Capital Luxury Sport + Zauberwolle.

The newest arrivals to our sport weight section are Neighborhood Capital Luxury Sport and a restock of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberwolle, and they look like friends to me. Combining semisolid shades with self-striping yarn makes for exciting colorwork, whether stranded, striped, mosaic, or brioche.

What to make with these color pairs? Here are some ideas!

Sweaters:

Accessories:

Look for Capital Luxury Sport and Zauberwolle in the sport weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays! We’re still taking online orders for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Hay.

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

This month’s limited edition shade is Hay, a creamy neutral colorway with streaks of pumpkin and bronze, and the occasional charcoal speckle. It happens to look a lot like the yarn used in Joji Locatelli’s “The Lone Skein Shawl,” though you’d need 3 skeins of KPPPM for that lovely project.

Hay is a natural match with Caramel, in Malabrigo Ultimate Sock – together, they’d make a lovely autumnal “Moonflowers Shawl,” by Ambah O’Brien.

Here are a few more color combinations for this new mosaic shawl pattern, using other Koigu Collector’s Club colorways – Space Exploration, Red Brick House, The Pond, and Tapestry.

Want to make your own “Moonflowers Shawl” combination, or pick up a special lone skein for “The Lone Skein Shawl?” 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.

Shelter + Color Story.

Brooklyn Tweed’s vibrant new shades in Shelter have us itching for colorwork, and Tif Neilan’s new “Color Story” sweater looks like the perfect project!

“Color Story,” by Tif Neilan, photo © Tif Neilan

This five color, top down, short sleeved pullover encourages playful, intuitive color combinations. Neilan has selected a light neutral background color and four shades dark enough to contrast against it – here’s a similar palette in Brooklyn Tweed Shelter.

I had fun putting together a few more “Color Story” colorways, sticking with a light background color, but varying the value of the contrast colors a bit.

Between the solid and heathered shades, Shelter now comes in over 45 colors, so there’s lots to choose from – look for Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in the worsted weight section here at our shop, along with Tones, Ranch 02, and much more! We’re open from 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays; masks required for entry.

PetiteKnit pairings.

We recently restocked Isager Silk Mohair, a soft and shiny lace weight blend of mohair and silk, often used in tandem with heavier yarns. Fingering weight yarn seems to be a particularly popular playmate for Silk Mohair – here are some color combinations pairing it up with Isager Sock Yarn and Alpaca 2, and PetiteKnit pattern ideas below!

  • Isager Silk Mohair: lace weight, 70% kid mohair, 30% silk, 233 yards/25 g; $16 each
  • Isager Sock Yarn: fingering weight, 40% Easy Wash alpaca, 40% Easy Wash merino wool, 20% recycled nylon, 423 yards/100g; $20 each

  • Isager Alpaca 2: light fingering weight, 50% alpaca, 50% wool, 275 yards/50 g; $12 each

What to knit with these yarn pairings? You’ll find more ideas on a blog post of mine from November, but for today, let’s focus on PetiteKnit, who seems to especially favor this combination of lace + fingering weight yarns:

Accessories:

Sweaters:

Here’s a bit of show and tell, a close up on Margaretta’s own “Jenny Sweater,” knit with Isager Silk Mohair and Alpaca 2 held together throughout. The combination is deliciously soft, with elegant drape, and I love the ever-so-slightly-different shades of light green Margaretta chose, they blended together beautifully!

Look for these and other Isager yarns in our lace and fingering weight sections here at the shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Red Brick House.

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

This month’s limited edition shade is Red Brick House, a warm variegated mix of coral, salmon, brown and beige.

I’ve paired up Red Brick House with shades of Brooklyn Tweed Loft, thinking of Andrea Mowry’s “Harlow” hat. It’s a great introduction to 2-color brioche, and an opportunity to mix different colors and textures of yarn.

“Harlow,” by Andrea Mowry, photo © Andrea Mowry

Koigu’s smooth, worsted spun texture and color variation contrasts against Loft, which is rustic woolen spun and heathered.

Here are even more color combinations for “Harlow,” turning back to older Collector’s Club colorways that are still on our shelves.

Look for Koigu KPPPM and Brooklyn Tweed Loft 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.

Yarn ideas for “Inclinations Cowl,” by Andrea Mowry.

Andrea Mowry’s latest design and knit-along has us playing the color game… “Inclinations Cowl” is designed to look like an asymmetrical triangular shawl when worn, but slips over the head easily. Like her “Inclinations Shawl” before, it’s all in half fisherman’s rib, which makes a bouncy, easy to knit fabric.

“Inclinations Cowl,” by Andrea Mowry, photo © Andrea Mowry

Mowry calls for two shades of yarn, 360 yards each, though the pattern lends itself to using up smaller quantities of yarn in multiple colors – check out the projects on Ravelry to get a sense of the possibilities!

Here are a few ideas from our own sport weight section here at the shop.

  • Kelbourne Woolens Andorra: sport weight, 60% merino, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair, 185 yards/50 g; $12 each
  • Malabrigo Arroyo: sport weight, hand-dyed, 100% superwash merino wool, 335 yards/100g; $20 each

  • Ewe Ewe Sporty: sport weight, 100% superwash merino wool, 145 yards/50 grams; $11 each
  • Alchemy Sanctuary: sport weight, hand-dyed, 70% wool, 30% silk, 125 yards/50g; $34 each

  • Berroco Ultra Alpaca Light: sport weight, 50% wool, 50% alpaca, 144 yards/50 g; $8 each
  • Schoppel-Wolle Zauberwolle: sport weight, marled, self-striping, 100% merino wool, 273 yards/100 g; $23 each

Swing by the shop or reach out if any of these combinations catches your eye – we’re happy to help calculate yardage or answer any questions that come up as you plan an “Inclinations Cowl” of your own!

HYS Color Club: Loch Lomond + Pressed Flowers.

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!

Koigu Collector’s Club: The Marsh.

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

This month’s limited edition shade is The Marsh, a beachy colorway streaked with shades of aqua, cream, and gray.

Anne spotted the perfect pattern for this or any shade of Koigu KPPPM – Churchmouse’s “Linen Stitch Loop,” a two color cowl that pairs variegated and solid shades for a pixelated effect.

“Linen Stitch Loop,” by Churchmouse Yarns and Teas, photo © Churchmouse Yarns and Teas

There are so many yarns in our fingering weight section here at the shop – here are a few that complement The Marsh!

  • Kelbourne Woolens Perennial: light fingering weight, 60% superwash merino, 25% suri alpaca, 15% nylon, 497 yards/100 g; $26 each
  • Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering: fingering weight, 100% superwash merino, 200 yards/50 g; $11 each

  • Punta del Este Mericash Solid: fingering weight, single ply, 80% merino, 20% cashmere, 264 yards/50 gm; $18 each
  • Isager Merilinlight fingering weight, 80% wool, 20% linen, 228 yards/50 g; $11 each

  • Baa Ram Ewe Titus: fingering weight, 70% wool, 30% alpaca, 350 yards/100 g, $29 each
  • Fibre Co. Amble: fingering weight, 70% Easy-wash merino wool, 20% Easy-wash alpaca, and 10% recycled nylon, 355 yards/100g; $23 each

 

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Perennial, Fluffy Fingering, Mericash Solid, Merilin, Titus, Amble, and so much more – see you there!

Rios + Versa Cowl.

A few recent orders have left us rich in Malabrigo Rios, a superwash worsted weight merino that gets a lot of love around here.

Malabrigo Rios:

  • worsted weight
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $17 each

We have both solid and hand-dyed shades in stock, and Aimee Pelletier’s “Versa Cowl” is a great way to combine them.

“Versa Cowl,” by Aimee Pelletier, photo © Aimee Pelletier

“Versa Cowl” is a sampler of different slip stitch patterns and stripes, and can be worn folded in half for a double layer, as shown above.

Browsing projects on Ravelry, I saw many knitters had paired a solid or semi-solid shade of Rios with a more highly variegated shade for their “Versa Cowls,” a nice effect.

For sharper stitch definition and cleaner stripes, try solid or semi-solid color combinations.

Look for Rios in the worsted weight section here at our shop; we’re open from 11 am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. You can also order online for local pickup or shipping – thanks for your support of our shop!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Koigu Wall.

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

This month’s limited edition shade is Koigu Wall, a variegated rainbow, like a box of crayons in a skein.

As we were unpacking these colorful skeins, Anne suggested using them in a kid’s colorwork sweater – with enough contrast in the background color, variegated skeins can really shine in stranded patterns. Wool & Pine’s “Criterion Mini” is a great candidate, a colorwork yoke pullover in sizes 0-6 months – 10-12 years. (There’s an adult “Criterion,” too – rainbow yokes aren’t just for kids!)

  • Brooklyn Tweed Peerie: fingering weight, 100% merino wool, 210 yards/50 grams, $17.25 each

  • Kelbourne Woolens Camper: fingering weight, 100% wool, 200 yards/50g; $9 each

Want to use Koigu Wall on its own? These Wool & Pine patterns are great for highly variegated skeins like these:

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Kelbourne Woolens Camper, Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, and more – see you there!