preemie size by altering the gauge of yarn and needles – from worsted weight on US size 6 to fingering weight on a US size 1, to be exact. It’s an heirloom-quality bit of charity knitting Marsha did as part of the Ol’ North State Knitting Guild, a generous use of her talent and time.

Thanks to the knitters who shared their work on the blog today, and to all those whose projects begin with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We love seeing what you make!

Show and tell: little sweaters.

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Time for another round of show and tell, where we share projects that started life as yarn at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. The last group was made up of adult sweaters, so for today, let’s look at some baby sweaters, those quick-to-knit garments that are no less satisfying for their small size.

Gwen knit the striped pullover below using Ewe Ewe Wooly Worsted. This yarn is ideal for baby things that need to be machine-washable and soft as can be.

Not all baby things need be machine-washable, however – many parents are up for hand-washing special handknits. Katherine has been busy knitting little sweaters in Fibre Company Arranmore and Arranmore Light, one for her daughter and another for a friend’s baby-to-be.

Above is her “Fisherman’s Pullover,” a cozy sweater with a big swath of garter stitch down the front, and below is her “Gidday Baby,” a cardigan with a striped garter stitch yoke.

Thanks for sharing these little sweaters, folks, and thanks to all of you who start your projects with a trip to our shop!

Show and tell: sweaters.

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We have had so much amazing show-and-tell around the shop over the past couple of months! As ever, I take photos of these amazing pieces when I’m able, collecting them to share here on the blog. My collection long ago outgrew a single blog post, so I’ve divvied them up into categories for a series of posts. Let’s start big, with sweaters.

Above is Ginny’s “Rowe,” knit with Swans Island All American Worsted. Everything about it is expertly, thoughtfully executed, from the complex cables to the seams and other finishing. Bravo, Ginny!

Anne recently finished her two-tone “Featherweight,” knit with Fibre Company Meadow. Though it’s pictured hanging on the wall, this is a sweater she actually wears rather than a shop sample, a welcome departure for such an industrious, generous knitter. Come by the shop and you may just see her in it!

From lace weight to bulky weight, Fibre Company yarns make lovely sweaters. Above is Eileen’s “St. Brendan,” knit with Arranmore during Amy’s class here at the shop. I love her neutral color palette.

A little more colorwork – here’s Debbie’s “Ready for Fall,” knit with Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK. This is a favorite yarn of mine, and I’m always excited to see what folks at the shop make with it. Debbie has come to love Dovestone DK, too, and in fact came back for more to knit a poncho!

Here’s another sweater in Dovestone DK, April’s “Roan.” With its bright colors, large motifs, and dramatic swingy shape, this is one tremendously impressive sweater. Well done, April!

Thanks to the sweater-makers who’ve shared their work here today! We are so inspired by all the stitching that goes on in and around the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and can’t wait to see what you come up with next. See you at the shop!

Fibre Company Trunk Show!

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Our latest trunk show arrived a few days earlier than expected, a pleasant surprise that has filled our walls with beautiful handknits. Come by the shop to see an excerpt from Fibre Company’s Fell Garth II collection, all knit with Arranmore Light!

Arranmore Light is a DK weight tweed, composed of 80% merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% silk. Each 100 gram skein has a generous 328 yards, so that most sizes of these sweaters can be made with just 4 – 6 skeins.

We don’t have print copies of these patterns, but they’re all available individually on Ravelry:

Come by the shop soon to see this collection for yourself! It’s such a treat to try them on for size and admire the stitching up close. We’re offering a 10% discount on Arranmore Light during the show, too – hope to see you there!

A reminder: discounted yarns are considered final sale, meaning no returns or exchanges can be made after purchase. Thanks!

New colors in Fibre Company Tundra.

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Last week brought four new colors in the Fibre Company’s fluffy Tundra, a super soft blend of alpaca, merino, and silk.

Thusfar, all the glorious shades of Tundra have been solid, sometimes flickering with a bit of hand-dyed variation. We were surprised and excited to find two new speckled shades in last week’s box, each with its own related solid color.

Tundra is ideal for luxurious winter accessories, so keep it in mind as quick-to-make gifts begin to top your to-do list. Think “Arctic Circle,” “Tallin,” “Twin Leaf Loop,” for everyone loves a cozy cowl, no?

Look for Tundra in the bulky weight section here at the shop!

Hikari Collection Trunk Show!

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We’re delighted to announce that the fourth Trunk Show of this busy month has arrived. Come by the shop by September 3rd to see the Hikari Collection, featuring five gossamer garments in Fibre Co. Meadow!

The Hikari Collection comes from Japanese knitwear desgner michiyo, who has created lightweight, roomy garments well-suited to warm-weather wear or layering as autumn sets in.

Fibre Co. Meadow looks great in the lace, texture, and stockinette patterns michiyo has employed in these breezy pieces. Nearly all are knit at 5.5 stitches per inch, a loose but cohesive fabric in this robust lace weight yarn.

The patterns are available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, where we print a copy for you and a digital copy is stored in your Ravelry Pattern Library and emailed to you for safe keeping. We’re offering Meadow at 10% off during the show, so visit us by September 3rd to try these pretty sweaters on for size and plan a late summer project from the Hikari Collection!

A reminder: discounted yarns are considered final sale, meaning no returns or exchanges can be made after purchase. Thanks!