Tag Archives: amy christoffers

Show and tell: stripes of all kinds.

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Time for another round of show and tell! We love seeing what folks are making with yarn from the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – here are a bunch of projects we’ve had the pleasure of seeing in person, featuring stripes of all kinds.

Above is Cindy’s “Bat Shawl,” a pattern from Lotta H Löthgren’s Observations. She used Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere and Malabrigo Ultimate Sock, a perfect match that shows off the slip stitch texture.

Here’s Michele’s “Stripes of Joy” pullover, knit with Malabrigo Rios leftover from various other projects. Pattern by Tif Neilan.

Above is April’s “Pressed Flowers Pullover,” knit with BC Garn Loch Lomond and self-striping Noro Silk Garden Light. Pattern by Amy Christoffers.

Margaretta made this “Shadow Stripe Pullover” with a lovely mix of high and low contrast stripes, a mix of Brooklyn Tweed Tones Light and Loft. Pattern by Jared Flood.

I knit this newborn-sized sweater as a sample for the shop when Kelbourne Woolens Skipper came out last year. The pattern is “French Macaroon,” by Noble Knits, a free download from Ravelry.

Robin saw my “French Macaroon” hanging here at the shop and was inspired to make her own – she modified it into a cardigan and sewed matching baby pants!

Thanks to Cindy, Michele, April, Margaretta, and Robin for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Azurite.

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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.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Azurite is a saturated mix of blue and purple, with lively streaks of aqua, lavender, and lime.

As soon as Amy Christoffers released her new “Pressed Flowers Socks” pattern, my mind went to Koigu – Anne used it in her “Pressed Flowers Hat” earlier this year, and the variegated yarn was perfect in this floral mosaic pattern.

“Pressed Flowers Socks,” by Amy Christoffers, photo © Amy Christoffers

Here are “Pressed Flowers Socks” color combinations pairing Azurite with Kelbourne Woolens Perennial, one of our go-to solid sock yarns.

I couldn’t stop there, of course – it’s too fun to play the color game!

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Nightshade.

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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.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

Nightshade is a deeply saturated mix of eggplant and navy, with lively streaks of gold, orange, and cobalt.

Anne recently knit Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” with Koigu and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a soft and springy blend of merino, cashmere, and silk.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra would work well as the main color, too – it’s also sport weight, a  blend of merino and highland wool, with a touch of mohair. Here are “Pressed Flowers Hat” color combinations pairing Nightshade with both Capital Luxury Sport and Andorra.

I couldn’t stop there, of course – it’s too fun to play the color game!

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

Koigu Collector’s Club: The Wool Shed.

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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.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

The Wool Shed is a variegated mix of greens with subtle flourishes of raspberry, auburn, and cream.

“Pressed Flowers Hat,” by Amy Christoffers. Photo © Amy Christoffers

Anne has had her eye on Amy Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers Hat” for a while now, so when this Collector’s Club colorway came in, I thought I’d put together some color combinations. 

I’ve paired Koigu KPPPM with semisolid shades of Neighborhood Fiber Co. Capital Luxury Sport, a blend of merino, cashmere, and silk that is relatively new to our shop. One skein of each should make two hats, with NFC Capital Luxury Sport as the main color and Koigu KPPPM as the contrast color.

If any of these combinations speaks to you, you can order online for local pickup or shipping. Prefer to shop in person? Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at our shop, along with many others! We’re here from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks required for entry.

HYS Color Club: Loch Lomond + Pressed Flowers.

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The Spring season of HYS Color Club wraps up with a bigger project, a fun change of pace after April’s “Duality” scarf.

Club members got seven skeins of BC Garn Loch Lomond to knit Any Christoffers’ “Pressed Flowers,” a 2-color triangular shawl covered in mosaic stitch flowers.

“Pressed Flowers,” by Amy Christoffers, photo © Amy Christoffers.

A high contrast color combination is important for this project, ensuring that the pattern shows clearly. It was so fun to pick pairs for each of our Club members in these rich, tweedy colorways – I can’t wait to see their shawls take shape!

Of course, you can make a “Pressed Flowers” even if you didn’t join the HYS Color Club – just pick out two colors you love in Loch Lomond or another DK weight yarn.

BC Garn Loch Lomond: DK weight, 2 ply tweed, 100% wool, 170 yards/50 grams; $14 each. For “Pressed Flowers,” you’ll need 4 skeins in Main Color and 3 skeins in Contrast Color.

Come by the shop between 11 – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays to pick your own combination!

Back in stock: Modern Cotton!

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Berroco Modern Cotton is a staple around here, an economical, machine-washable blend of cotton and rayon in that versatile gauge, worsted weight. It was time for a restock and restock we did, filling our Modern Cotton bins and brightening up our selection.

Berroco Modern Cotton:

  • worsted weight
  • solid colors
  • 50% cotton, 50% rayon
  • 209 yards/100 grams
  • $10 each

Modern Cotton is perfect for warm-weather knits, or year-round for those allergic to wool. It’s also a favorite for baby things – here are some pattern ideas for all of the above!

Look for Modern Cotton in the worsted weight section here at our shop!

New colors in Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky.

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We recently got a big bundle of new colors from Berroco in yarns across their line of machine-washable wools – Ultra Wool DK, Ultra Wool (worsted weight), and Ultra Wool Chunky. Today, let’s take a look at Ultra Wool Chunky!

Berroco Ultra Wool Chunky:

  • bulky weight
  • 100% superwash wool
  • 145 yards/100g
  • $12 each

Ultra Wool Chunky is a 100% superwash wool that’s soft, sturdy, and economical, perfect for cozy garments and accessories for adults and children alike. Here are some pattern ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 6: Transparency.

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The sixth installment of the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide series is here! Let’s take a peek inside.

Ann Shayne and Kaye Gardiner’s series of Field Guides are pocket-sized booklets focused on a particular theme or knitting technique. The theme here is transparency, a quality that admittedly, may not be among the first we think of when we think about knitting.

But transparency plays a role in lace knitting, and also in loose gauges, and on a metaphorical level, in visible mending.

As in every Field Guide, Ann and Kaye’s ruminations on the topic at hand are featured, but they’ve also brought designer Amy Christoffers in for a few patterns. This Anni Albers inspired wrap uses yarn-mixing to suggest transparency, and what better yarn for yarn-mixing than Shibui? Pebble and Reed are shown here in a beachy colorway of grays, beige, and blue.

Look for the Mason-Dixon Knitting Field Guide No. 6 on our teacart, with the latest books and magazines. See you at the shop!

KnitScene.

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Just when cold weather finally begins here in North Carolina, the Spring 2016 issue of KnitScene arrives.

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This issue features lots of yarns that can be found at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

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A hat in Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering, a shawl in Fibre Company Road to China Lace, a cardigan in Berroco Artisan…

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I also spotted a sweater in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK, along with a tutorial showing how to create those vertical stripes with crochet slip stitch.

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Designer Amy Christoffers penned another handy tutorial, showing how to pick up stitches.

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Look for KnitScene on the teacart here at the shop! See you there.

Hello, Berroco Artisan.

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Here at the shop, we’ve spent a few afternoons unpacking a truly huge order from Berroco. They sent an exciting new book, bags and bags of two of our favorite Berroco yarns, sample garments, and a brand new yarn for fall. Let’s start there: meet Artisan.

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Berroco Artisan is a worsted weight blend of 80% merino wool and 20% silk, with 123 yards on each 50 gram skein. Artisan is dip-dyed for tonally variegated colors, which look as good in texture and lace patterns as they do in garter stitch or stockinette.

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Anne and I passed this swatch back and forth a few times before we ordered Artisan for the shop, seeing how it stood up to a variety of stitch patterns and enjoying its springy feel along the way.

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Berroco sent along this “Ceonothus” shawl, by Amy Christoffers, worked from the point up in an allover lace pattern. I’ve often admired Amy Christoffers’ designs, particularly for how she makes use of texture patterns, using them to cover entire garments and keeping the knitter interested along the way. “Ceonothus” looks like it would make a great pattern for a first-time lace knitter, and should work up relatively quickly in this worsted weight yarn.

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The pattern, like all of Berroco’s Artisan collection, is available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale. This means that you can buy them at the shop, have us print a copy for you, and also know that a digital copy is saved in your Ravelry pattern library or sent to your email. Head to Ravelry to check out the other sweaters and shawls that Amy Christoffers designed for Artisan, and head to the HYS “Worsted weight” board on Pinterest for lots of other ideas. In particular, don’t miss “Memphre,” a free hat pattern for Artisan.

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Look for Artisan in the worsted weight section at the shop, and look out for more new Berroco goodies on the blog soon!