Tag Archives: wool

Limited Edition colors in Brooklyn Tweed Arbor!

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Something new has arrived from Brooklyn Tweed – two limited edition colors in Arbor!

Brooklyn Tweed Arbor is a 3-ply DK weight yarn composed of 100% Targhee wool. Like Brooklyn Tweed Vale and Peerie, it’s worsted-spun, and skein-dyed in solid colors at the organically-certified Saco River Dyehouse in Maine.

These two shades bring a welcome pop of color to Brooklyn Tweed’s color palette, standing out from their closest neighbors on the Arbor color wheel.

Azalea is a vibrant pink, just like the flowering shrub it’s named for.

Viridian is a bright green somewhere between emerald and teal.

I’m looking forward to seeing them combined in multicolor projects, like Andrea Mowry’s “Tincture” hat, Shannon Cook’s “Atmen” shawl, Jared Flood’s “Bevel” scarf, or Caitlin Hunter’s popular colorwork pullovers, “Soldotna Crop” and “Tecumseh.” If you’re seeking a small one-color project, consider Emily Greene’s “Shear,” Jared Flood’s “Burnaby” hat or “High Pines Cowl.”

Look for Brooklyn Tweed Arbor in the DK weight section here at our shop, and hurry in if either of these colors is your heart’s desire – we have limited quantities available. See you soon!

New colors in Kelbourne Woolens Germantown.

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Last week, a big box arrived from Kelbourne Woolens, packed full of their worsted weight wool, Germantown. Inside were six new colors, plus a handful of colors we’d sold out of.

Germantown is a recreation of a classic wool that had been produced in Germantown, Pennsylvania, under a few different brand names since the mid-to-late 19th century. Made of 100% North American wool, Germantown is a worsted spun, worsted weight yarn with a smooth texture, soft hand, and nice elasticity.

The Kelbourne Woolens team see this yarn as a classic basic wool for beginners as well as more advanced stitchers – easy to work with, with good stitch definition, but at a reasonable price for a domestically-produced yarn of this quality.

These new colors are a playful mix of brights and pastels, one that fits beautifully into the existing Germantown color palette. 

© Kelbourne Woolens

One skein is enough for a hat, and the folks at Kelbourne Woolens are designing one for every month of this year. Even better, every one of these patterns is free to download from Ravelry – look there for “January,” “February,” “March,” “April,” and “May,” and stay tuned for the rest of their Year of Hats!

See you at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Tulips.

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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.

May’s special colorway is called Tulips, a riot of greens with flecks of other bright colors dyed on KPPPM, Koigu’s signature fingering weight superwash merino.

This highly variegated colorway has so many different colors in it! I had fun pairing it up with solid shades in other fingering weight yarns, thinking of Andrea Mowry’s brioche “Harlow” hat, which Amy is teaching in an upcoming class here at the shop. Brooklyn Tweed Peerie and Shibui Staccato are both wonderfully soft, come in a range of rich solid shades, and are the right gauge for pairing with Koigu KPPPM.

Peerie, with its stellar elasticity, is perhaps especially well-suited to the “Harlow” hat, if your interest is piqued by that pattern. Head to our Classes page to sign up now for a fun introduction to two-color brioche!

Other two-color projects that you might consider include Craig Rosenfeld’s “Drea’s Shawl,” Stephen West’s “All the Angles” and “Clockwork,” or Christy Kamm’s “ZickZack Scarf.”

Tulips and Riviera are a nice match to my eye – two limited edition colorways aligned!

Look for Tulips in our fingering weight section here at the shop. See you there!

Dream in Color Pop Up! Club: May.

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

Smooshy with Cashmere is the featured yarn again this month, dyed in a limited edition variegated colorway, streaked with gray, ochre, and shades of pink from pale rose to fuschia.

Veronica of Dream in Color tells us this colorway is inspired by Parry’s Penstemon, one of her favorite Sonoran desert wildflowers.

A skein like this would make a great “Starshower,” “Pebble Beach Shawl,” “Sockhead Slouch Hat” or “Sockhead Cowl,” all patterns that do well with variegated yarn. Look for more pattern ideas on our “Fingering weight” board over on Pinterest.

You’ll find this limited edition colorway in the fingering weight section here at our shop, and hurry in if you want to snag one – these special Dream in Color shades don’t last long!

Dream in Color Pop Up! Club: April.

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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. April’s new limited edition colorway was somewhat delayed, but we’re pleased to announce that it’s here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Bonny is the featured yarn this month, a soft and squishy base of 2ply superwash merino. April’s colorway pairs ivory and pastels with bold streaks of blue, fuschia, and orange.

We also got in some special Dream in Color BFL Cash & Silk for Local Yarn Store Day this past Saturday.

The variegated Grand Canyon Centennial colorway pairs beautifully with any of these semi-solid shades for a “Riotous” or “Magical Thinking” shawl.

You’ll find these limited edition colorways in the fingering weight section here at our shop, and hurry in if you want to snag one – these special Dream in Color shades don’t last long!

The Weekender KAL: casting on.

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Our informal Weekender KAL is underway! Anne and I are knitting “The Weekender,” by Andrea Mowry, and invite you all to join us, casting on and working at your own pace. It’s been just over a week, and we’ve both cast on, worked the bottom hems, and begun knitting the body of the sweater. I’m working with Kelbourne Woolens Scout in “Sunflower Heather,” a sunny stretch for this blue- and gray-loving knitter.

Mowry calls for a tubular cast-on, which makes a tidy, rounded edge on the 1×1 ribbed hem. As in all of knitting, there are many different ways to make a tubular cast-on, and I substituted my favorite method for the one in the pattern. It’s one I encountered in my “Stasis” and “Docklight” sweaters, and the instructions come from Brooklyn Tweed.

Anne used the same tubular cast-on, but modified the split hem so the front and back are the same length, as opposed to the longer back hem shown in the pattern.

She’s working with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in “Soot,” a heathered gray that is right in line with Anne’s favorite and most-worn colors.

We are both loving the ease of this pattern, just cruising through the body, mindlessly knitting stockinette in the round, pausing only for the slip stitch at the center back and center front of the sweater. Sometimes simple is just right, and it seems the simplicity of “The Weekender” has landed at just the right time for each of us!

Are you knitting along with us? What yarn are you using, in what color, and how are you liking the experience? Let us know in the comments, or on Instagram with the hashtag #hysweekenderkal !

Roadside Beanie kits.

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The shop is buzzing with excitement about the “Roadside Beanie,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2019. Nancy will be teaching a class on it, and we’ve just made up kits in several colorways with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

The pattern shows the hat in four different Shetland yarns, including one in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. I’ve made up several kits in the suggested Shetland Spindrift colorway, another in shades similar to the Jamieson & Smith colorway, and two more of Anne’s design – shades of gray with pops of blue or purple.

Come by the shop to pick out a kit, or select your own color combination – we keep over 100 shades of Shetland Spindrift in stock, so the possibilities are plentiful.

See you there!

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland Spindrift.

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The appetite for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and colorwork knitting in general seems to be growing, if our frequent Jamieson’s orders are any indication. This weekend brought another big box of Shetland Spindrift our way, a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool.

We usually keep around 110 colors in stock, an awe-inspiring selection that we display in big trays, so you can see them all clearly. Because the yarn is so well-suited to stranded colorwork knitting, Jamieson’s makes a staggering 220 colors, and we are happy to special order any of them for you if you don’t see what you’re looking for on our shelves.

We have several patterns in stock for Shetland Spindrift, like Sandy Blue’s “Autumn Tam” and “Midnight Sun Tam,” Churchmouse’s “Wee Wooly Sheep,” and Janine Bajus’s “Redbud” vest.

This yarn is also popular for Gudrun Johnston’s “Bousta Beanie,” a featured pattern for Shetland Wool Week in 2017. This year’s SWW pattern also calls for Shetland Spindrift, and we’re busy putting kits together to make it – more on that soon!

Now for a bit of show and tell – here’s Nancy’s “Efflorescent” shawl, knit with Shetland Spindrift as a sample for a class she offered here at the shop last year. The pattern is from Felicity Ford’s KNITSONIK Stranded Colourwork Playbook, which is bursting with colorful inspiration, along with techniques and patterns. Nancy has graciously lent us the shawl for display, so you can see this work of art in person at our shop.

Kathryn wove this incredible guitar strap on an inkle loom, using Isager Bomuld and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

Kate came in recently wearing her newest sweater, Leila Raabe’s “Stasis” pullover, knit with Shetland Spindrift in the colors Eggshell and Teviot, a charming combination. She made a few modifications for a perfect fit and is rightfully pleased with the outcome – well done, Kate!

Thanks to Nancy, Kathryn, and Kate for sharing their handiwork, and to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to our shop! Look for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in the fingering weight section  – we can’t wait to see what you make with it!

New Arne & Carlos sock yarns.

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We have not one, but two new sock yarns designed by Arne & Carlos!

Both are sturdy superwash wool and nylon blends from Schachenmayr Regia, self-patterning yarns just perfect for sock-making.

These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, stripes or faux fair-isle colorwork come out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

The Mountains & Fjords colorways come in 100 gram balls, each with 459 yards, enough for an average adult pair of socks.

The Pairfect Kids Color, however, comes in 60 gram balls, with only 276 yards – perfectly sized for children’s feet.

Furthermore, Pairfect yarns are designed to make an identical pair of socks, and do so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread.

Look for these Arne & Carlos colorways in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and check out our upcoming Churchmouse Basic Socks class if you’re not yet a sock-knitter!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Ocean.

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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.

KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Each 50 gram skein has 170 yards, so 1 makes a Purl Soho “Purl Beret” or pair of Churchmouse “Turkish Bed Socks,” 2 make an average pair of socks or “Barb’s Koigu Ruffle,” while 3 or 4 make a nice sized shawl, the likes of Martian Behm’s “Hitchhiker” or “Trillian.”

This variegated mix of blues and greens is streaked with bits of orange, purple, and white, a tropical combination that Koigu has named Ocean.

Look for this limited edition colorway of Koigu KPPPM in our fingering weight section here at the shop!