Tag Archives: color combinations

Loft + SSP (slip stitch party) shawl.

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Isabell Kraemer’s latest design looks like so much fun, a slip stitch shawl in six shades of Brooklyn Tweed Loft!

“SSP (slip stitch party) shawl,” by Isabell Kraemer, photo © Isabell Kraemer

As soon as I saw “SSP (slip stitch party) shawl,” I went straight for our Loft display, intrigued by the play of low and high contrast combinations in Kraemer’s design.

Brooklyn Tweed Loft:

Here are a few more possibilities, though with 35+ shades in stock, this is just the tip of the iceberg!

We recently ordered a big bundle of Loft, anticipating upcoming shortages due to the permanent closure of the Philadelphia dyehouse Brooklyn Tweed has been working with since 2010. Unfortunately, this means that our most recent shipment of Loft may be our last of 2022. BT is working hard to find a new way to produce their beloved woolen spun yarns, but in the meantime, we’re well stocked in Loft and Shelter!

Come by the shop to plan a “SSP (slip stitch party) shawl” of your own, or order online for local pickup or shipping if one of these colorways is right up your alley.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Koigu Barn at Dawn.

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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

This month’s limited edition shade is Koigu Barn at Dawn, a variegated mix of peach, ivory, burgundy, and shades of gray.

This new colorway made me think of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks,” a striped, slip-stitch pattern I’ve seen several knitters working on lately. The heathered CoopKnits Socks Yeah! makes a great Main Color, letting the variegated KPPPM take center stage as Contrast Color.

Look closely at Mowry’s sizing as you select your yarn and colors; some sizes will require two skeins of Socks Yeah! as shown here, while others will only need one.

CoopKnits Socks Yeah!: fingering weight, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 231 yards/50 grams; $11.60 each

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with CoopKnits Socks Yeah! and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Zauberwolle + solid colors.

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Schoppel-Wolle Zauberwolle is the latest arrival here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a marled self-striping merino wool. I wrote in its introductory post about mixing two contrasting colors, but Zauberwolle plays well with solid colors, too. Read on for some color and pattern ideas!

Here, I’ve paired Zauberwolle with Swans Island All American Sport – a hand-dyed yarn, so you can expect a little bit of variation in the skein, but an overall semisolid effect.

Swans Island All American Sport: sport weight, hand-dyed, 100% Rambouillet wool, 185 yards/40 g; $12.50 each

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra is a great playmate for Zauberwolle, too – a soft and slightly fuzzy blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra: sport weight, 60% merino, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair, 185 yards/50 g; $12 each

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

Sweaters:

Accessories:

Look for Zauberwolle, All American Sport, and Andorra 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.

HYS Color Club: Rios + Inclinations Shawl.

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The Winter season of HYS Color Club wraps up with a bigger project, a fun change of pace after January’s colorwork mitts.

Club members got six skeins of Malabrigo Rios to knit Andrea Mowry’s “Inclinations Shawl,” a colorful triangular shawl knit in half fisherman’s rib.

“Inclinations Shawl,” by Andrea Mowry. Photo © Andrea Mowry

For this project, the six color palette is composed of two three-skein fades for a harmonious colorway. From there, the colors can be arranged in many different ways – I can’t wait to see these shawls take shape!

Of course, you can make an “Inclinations Shawl” even if you didn’t join the HYS Color Club – just pick out six colors you love in Malabrigo Rios.

  

Pictured here are the colorways our HYS Color Club members received, but there are so many other shades of Rios on our shelves – we have 30+ in stock, including Rios Solidos – come by the shop between 11 – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays to pick your own combination!

Scout + Halibut.

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We were delighted to receive a box full of Kelbourne Woolens Scout today, the soft and sturdy wool that’s become a staple in our DK weight section.

Kelbourne Woolens Scout

  • DK weight
  • 2ply, worsted spun
  • 100% wool
  • 274 yards/100 grams
  • $18 each

Caitlin Hunter’s recent “Halibut” sweater makes good use of Scout – as does the “Halibut Hat” and “Halibut Cowl,” a trio of colorwork patterns with a delightfully large fish motif.

“Halibut,” by Caitlin Hunter. Photo © Caitlin Hunter

You’ll need a high contrast color combination to show the pattern clearly – here are a few ideas!

In case halibut aren’t your cup of tea, here are a few other 2-color patterns suitable for Scout.

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Scout in the DK weight section here at our shop – we’re open from 11:00 am – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. You can also order online for local pickup or shipping – just use our online order form!

Loft and Spindrift + Kellister.

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As I was putting together pattern recommendations to go with our recent Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift restock, I took a shine to Gudrun Johnston’s “Kellister.”

“Kellister,” by Gudrun Johnston. Photo © Gudrun Johnston

The classic fair isle XO pattern, the perfectly subtle slouch, the combination of neutrals and warm autumn shades – it spoke to me, and got me thinking about combining Brooklyn Tweed Loft and Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for a few more colorways.

You’ll need more yardage in the main color than the three contrast colors, but one skein of BT Loft is enough to cover it; the cost for 1 Loft and 3 Spindrift is $46.35.

We have 35+ shades of Loft on our shelves and 150+ shades of Shetland Spindrift – plenty to make your own unique “Kellister” color combinations! Come by the shop to see them all, or order online for local pickup or shipping if one of these colorways is right up your alley.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Fjord.

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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

This month’s special colorway is Fjord, muted but colorful – look closely and you’ll see shades of plum, rose, navy, denim, copper, wheat, sage, and more.

What to knit with highly variegated skeins like these? Woolly Wormhead’s entire “Get Garter” pattern collection comes to mind, an introduction to sideways hat construction, all knit in variegated fingering weight yarns.

Another Woolly Wormhead pattern caught my eye, too – “Square Cubed” is a colorwork hat decorated with small square motifs, which means we’ll need plenty of contrast to show the pattern clearly.

I think these shades of Kelbourne Woolens Camper, Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, and Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering will do the trick, having looked at the photo in black and white to better assess the color value.

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

Avena.

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Jennifer Steingass is a designer known for her colorwork yoke sweater patterns, and her latest has been popular here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

“Avena,” by Jennifer Steingass, photo © Jennifer Steingass

“Avena” calls for worsted weight yarn in three shades – one main color and two contrast colors that are similar in value – but we’ve already met several knitters who are planning intriguing variations. Some are holding two strands of fingering weight together to create their own marled shade for the contrast color, one picked out a Neighborhood Fiber Co. Ombré Mini Bundle for the contrast color, and others are working the sweater in just two solid shades. It got me thinking of another idea – why not pair a solid main color and a marled, self-striping contrast color, the likes of Malabrigo Rios Solidos and Reynolds Odyssey?

Reynolds Odyssey is a marled, self-striping wool in low-contrast color combinations, so it reads almost solid from a distance. Above is a swatch Anne knit with Odyssey, so you can get a sense of how the colors gently fluctuate. Here are some color combinations I came up with!

Malabrigo Rios Solidos: worsted weight, solid, industrially dyed colors (no need to alternate skeins!), 100% superwash merino wool, 210 yards/100g; $15.95 each – you’ll need  5-9 skeins for the main color, depending upon your size

Reynolds Odyssey: worsted weight, marled, self-striping, 100% merino wool, 104 yards/50 g; $10 each – you’ll need 2-3 balls for the contrast color, depending upon your size

Want to knit an “Avena” of your own? Look for these and many other options here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we’re happy to help you calculate yardage and brainstorm color ideas!

Koigu Collector’s Club: Cottage Breakfast.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 20 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

This month’s special colorway is Cottage Breakfast, a muted rainbow of pastels with a few dark streaks of plum, navy, and gold.

A variegated colorway like this really shines when paired with a solid, and Kelbourne Woolens Camper comes in several shades that complement Cottage Breakfast.

I created these pairings with the chevron “ZickZack Scarf” in mind, a popular free pattern that has served many knitters well over the years.

Look for Cottage Breakfast and other Koigu colors in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We’re also happy to take your order online for local pickup or shipping.

Silk Mohair + Quarry.

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Isager Silk Mohair is the newest yarn here at our shop, a fine and fluffy yarn that plays well with others. We are particularly enthused about pairing it with Brooklyn Tweed Quarry, a woolen spun yarn found in our bulky weight section. Silk Mohair brings softness and a fuzzy halo to Quarry, which is lofty and structured, ideal for a cozy winter sweater.

Anne knit up a simple hat with this alluring combination, following Earth Guild’s “Super Simple Circular Hat Calculator.”

  • Isager Silk Mohair: lace weight, 70% kid mohair, 30% silk, 233 yards/25 g, $16 each
  • Brooklyn Tweed Quarry: bulky weight, 100% Targhee-Columbia wool, 200 yards/100 g, $25 each

One skein of each will make a hat like Anne’s; here are some more pattern ideas for this yarn pairing!

Look for Isager Silk Mohair in the lace weight section and Brooklyn Tweed Quarry in the bulky weight section – see you at the shop!