Tag Archives: tweed

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket!

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Kelbourne Woolens is the source of some of our most popular yarns, beloved for the variety of high quality fibers they produce and the accessible price. Their latest is here at our shop – meet Cricket!

Kelbourne Woolens Cricket:

  • fingering weight
  • single ply
  • tweed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 415 yards/100g
  • $24 each

Cricket is a lighter weight version of KW’s popular Lucky Tweed, and comes in all the same colors.

Like Lucky Tweed, Cricket is manufactured in Donegal, Ireland, for an authentic tweed look and soft hand.

A few months ago, the folks at Kelbourne Woolens sent us a small ball of Cricket for swatching. I was the lucky knitter who got that job, and gave it a go in simple stockinette, first on a US 4, and then on a US 6 with a strand of Isager Silk Mohair in a contrasting color.

We’re expecting a Cricket pattern collection from Kelbourne Woolens early in the new year, but in the meantime, here are some pattern ideas that are a good fit for this new yarn!

For a single strand of Cricket:

For Cricket held together with Silk Mohair:

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Back in stock: Fibre Co. Acadia!

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We’re delighted to announce that Fibre Co. Acadia is back in stock!

Fibre Co. Acadia:

  • DK weight
  • 60% merino, 20% alpaca, 20% silk
  • 145 yards/50 g
  • $17.50 each

Acadia has long been a favorite yarn in our DK weight section, especially for projects where softness is key and some drape is welcome. The silk slubs takes the dye differently than the other fibers, giving most colorways a rustic, tweedy appearance, which belies its luxuriously soft hand.

Garments knit with Acadia have a mix of structure and drape. We have a couple of samples knit in Acadia at the shop so you can see and feel this in person; look for the Churchmouse “Easy Folded Poncho” and “Quaking Aspen” shawl next time you’re here.

Here are a few other pattern ideas for Fibre Co. Acadia!

Come by to give Acadia a squeeze and plan your next project! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Back in stock: Kelbourne Woolens Perennial and Lucky Tweed.

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Kelbourne Woolens is the source of some of our most popular yarns, beloved for the variety of high quality fibers they produce and the accessible price. Some of their yarns are super soft and luxurious, others are rustic and hard wearing, and each one has its own unique color palette. We’ve restocked Perennial and Lucky Tweed – let’s take a look!

Kelbourne Woolens Perennial:

  • light fingering weight
  • 60% superwash merino, 25% Suri alpaca, 15% nylon
  • 497 yards/100g
  • $26 each

The folks at Kelbourne Woolens have designed Perennial to be something of a staple: soft from the alpaca but sturdy from the nylon, easy care on account of the superwash merino, suitable for all kinds of projects.

We’ve seen beautiful sweaters, shawls, and baby things made in Perennial – here are some pattern ideas!

Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed:

  • aran weight
  • tweed
  • 100% merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $20 each

Lucky Tweed is manufactured in Donegal, Ireland, for an authentic tweed look and soft hand. Folks who have tried it often come back for more, exclaiming how soft and lightweight it is for a yarn at this gauge. If you’re looking to knit a cozy new sweater this fall, consider Lucky Tweed!

Here are some cozy patterns ideal for Lucky Tweed:

Look for Perennial and Lucky Tweed here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, along with these other Kelbourne Woolens yarns – Camper, Andorra, Scout, and Germantown!

HYS Color Club: Loch Lomond + Pressed Flowers.

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The Spring season of HYS Color Club wraps up with a bigger project, a fun change of pace after April’s “Duality” scarf.

Club members got seven skeins of BC Garn Loch Lomond to knit Any Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers,” a 2-color triangular shawl covered in mosaic stitch flowers.

“Pressed Flowers,” by Amy Christoffers, photo © Amy Christoffers.

A high contrast color combination is important for this project, ensuring that the pattern shows clearly. It was so fun to pick pairs for each of our Club members in these rich, tweedy colorways – I can’t wait to see their shawls take shape!

Of course, you can make a “Pressed Flowers” even if you didn’t join the HYS Color Club – just pick out two colors you love in Loch Lomond or another DK weight yarn.

BC Garn Loch Lomond: DK weight, 2 ply tweed, 100% wool, 170 yards/50 grams; $14 each. For “Pressed Flowers,” you’ll need 4 skeins in Main Color and 3 skeins in Contrast Color.

Come by the shop between 11 – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays to pick your own combination!

Sale Spotlight: BC Garn Loch Lomond.

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Everything in our shop is 15% off during July, our Annual Inventory Sale! All month, I’ll be shining a spotlight on the yarns we have in stock – today, let’s look at BC Garn Loch Lomond!

BC Garn Loch Lomond:

  • DK weight
  • 2 ply tweed
  • 100% wool
  • 170 yards/50 grams
  • $14 each

What to make with Loch Lomond?  Alice Hammer’s “Vanessa” caught my eye, a cozy mosaic cowl that calls for 4 skeins each in 2 colors. Here are a few color ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

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

Sale of the Week: Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed!

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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!

Our next Sale of the Week is 15% off Jo Sharp Silkroad Aran Tweed, from June 22 – 30!

Silkroad Aran Tweed is a rustic looking yarn, but it’s surprisingly soft to the touch, composed of 85% wool, 10% silk, and 5% cashmere. Each 50 gram ball has 104 yards.

What to make with Silkroad Aran Tweed? Here are some ideas!

Usually, Silkroad Aran Tweed is $12 per ball; at 15% off, it’s $10.20 each. Head to our online order form if you’d like to place an order – it’ll be on sale through June 30. Thanks for all your support!

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

Tweed Silk Cloud + Verve!

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For as long as we’ve stocked Shibui yarns here at the shop, we’ve been admirers of Shellie Anderson’s designs. She was an in-house designer Shibui for some years and still loves to work with their yarns, creating garments that look simple, but feature thoughtful details to “challenge and delight the knitter,” in her words.

© Shellie Anderson

“Verve” is one such design, a lightweight colorblock top knit with Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud. The loose-fitting tee is knit all in stockinette stitch, showing off this luxurious lace weight yarn in five or six colors.

  • Sizes: A (B, C, D, E)
  • Finished dimensions: 46 (52, 58, 64, 68)″ bust circumference

I put together three colorways for “Verve,” the first of which is based on Anderson’s own sample version. Each colorway is shown in two variations – one with five colors, for sizes A-C, and one with six colors, for sizes D-E. I named them with the word “verve” itself in mind, conjuring the enthusiasm and boldness it suggests.

 

Each 25 gram skein of Tweed Silk Cloud has 191 yards, and is composed of 65% silk and 35% mohair. Skeins are $23 each, or $25 for special Julie Hoover colors.

Head to Ravelry to download Shellie Anderson’s “Verve,” and use our online order form to request five or six skeins of Tweed Silk Cloud to knit one of your own!

Hello, Tweed Silk Cloud.

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Back in November, a new yarn from Shibui arrived without nearly the fanfare it deserved. Today I’m here to shine a light on it – meet Tweed Silk Cloud!

Tweed Silk Cloud is a luxurious lace weight yarn with the same fiber content as Shibui’s beloved Silk Cloud – mohair and silk – but the ratio is flipped for more silk than mohair. The result is an even more lustrous yarn, with extra drape and tweedy flecks.

Each 25 gram skein has 191 yards, and is composed of 65% silk and 35% mohair. Most patterns I’ve seen for Tweed Silk Cloud combine it with another yarn for a heavier fabric and larger gauge, but not all – here are four ideas for using it solo:

Beautiful things can happen when it’s paired with another yarn – here are a few ideas:

Look for Tweed Silk Cloud in our lace weight section here at the shop, and check out our full range of Shibui yarns while you’re here!

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Lucky Tweed.

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Fall is such an exciting time of year here at the shop, with one new yarn after another. The latest comes from Kelbourne Woolens – meet Lucky Tweed!

Lucky Tweed is an aran weight merino wool yarn, manufactured in Donegal, Ireland, for an authentic tweed look and soft hand.

Like any classic tweed, Lucky Tweed is dotted with flecks of fiber in contrasting colors, and the team at Kelbourne Woolens have thoughtfully selected 13 shades for a balanced color palette.

Lucky Tweed knits up at 4 – 4.5 stitches per inch on US 7 – 8 needles. Though it’s warm and relatively thick, it’s not heavy; with 210 yards on each 100 gram skein, Lucky Tweed is quite lofty for an aran weight yarn.

What to knit with Lucky Tweed? Kate Gagnon Osborn, Courtney Kelley, and Meghan Babin of Kelbourne Woolens have designed the nine-piece Lucky Tweed Collection to answer that very question. From the looks of it, Lucky Tweed is as happy in a cable pattern as in colorwork, lace, or a simple knit/purl texture pattern.

Find the patterns on Ravelry and the yarn here at our shop!

Hello, Loch Lomond.

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Loch Lomond is one of the newest yarns here at the shop, a colorful tweed from BC Garn in Denmark.

Loch Lomond is a 2-ply wool, a loosely-plied yarn with tweedy flecks whose label suggests needles between US 6 and 8 for a gauge of 4.5 stitches per inch. With 170 yards per 50 gram skein, Loch Lomond is light for a worsted weight, its gauge category as assigned by Ravelry.

As I unpacked our first BC Garn order, Anne and I surveyed the fine-looking yarn in front of us and the big-looking gauge on the label and raised an eyebrow each. Maybe it would grow or bloom with washing and blocking, we said to one another. There was nothing to do but swatch.

I got that happy assignment, and began knitting on US 6 needles, then switched to 7, then to 8, wanting to show the manufacturer’s suggested gauges. That swatch gave me a range of fabrics, with gauges of 5 stitches per inch, 4.75 stitches per inch, and 4.5 stitches per inch, respectively. All three are a little loose for my taste, so I knit a separate swatch on a US 5, which is my favorite of the group.

Anne had been eyeing Loch Lomond for Kate Davie’s popular “Carbeth,” a pullover knit with 2 strands of DK weight yarn held together throughout for a bulky gauge. I knit a third swatch with this pattern in mind, holding Loch Lomond double on a US 10.5 needle, which didn’t quite give me gauge for the pattern, though probably a 10 would do it.

The fibers did bloom with washing and blocking, filling in the empty spaces between stitches a bit, and the lightweight fabric that results is soft to the touch and pretty cohesive even on the larger needle sizes. As ever, the right needle size and pattern for this yarn depends upon what kind of fabric you want to get out of it; for a sturdy sweater, I’d aim for a DK gauge of 5.5 stitches per inch or so, but for an airy shawl, the worsted to aran gauges of 5 – 4.5 stitches per inch and more open fabric would be lovely. Consider Churchmouse’s “Easy Folded Poncho,” Jared Flood’s “Guernsey Wrap” at the DK gauge, Heidi Kirrmaier’s “Climb Every Mountain,” Hannah Fettig’s “Schoodic Cardigan,” and Carrie Bostick Hoge’s “Lucinda.”

Come by the shop to see and feel these swatches, or pick up a skein of Loch Lomond and make some swatches of your own!