The new issue of knit.wear is here!
knit.wear is a relatively new knitting magazine from Interweave that has quickly acquired something of a following. It’s always full of stylish, modern garments, and we know knitters who look forward to every issue.
This issue also has some interesting design- and technique-focused articles, and a piece on pilling by Clara Parkes of Knitter’s Review.
Come by the shop to snag a copy of knit.wear and plan your next project!
We’re delighted to announce that Meadow has arrived! This newest yarn from the Fibre Company is featured in our upcoming Fibre Company Yarn Tasting, as well as our current trunk show: the Allium Collection, 8 shawls and scarves knit in this delicious yarn.
Meadow, like many Fibre Company yarns, has an unusual and carefully-crafted fiber composition: 40% merino wool, 25% baby llama, 20% silk, and 15% linen. Each of these fibers brings its own unique characteristics to the yarn in terms of drape, texture, and color, and the result is a lightweight fabric that is soft to the touch and holds its shape even at a looser gauge than is suggested on the ball band. It’s between a lace and a light fingering weight, with a generous 545 yards in each 100 gram skein.
We also have all 8 patterns from Grace Anna Farrow’s Allium Collection, which use Meadow in a variety of techniques, from simple garter or stockinette stitch to stripes, short rows, lace, and colorwork.
Usually, when we order a brand new yarn for the shop, we begin with a small selection of colors. When it came to Meadow, we couldn’t help ourselves–we had to have every single color the Fibre Company makes. One of them is missing from this photoshoot because we sold out of it as soon as it arrived, but don’t fret, it’s on order!
Come by the shop to see Meadow and all the other Fibre Company yarns we carry, and do so before October 20th to play dress-up with the trunk show!
At TNNA this past June, something unusual caught Anne’s eye: a collection of tiny needle-felted animals, made from wool roving. She was particularly taken with a little sheep, and spent one of our exhausted hotel-room evenings making one herself. Having never needle-felted before, and with written instructions alone, Anne created this little guy in about an hour.
These needle-felting kits come from Romney Ridge Farm in Maine. We couldn’t stop at sheep alone–not when there were chickens and songbirds and pigs to be had.
Come by the shop to pick up a needle-felting kit of your own, and before you know it, you’ll be felting a tiny menagerie!
The Triangle Yarn Crawl is a self-guided tour of local yarn shops, where knitters and crocheters get together and hop from one shop to the next, shopping, entering raffles, and seeing the full breadth of available fibers. They happen twice a year, and the time has come again: the Autumn 2013 crawl is coming up soon on October 12th and 13th!
Each local yarn shop has something special to offer, and we’re no exception: all of the books we currently have in stock will be 20% off during the weekend of the Triangle Yarn Crawl! Indulge in some of the latest publications, or pick up a handy resource you’ve been needing. If you’re looking for recommendations, Anne and I are more than happy to oblige–we love our books almost as much as we love our yarns
There’s a Lantern Moon basket like this at each of the participating shops, a raffle prize filled with goodies. Along with yarns generously donated by Triangle Yarn Crawl sponsors, the Hillsborough Yarn Shop prize will also include a small Swans Island tote, a skein of Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Silk, and a pattern to go with.
We’re lucky to live in such a fiber-friendly part of the world, with so many choices available to us, and the Triangle Yarn Crawl is a great time to see all of those choices. Come see us as you’re crawling along!
A reminder: all sales are final on sale items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!
Right as you walk into the shop, the first surface that’s likely to catch your eye is covered in books and magazines.
It’s an antique teacart, which also holds our swift and ball-winder. When we refer to “the teacart,” that’s what we’re talking about–the place for the newest knitting and crochet publications. Every week, if not every day, some new book arrives and we make room on the teacart, rearranging things, shelving what’s been out for a few weeks. Lately, we’ve been inundated with new publications, faster than this blog can keep up! Here are some of the latest publications:
Come by the shop to peruse these newest books, and our not-so-new books, too! There’s a lot to choose from, and we hope you find inspiration there. See you at the shop!
We are delighted to announce that we’re hosting a Fibre Company Trunk Show, now through October 20th!
These 8 shawls and scarves make up designer Grace Anna Farrow’s Allium Collection.
All are designed for and knit with Fibre Company’s newest yarn, Meadow, a lace weight blend of merino wool, llama, silk, and linen. This bewitching combination of plant and animal fibers is typical of the Fibre Company, who seem to always be seeking new and interesting fiber combinations.
The yarn itself is scheduled to arrive soon, along with all 8 patterns of the Allium Collection–though they are also available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, so we can always get you a copy that way.
Come by the shop to see the Allium Collection for yourself, and if you’d like to sample Meadow and three other Fibre Company yarns, sign up for the upcoming Fibre Company Yarn Tasting! It promises to be a delightful and inspiring morning of stitching, sipping, and munching. We’d love to see you there!
The two most exciting parts of a project are often the beginning and the end. At the beginning, the thrill of casting on with new yarn or trying a new technique is quite motivating. At the end, when the project is complete and whatever challenges were faced along the way have been met, the feeling of finishing is equally exhilarating. Better still: the feeling is contagious. Many of the knitters and crocheters we’ve come to know at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop bring their finished pieces to share, and it’s as much a pleasure to see as it is to show. Here are a few show-and-tell projects I’ve captured with my camera over the past few weeks.
Heather came in with a finished pair of mittens, her first, from a pattern by Susan B. Anderson: “Waiting for Winter Mittens.” She used String Theory Merino DK, a superwash merino whose hand-dyed colorways surprise and delight as you stitch; this colorway, Earthquake, revealed all kinds of colors in the knitted fabric that seemed hidden in the skein. I happen to be a big fan of String Theory Merino DK, having used it in two original designs and, more recently, a sweater.
The pattern is Amy Herzog’s “Aislinn,” albeit a heavily-modified version. Using Herzog’s tremendously handy Knit to Flatter as a guide, I shortened the body of the sweater, lowered the neckline, recalculated the waist-shaping, and added bust darts. I’m happy with the fit, and feel much more confident in making changes to existing patterns as a result of this project.
Another way to significantly change the look of the sweater is simply to change the yarn. That’s what Margie did, to stunning effect, with her “Honey” cardigan. The pattern is by Helga Isager, and it calls for a fingering weight wool in a solid color and a lace weight mohair in a variegated color.
Margie substituted Kauni Effektgarn, a self-striping sport weight wool, and a special skein of semi-solid lace weight yarn that she picked up at a fiber festival. She was careful to swatch for gauge before beginning, and altered the pattern to achieve a slimmer sleeve. Let Margie’s sweater be an inspiration to depart from the called-for yarns and make the changes necessary to create garments you love!
Wanda brought in her completed “Gemini Pullover,” knit in Wendy Supreme Luxury Cotton DK. It’s been really neat to see so many finished Geminis coming in, the result of a shop knit-along that started in March. I know there are others out there on the needles now, and I’m looking forward to seeing them all grown up one day.
On Saturday afternoon, Mary came by with a completed “Simple Shibori Cowl” in Alchemy Silken Straw and Sanctuary. Delighted with the result, she’s already cast on for another, and picked up another skein of Silken Straw for yet a third cowl. This color combination is gorgeous: Silken Straw in Coco Rosie, and Sanctuary in Dark Star. I can’t wait to see Mary’s next two cowls!
Many thanks to everyone who shows-and-tells at the shop–we’re so happy to be part of this community of creative stitchers!
We always stop by the Habu Textiles booth at TNNA, and this year was no exception. We’d made a note before going to market that we could use a few new colors in their one-of-a-kind Silk Stainless yarn, which translated into Anne gathering an armful of colorful cones as Habu founder Takako Ueki jotted down color numbers. The new colors of Habu Silk Stainless arrived a week or so ago, settling in with the few colors we’d already had in stock. Our new selection is vibrant and tempting, and I thought they deserved a bit of fanfare here on the blog.
It’s Silk Stainless that makes the Kusha Kusha Scarf such an intriguing project. It’s knit on a variety of different needle sizes, sometimes holding a fine lace weight merino along with the Silk Stainless, and when the knitting is done, the piece is lightly felted in hot, soapy water.
Habu used to sell kits for the Kusha Kusha Scarf, but has since offered the pattern for free via the Purl Bee. This frees you up to choose your own color combinations, which sometimes feels like half the joy of knitting in the first place. We don’t stock the Habu Super Fine Merino that the pattern calls for, but we have so many other lace weight yarns to choose from that would be equally interesting in this project. They’ll all behave a little differently, I suspect, which should be fun to experiment with. I had fun putting these hypothetical combinations together.
Don’t limit yourself to Kusha Kusha scarves, however; Silk Stainless can also be put to good use in sweaters and knitted or crocheted jewelry. We’ve even had a weaver experiment with a few cones of the stuff on her loom. Come by the shop to see our sample Kusha Kusha Scarf and our new selection of Habu Silk Stainless. See you there!
The Fall 2013 issue of Interweave Crochet is here!
Inside, you’ll find plenty of crochet patterns, from smaller accessories to adult-sized garments.
I also spotted this helpful article on crochet hooks, which details the many varieties of hooks and the differences between them. Just like knitting needles, crochet hooks made of different materials and in slightly differing shapes are good for different kinds of fibers and techniques. Pick up a copy of Interweave Crochet Fall 2013 to learn all about it.
Look for Interweave Crochet on the teacart, surrounded by all the latest knitting and crochet magazines and books. See you at the shop!
Knowing that there was new roving coming from Malabrigo, we thought that new drop spindles were in order, as well. We went to market in June looking for a source for beautiful wooden drop spindles and found it in Wool Tree Mill.
Wool Tree Mill is a family-run business out of California, and all of their products are handcrafted from hardwoods for fiber artists. Their drop spindles are made of walnut, and we ordered them in two sizes, medium and large.
Wool Tree Mill’s drop spindles are designed to be used in either a high-whorl or low-whorl position, according to the spinner’s preference and purpose.
We also picked up a couple of Wool Trees, the signature Wool Tree Mill yarn-ball controller. “A ball of yarn can be naughty,” so says their website. “It will jump to the floor and play with the cat or tangle up everything in your yarn basket or tie itself in knots.” So true! The Wool Tree is made to hold your naughty ball of yarn, and turns easily so that the yarn is dispensed as it’s needed. Seeing these in use at market, we were drawn to the Wool Trees not only for their useful function, but their beautiful, simple design.
They come in maple and walnut; ours is maple. Right now, we have a skein of Swans Island Organic Washable DK on the Tree. Come by the shop to sit awhile and try the yarn and the Tree, both equally lovely.
We don’t have any Wool Trees in stock at the moment, but we’ve just reordered them; let us know if you’d like us to hold one for you!
Look for the drop spindles by the roving in the front room. See you at the shop!