Tag Archives: wool

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: March.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. March’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

This month, dyer Veronica was inspired by elaborate celebration cakes, so these skeins are shades of vanilla sprinkled with a rainbow of bright colors.

Wild variegated skeins like these pair well with semisolids, which can highlight one of the many shades, or contrast entirely.

Here are a few two-color pattern ideas for the pairs above:

Get in touch if you’d like to place an order – we can ship these pretty skeins directly to you or hold your purchase here for pickup while our storefront remains closed to walk-ins!

Hello, Heather’s Heathers.

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We’ve got some of Ewe Ewe’s new Heather’s Heathers!

Ewe Ewe Heather’s Heathers:

  • worsted weight
  • heathered colors
  • 100% superwash merino
  • 95 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

These new shades are variations on Ewe Ewe’s classic solids, with depth of color coming from gray fiber blended into the white base yarn. The difference between the heathers and solids is especially striking when they’re sitting next to their Wooly Worsted cousins.

Washable worsted weight yarn like Heather’s Heathers is useful for so many kinds of projects – hard-wearing hats and mittens, slipper socks, blankets, baby things, and so on. Five colors is exactly what’s needed for Ann Weaver’s “Yipes Stripes Cowl” – check out some more color combinations in Wooly Worsted here on our blog!

Order online for local pickup or shipping – thanks for all your support!

Back in stock: Shibui Haven.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh supply of Shibui Haven after a recent restock!

This decadent DK weight merino/cashmere blend has been mighty popular for Shellie Anderson’s “Helix” hat – we’ve lost track of how many of you are out there making one, or coming back for a second! We’ve got all your favorite colors back on our shelves, along with a few new shades.

 

 

To make “Helix,” you’ll need 1 skein each of Shibui Haven and Shibui Silk Cloud, yarns that are known for their softness. Together they are an extra special treat for the hands.

Shibui Haven:  DK weight, 80% merino, 20% cashmere, 160 yards/50 g; $25 each

Shibui Silk Cloud:  lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each

The pattern is free when you buy 1 skein each of Haven and Silk Cloud to make the hat – we’ll print a copy and include it in your order.

Pick your favorite color combination and order online for local pickup or shipping!

New colors in Kelbourne Woolens Andorra!

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We’re delighted to have five new colors of Kelbourne Woolens Andorra!

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra:

  • sport weight
  • 60% merino wool, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair
  • 185 yards/50 g
  • $12 each

Andorra is a bouncy sport weight blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair. It’s a wooly, lustrous 2-ply with a medium twist, not too tight or loose, and especially after knitting, it looks pleasantly fuzzy – perfect for colorwork knitting!

Members of our HYS Hat Club got two skeins of Andorra in their most recent bundles, contrasting colors to make Tressa Weidenaar’s “Pyramid Hike Hat.” The pattern is named for Pyramid Peak in Weidenaar’s home state of New Mexico, and the colorwork motif suggests high mountains and wide, clear skies.

I had fun putting these combinations together with the “Pyramic Hike Hat” in mind – there are so many possibilities with all these colors!

Here are a few other intriguing patterns for Andorra:

Order online for local pickup or shipping! We’re still closed to walk-in browsing, but are otherwise here for orders and pickups between 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. Thanks for your support!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Boudoir and Vintage Valentine.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu. This month, we got a second special yarn in a new colorway – meet Koigu Othello!

Koigu Othello:

  • super bulky weight
  • 100% merino wool
  • 95 yards/100g
  • $23.50 each

Othello is thick and squishy, sure to knit up quickly on US 10 or 11 needles. What to make with this special Boudoir colorway, streaked with shades of pink and orange? Pick up one skein for a “Big Chunky Comfort Hat,” “An Unoriginal Hat,” or “Vanessa Headband.” Two skeins makes a “Painted Stones Cowl.”

We also got the classic fingering weight KPPPM in a special limited edition color – Vintage Valentine (below) is primarily coral, streaked with pastel pink and rusty orange.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

I’ve still got Tif Neilan’s latest pattern on my mind, and came up with these Koigu/Isager Alpaca 1 pairings for candy colored “Clove & Twine Toques!” Head to our last Koigu blog post to see more color combinations for this fun multi-strand hat pattern.

Our “Clove & Twine” yarn bundles are $43; Tif Neilan’s pattern is sold separately for $6.50. Pick your favorite flavor and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh batch of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor on our shelves!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Klimt (left) and Butte (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor:

  • DK weight
  • 100% Targhee wool
  • 145 yards/50 g
  • $18.75 each

This shipment brought us eight of the most popular shades of Arbor, a few pops of color and lots of neutrals. You can see all of the colors Arbor comes in on the Brooklyn Tweed website – we have most of them here at the shop, and will happily check on any colors and quantities you’re seeking! Just fill out our online order form.

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Rainier (left) and Norway (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Heron (left) and Porter (right).

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in Driftwood (left) and Thaw (right).

Arbor is known for its springy elasticity, soft hand, and stellar stitch definition. We’ve seen so many incredible garments made with Arbor over the years – here are some of the most popular patterns:

  • “Kirigami,” by Gudrun Johnston – bottom-up seamless pullover with textured yoke
  • “Geiger,” by Norah Gaughan – tailored, intricately cabled cardigan, knit in pieces
  • “Soldotna Crop,” by Caitlin Hunter – top-down, short-sleeved, cropped colorwork pullover
  • “Dog Star,” by Tin Can Knits – bottom-up seamless pullover with colorwork yoke

We’re happy to help you plan your next project – order online, we can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for supporting our small business!

Nest + Silk Cloud + Standing Tall!

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Here’s another soft and squishy Shibui yarn pairing, a bit like the “Helix” hat I wrote about earlier this month, but with a twist.

In her “Standing Tall, Hat & Cowl Collection,” designer Lucinda Iglesias matches Shibui Nest with Shibui Silk Cloud, a delightful combination that’s just right for a cozy hat or cowl.

The pattern includes instructions for two hats and cowls – a simpler set as well as a cabled variation. The simpler version is shown here in gray, mostly stockinette with a swath of ribbing; the cabled one is below, in red.

 

 

Shibui Nest:  DK weight, 75% fine Highland wool, 25% alpaca, 175 yards/50 g; $20 each ($22 for Julie Hoover colorways)

Shibui Silk Cloud:  lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each ($28.50 for Julie Hoover colorways)

 

  • For either of the hats: 1 skein each of Nest and Silk Cloud
  • For either of the cowls: 2 skeins of Nest and 1 skein of Silk Cloud
  • For a matching set: 3 skeins of Nest and 2 skeins of Silk Cloud

Shibui’s colorways are the same from yarn to yarn, though each shade looks a little different depending on the fibers in play. Most of these pairs are made from matching colorways, but a few are near matches, which will bring a little more depth to the resulting fabric.

The pattern is free when you buy 1 skein each of Nest and Silk Cloud – we’ll print a copy and include it in your order.

Pick your favorite color combination and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Haven + Silk Cloud + Helix!

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Shellie Anderson’s “Helix” has been a popular project here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop lately, a simple hat made elegant with the use of truly luxurious fibers.

To make “Helix,” you’ll need 1 skein each of Shibui Haven and Shibui Silk Cloud, yarns that are known for their softness. Together they are an extra special treat for the hands.

Shibui Haven:  DK weight, 80% merino, 20% cashmere, 160 yards/50 g; $25 each

Shibui Silk Cloud:  lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each

The pattern is free when you buy 1 skein each of Haven and Silk Cloud to make the hat – we’ll print a copy and include it in your order.

Pick your favorite color combination and order online for local pickup or shipping!

Back in stock: Brooklyn Tweed Dapple.

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Dapple was one of the brand new yarns we brought in last year, Brooklyn Tweed’s first departure from wool – a DK weight blend of organic cotton and merino. It’s been popular here at our shop, so we jumped as soon as BT had more in stock. Delighted to report that we now have a fresh supply on hand!

Brooklyn Tweed Dapple:

  • DK weight
  • woolen-spun, tonally dyed
  • 60% merino wool, 40% organic cotton
  • 165 yards/50 g
  • $15.25 each

Dapple is tonally dyed, meaning skeins in the same colorway differ from one another even in the same dye lot. Some are lighter, some are darker, some almost look marled! This isn’t immediately apparent when looking at one skein of Dapple at a time, so I’ve laid out big groups in a few colorways to give a better sense of the variety. You can see each color laid out this way on our first Dapple blog post, and lots of pattern ideas on our second.

Tamy Gore recently published a gorgeous colorwork pullover designed for Dapple, “Graphic Elements.” When our big box of Dapple arrived, this sweater was exactly where my mind went – here are some color combinations to get you started planning your own!

Tamy Gore’s lovely original colorway is shown above, and below are those I put together – I’ve named them for some of the basic elements of graphic design, all concepts we see again and again in the knitting world.

Order Dapple online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail Shipping – thanks again for your support and understanding as we remain closed to walk-ins!

Back in stock: Cascade 220 Fingering.

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We’ve been busy restocking for the new year ahead, filling in on yarns whose numbers had dwindled. Cascade 220 Fingering is one such yarn, an economical fingering weight wool that we’re delighted to have back in stock!

Cascade 220 Fingering:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% wool
  • 275 yards/50 g
  • $5.25 each

What to make with Cascade 220 Fingering? It’s great for colorwork – here are some pattern ideas and color combinations, both in pairs and trios!

  • “Dissent Toque,” by Andrea Rangel – 2 color hat inspired by Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s dissent collar
  • “Ino,” by Audrey Borrego – 2 color cowl
  • “Effie,” by Skeindeer Knits – 2 color Selbu mittens

Order online for local pickup or shipping – we’re happy to connect you with any of the combinations you see here, or put together a custom colorway just for you!