Back in stock: Yarn Hollow Photograph.

Posted by Julia on April 10, 2013

In mid-February, we announced the arrival of a new yarn, Yarn Hollow Photograph. We’d paired up the colors and packed them up into kits to make Range Wraps. By the end of the month, our Yarn Hollow stock had dwindled to a handful of lonesome, beautiful skeins. We reordered Photograph as soon as we realized what a hit the yarn was, but because it’s carefully hand-dyed by a team of three at Yarn Hollow in Michigan, it wasn’t ready for us until this past week. Anne and I were so excited to open the box from Yarn Hollow, and its contents did not disappoint.

Photograph is a worsted weight yarn made of 100% wool from Bluefaced Leicester sheep, a breed that’s British in origin. Bluefaced Leicester wool is known for its long fibers, which make for sturdy, lustrous yarn with a bit of a fuzzy halo. Photograph shows off its beautiful drape on the Range Wrap, which begs to be tried on, not only so the fabric can be touched and admired, but so the wearer can experiment with different ways to wear this highly flexible garment.

This time around, we skipped the kits, and we’re offering the yarn and pattern separately so that Range Wraps and other garments can be created in any color combination that suits you.

As you’re looking for other patterns for Photograph, take a peek in the Swans Island pattern binder and look for patterns calling for Swans Island Organic Merino Worsted. There are so many wonderful ways to use Yarn Hollow Photograph, from smaller accessories like hats and mitts to cowls, shawls, and sweaters. Come by the shop to see all the new colors, and to contemplate all that your needles or hooks could do with a skein of Photograph.

Hello, String Theory Merino DK.

Posted by Julia on March 27, 2013

The recent publication of my Welting Fantastic Cowl + Mitts led to an increased interest in String Theory Merino DK, specifically, in the Garnet colorway. When it vanished from the yarn tree in the DK weight corner, Anne and I did a quick inventory and talked ourselves into a Merino DK order. “We’ll have to get more Garnet,” we told one another, “and wouldn’t it be nice to have Merino DK in Charcoal? And Pewter?” It doesn’t take much for us to call String Theory; we love everything about their yarn, from ordering to unpacking to photographing to knitting to wearing it.

The box arrived yesterday, and it was a pleasure to unpack. This squishy, soft, superwash merino wool is perfect for so many projects–hats, mitts, scarves, shawls and other accessories, and sweaters for adults and children alike. I enjoyed every stitch of my Welting Fantastic Cowl and Mitts, and I’m sure I’ll use the Merino DK again when my next project wants between 5 + 6 stitches per inch from a yarn that holds its shape and has great stitch definition.

We couldn’t resist ordering just a few more colors of String Theory Caper Sock. Here are a few lighter colors, to brighten up the String Theory sock yarn cubby. From left to right: Pewter, Atlantis, Light Teal, and Mead. If you haven’t yet tried this soft-and-sturdy blend of superwash merino, cashmere, and nylon, consider Caper Sock for your next fingering weight project.

Come by the shop to see all the String Theory yarns. See you there!

Back in stock: Malabrigo Sock.

Posted by Julia on March 12, 2013

We were recently able to widen our selection of Malabrigo Sock with a few bright new colors.

Malabrigo Sock is a favorite with which many of you are likely well-acquainted: a soft, machine-washable merino wool in a light fingering weight, dyed in the vivid multicolor and semisolid colorways we’ve come to expect from Malabrigo yarns. Perfect not only for socks, but also shawls, scarves, lightweight sweaters, and baby things.

We’re happy to see familiar, but long-absent colorways like Lettuce, Impressionist Sky, Ochre, Ravelry Red, and Light of Love. Come by the shop to visit the Malabrigo Sock yarn cubby in the Fingering Weight section!

New colors in Caper Sock and Bluestocking.

Posted by Julia on March 6, 2013

String Theory yarns are a favorite here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Hand-dyed in Blue Hill, Maine, vivid in color, soft as can be–we’re always delighted to open a box from String Theory. Yesterday I got to do just that.

We got two kinds of String Theory sock yarns: four colors in Caper Sock, a cashmere-spiked merino wool, and six in Bluestocking, a sturdy, lustrous yarn made of Bluefaced Leicester wool. A modest order; just enough to plump up a sad, empty cubby in the Fingering Weight section. Both Caper Sock and Bluestocking are excellent for socks, but they are equally well-suited to scarves, shawls, hats, or fingerless mitts. Come by the shop to see these new colors, and grab a coveted skein or two while they last!

Hello, Mountain Meadow Wool.

Posted by Julia on February 23, 2013

We are thrilled to announce that we now carry Cody, a sport weight merino wool from Mountain Meadow Wool.

Mountain Meadow Wool is a small yarn company out of Wyoming that is dedicated to producing locally sourced and naturally processed yarns. Run by co-owners Karen Hostetler and Valerie Spanos, Mountain Meadow Wool seeks to support the ranching industry, thereby preserving the open spaces of the American West. They pay ranchers fairly for their finest fiber, then spin it and dye it with vegetable-based spinning oil and natural dyes. Each skein is traceable back to the ranch the sheep were raised on, and a QR code can link those with smartphones to a video of that ranch.

I fell in love with Cody after knitting a swatch.

It’s springy and soft, and because it’s a 2-ply, the resulting fabric has a slightly pebbled texture. I worked it in simple stockinette, with a garter stitch border. The yarn doesn’t sugest a needle size or gauge, so I experimented, knitting a while on a US 4, then a 5, then a 6. Cody is happy at all three gauges; the thing is to pick a fabric that suits your intended use. I’ve already snatched up a sweater’s worth of this incredible yarn, and for my purposes, a US 5 is perfect. For a shawl or scarf, a 6 gives a slightly more open fabric that will drape beautifully. You’ll run into bits of grass as you knit, a reminder of how close this yarn is to the land; they are easily plucked out as you go. Give this yarn a try and see if you fall in love, too.

Come by the shop to see Cody for yourself!

Two new colors in Titus.

Posted by Julia on February 19, 2013

As soon as we learned that Yorkshire yarn company Baa Ram Ewe had begun producing new colors of their well-loved yarn, Titus, we ordered some for the shop. Say hello to Titus Light and Titus Dark.

All three shades of Titus share a common gauge and fiber content: fingering weight, and comprised of 50% Grey Wensleydale, 20% Bluefaced Leicester, and 30% alpaca, all sourced in the UK. Baa Ram Ewe created Titus with the mission to revive the once-thriving British textile industry, and it seems they’re off to a good start, given the warm welcome Titus has received in the knitting world. We first learned of Titus through Clara Parkes’ glowing review, and recently saw another rave from Edinburgh designer and blogger Kate Davies. Even in a single undyed color, this yarn has wooed many. With three natural shades, Titus is even more tempting.

How to make use of it? Some HYS knitters are using Titus as the main color in their Quill shawl. Anne wants to use all three in a Color Affection shawl. A set of tam and mitts calling for Titus can be found in Ann Kingstone’s Born and Bred, which are now available as single patterns as well as in kits with the yarn.

On top of that, a recent Wooly Wormhead pattern calls for Titus, and the people at Baa Ram Ewe recommended this cabled cardigan pattern from Susan Crawford as a good match for Titus, as well.

The longer Titus lives at the shop, the more pattern ideas come up, it seems. We are just loving this yarn. Come by the shop to see all three shades of Titus, and to plan your next project.

Hello, Yarn Hollow.

Posted by Julia on February 15, 2013

We are delighted to announce that we now carry Photograph, a yarn from Yarn Hollow.

Yarn Hollow is a yarn company that has grown from one dyer in her garage to a three-person hand-dyeing operation out of Grandville, Michigan. Yarn Hollow has a variety of yarn bases and a palette of colorways that can be applied to any base yarn. Back in June, at TNNA, we got a kit for the Range Wrap featuring Yarn Hollow’s Photograph, a worsted weight yarn made of 100% bluefaced leicester wool. Initially, it was the Jul closures used to fasten the Range wrap that caught our eye. Then we got our hands on the yarn, and it was clear that Photograph had to have a home at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. The bluefaced leicester drapes beautifully, but maintains a good deal of springiness, with some fuzziness and lustre to boot.

The Range Wrap is an asymmetrical shawl of sorts, made of two triangles that meet at a point, making a shape almost like a pair of wings. It’s simple to knit, and can be worn in a variety of ways with the help of Jul’s French Curve closures or Floral Pedestal Button closures.

We now have Range Wrap kits in four colorways (the colorway of our sample, and the three shown below), each of which comes with the pattern and an HYS zip case. We left the closures out of the kit so you could choose your own, and we also got a few extra patterns in case you want to pick different colors or yarn for your Range Wrap.

We also got three colors of Photograph in greater quantities outside the kits, for those of you who want to use this yarn in other projects, like accessories or sweaters.

Come by the shop to see Yarn Hollow’s Photograph, and to admire and try on the Range Wrap. We hope you love this yarn as much as we do!

Hello again, Brown Sheep.

Posted by Julia on February 9, 2013

Many of you are already familiar with Brown Sheep, a yarn company out of Mitchell, Nebraska. For some years now, we’ve stocked their Lamb’s Pride yarn in Worsted and Bulky weights, along with Cotton Fleece, Serendipity Tweed, Wildfoote Luxury Sock, Top of the Lamb Sport, and Nature Spun Sport.

Since 1980, this family business has been producing yarns right here in the U.S., doing most of the process in Nebraska, save for the scouring, carding, and combing, which takes place in South Carolina. A couple of years ago, they redesigned their yarn production so that 70-90% of their daily waste water is reused. Their products have always been a good value, and their practices are admirable, too. Over the holidays, our supply of Lamb’s Pride Bulky had grown low enough that a reorder was necessary. Since we were already ordering, we went ahead and filled up on Lamb’s Pride Worsted, too, and even selected a brand new Brown Sheep yarn for the shop: Lamb’s Pride Superwash Sport.

Soft, machine-washable, and available in plenty of solid colors, Lamb’s Pride Superwash Sport was calling our name. It should be perfect for baby things and accessories that are likely to get a lot of wear, like hats, mittens, and socks. Looking over the colors as I unpacked the box, they said to me: colorwork. These bold colors just beg to be combined in high contrast stranded color patterns.

The Brown Sheep Lamb’s Pride yarns are a staple for many knitters and crocheters: fuzzy yet sturdy, quite suitable for felting projects, and available in a wide range of vivid colors.

Lamb’s Pride Worsted knits up at about 4.5 or 5 stitches per inch, while Lamb’s Pride Bulky knits up rather more quickly at 3 stitches per inch, and both are comprised of 85% wool and 15% mohair. They are both single ply yarns, which, combined with the mohair content, makes for soft yarn with a bit of a wooly halo.

Come by the shop to see these refilled cubbies of Brown Sheep yarns, and remember Lamb’s Pride Worsted, Bulky, and Superwash Sport when planning your next project. See you there!

New color in Kauni Effektgarn.

Posted by Julia on February 3, 2013

This week, we received an exciting shipment: a brand new colorway in Kauni Effektgarn, a sport weight, self-striping wool.

The yarn in any given skein of Kauni shifts gradually from one color to the next, and it’s these long color repeats that set it apart from other self-striping yarns. Kauni can yield fascinating and stunning results in colorwork, brioche, mosaic, and double knitting, and you can get a good sense of how this yarn behaves by looking through patterns and projects on Ravelry that use it. It helps even more to see finished pieces in person, and to that end, we have two knit samples in the shop made of Kauni–a Wingspan and a Wiggle Wrap.

We also have a binder of Kauni patterns that holds all kinds of uses for the yarn; come by the shop to flip through it if you’re seeking inspiration.

Lava Flow Cowl.

Posted by Julia on January 30, 2013

A new sample is decorating our walls: here’s a Lava Flow Cowl.

This Lava Flow Cowl was made by Amy, who’s teaching an upcoming class on the subject. It’s full of interesting techniques, like a provisional cast-on, reversible cables, and kitchener stitch in a ribbed pattern. If these techniques are new to you, consider taking the class and reap the benefits of Amy’s guidance, as well as the camaraderie of other knitters. The pattern is available as a free download from Ravelry, and is a perfect garment to showcase a special yarn in a dk or light worsted weight. Amy’s sample is made in Mirasol K’acha, a light worsted weight blend of merino wool, alpaca, and silk.

Come by the shop to try it on for size, and see if you’d like to make one yourself!