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 Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. March’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 shades of green: kelly green, emerald and moss.

This yarn is deliciously soft and squishy, perfect for next-to-skin wear, and makes an amazing pair of socks or a special scarf, shawl, or cowl. Look for 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!

Hello, Malabrigo Quinteto.

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This week brought another enormous Malabrigo order to our shop, two heavy boxes bursting with vivid hand-dyed color. It was packed primarily with bags of Rios, Sock, and Washted, but we snuck in a little something new, too. Meet Quinteto!

Quinteto is a pack of five speckled colors in Mechita, Malabrigo’s fingering weight, single ply, superwash merino.

Each colorway is named for an instrument: Piano, Double Bass, Cello, Viola, and Violin, and the colors fade harmoniously from skein to skein, from light blue to fuschia, then purple, then burgundy flecked with black.

What to do with 2100 yards of soft, speckled fingering weight yarn? Joji Locatelli’s “Fading Point” is a good fit, as is Stephen West’s “Dotted Rays,” and Andrea Mowry’s “So Faded” or “So Faded Pint Sized.”

Look for Malabrigo Quinteto in our fingering weight section here at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Vitamin D.

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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.

February’s colorway came late in the month, an electrifying blend of orange shades with dashes of white, blue, purple, yellow, and red. It was designed to brighten the cold, gray days February is known for, and it has certainly brightened our shelves.

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

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

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I’m back with more show and tell, focused this time on accessories and garments knit with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie. Peerie is one of the four yarns featured in our current BT Wool People 12 Trunk Show, so it seems fitting to share some of the projects folks are making with this special yarn.

Kathryn knit this “Lucerne” hat with Peerie, enlisting her young daughter’s help in selecting colors. I love what they came up with, as well as Kathryn’s description of Peerie – “supernaturally springy.”

Elsbeth knit this “Architexture” scarf with Peerie and came back for more to make another one, an excellent endorsement of yarn and pattern alike. Peerie’s smooth, round texture is perfect for showing off knit and purl texture patterns like those featured here.

Margaretta has also been charmed by Peerie, having used it to knit both the “Afton” scarf above and the “Hazelfern” socks below.

Both of these texture-rich patterns were thoughtfully designed by Jared Flood, and Margaretta appreciated the quality and clarity of the patterns as much as the yarn.

Jane knit this impressive “Butterfly / Papillon” shawl with six shades of Peerie during Nancy’s recent class here at the shop.

I’m particularly struck by Jane’s unique color combination, a balance of warm and cool colors, light and dark. Well done, Jane!

Here’s Ruth in her “Boardwalk,” knit with Peerie in a cheery pink shade. This pattern has been a popular one, whether knit in Peerie or in Loft, in part because of how wearable it is. The design is clever and flattering, a layer that manages to look both smart and casual.

Thanks to Kathryn, Elsbeth, Margaretta, Jane, and Ruth for sharing these knits with us, and to everyone whose projects begin with trips to our shop.

Come by before March 3rd to see the Wool People 12 Trunk Show and get 10% off Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, Loft, Vale, and Arbor. See you there!

 

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

 

Brooklyn Tweed Wool People 12 Trunk Show!

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We are delighted to announce that a new trunk show from Brooklyn Tweed is here to spend a couple of weeks at our shop. Come by before March 3rd to see the Wool People 12 collection!

Wool People is an annual collaboration between Brooklyn Tweed and a variety of independent knitwear designers from around the world. Some of their names are familiar, like Shannon Cook, Isabell Kraemer, Melissa Wehrle, and Emily Greene, but many are new to me. Those designers bring their own vision and aesthetic to Brooklyn Tweed’s breed-specific wool yarns, a combination that offers an exciting array of new designs.

Brooklyn Tweed’s lightest weight yarns are featured in these designs: the lace weight Vale, fingering weight Loft and Peerie, and DK weight Arbor, all of which are 10% off during the Trunk Show.

Though there are plenty of cables and other texture patterns on display, there’s a special preponderance of lace in this collection – delicate pullovers with lace yokes, garter stitch shawls with lace edgings, a turtleneck covered in eyelet linework, an allover mesh-lace pullover, and others. If you are a lace lover or curious about the technique, this show is a must-see!

Come by the shop before March 3rd to see Wool People 12 and get featured Brooklyn Tweed yarns at 10% off!

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

Hello, Kate Davies Àrd-Thìr.

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We’re thrilled to announce that Kate Davies’ new yarn is here!

We’ve long been admirers of Davies’ writing and knitwear design, and keep a variety of her books in stock here at the shop. Since she started her own line of yarn a few years ago, we’ve longed to carry it, but she sells directly to consumers on her website, rather than through retailers like us. For her newest yarn, Davies has collaborated with Fyberspates to distribute Àrd-Thìr more widely, and we could not be happier to have it on our shelves and in our hands!

Kate Davies Àrd-Thìr is an aran weight blend of Peruvian fibers, 60% highland wool and 40% alpaca. Each 50 gram skein has 71 yards, and it knits up at about 15-19 stitches over 4″ on needles from US 7-10.5. The texture is smooth and round, for sharp stitch definition and a springy elasticity in the hand.

Àrd-Thìr comes in 10 heathered shades inspired by the winter landscape of the Scottish highlands, a beautiful muted palette. Head to Davies’ blog to read more about the inspiration, production, and sourcing that makes Àrd-Thìr so special.

I’m the lucky knitter charged with making a shop sample in Àrd-Thìr, and I’ve cast on for Davies’ first available pattern for this yarn, the “Weel Riggit Hat.” It’s been delightfully quick to knit, a pleasure in my hands and on the needles.

Come by the shop to see and touch Àrd-Thìr for yourself, and plan your next project! You’ll find it in our Aran weight section.

Dream in Color Pop Up! Club: February.

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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 Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. February’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 cherry pink, chocolate brown, fuschia, and coral.

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!

Hello, Malabrigo Washted.

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A brand new yarn from Malabrigo has arrived! Meet Washted.

Washted is a worsted weight, superwash merino, with 210 yards on each 100 gram skein, and it’s hand-dyed in rich variegated colors. It’s a lot like Malabrigo’s popular Rios yarn, except that Washted is single ply where Rios is plied.

The downside of single ply yarn is often discussed here at the shop, namely, that single ply yarns are the first to pill. The upside, however, is that the super soft merino wool is even softer in a single ply.

This makes Washted ideal for accessories that don’t see a lot of abrasion, like cowls, hats, and shawls. Looking through projects on Ravelry, I saw knitters using Washted for Nina Machlin Dayton’s “Civetta Cowl,” Lucia Ruiz de Aguirre’s “Patricia hat,” and Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” shawl, but there are so many inspiring worsted weight patterns out there – check out our “Worsted weight” Pinterest board for starters.

Look for Malabrigo Washted in the worsted weight section here at our shop, just above the Rios cubby!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Half and Half Cowl.

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February is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

This month’s sample is the Churchmouse “Half and Half Cowl,” a simple ribbed cowl with a slit halfway up to create an opening over the shoulder.

“Half and Half Cowl” is knit with Shibui Drift, a worsted weight blend of 85% extra fine merino wool and 15% cashmere. It’s just as soft as that combination sounds, a perfect choice for a special accessory like this.

Come by the shop to before February 26th to try on the “Half and Half Cowl” and get Shibui Drift at 10% off to make one of your own!

 

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

Back in stock, show and tell: Isager Alpaca 2.

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Among all the lovely Isager yarns, Alpaca 2 has been a favorite here at our shop, so we make sure to keep every available color in stock.

Isager Alpaca 2 is a light fingering weight blend of merino wool and alpaca, with 275 yards on each 50 gram skein. Our seasoned “Stole” sample has hung on the wall for years now, yet it regularly catches the eye of knitters seeking a soothing, repetitive project, one that’s easy to execute, but with graceful results.

We’ve seen all manner of “Stole” variations, and whether they’re knit in the pattern’s recommended nine shades or a kaleidoscope of unique combinations, slimmed down into scarves or expanded into blankets, everything seems to work. Unpacking this shipment, I lapsed into a familiar game, picking colors for the “Stole.”

There are many other things to knit with Alpaca 2, of course; here are a couple of ideas from knitters we know, a bit of show and tell.

Here is Carribeth’s “Spectrum,” another soothing knit in stockinette. She paired Alpaca 2 with a matching shade of Alpaca 1 to create the slightly transparent stripes, an elegant effect that photos don’t do justice.

Winnie knit this “Feathers” shawl with Alpaca 2, and has already come back for more of the same to knit another.

This is a lovely example of Alpaca 2 in a lace pattern, a very good match of yarn and pattern, indeed.

Thanks to Carribeth, Winnie, and countless others who start their projects here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we love to see what you’re working on!