Back in stock: Shibui Staccato.

Posted by Julia on August 21, 2016

Our stash of Shibui Staccato had dwindled to a dangerously low number of skeins when – thank goodness! – our order arrived last week.

Staccato is a lustrous blend of 70% superwash merino and 30% silk in a fingering weight. Like Cima, it has a nice high twist, giving it the look of a string of pearls.

Each 50 gram skein has 191 yards, enough for a hat or a pair of mitts; two skeins would make a special pair of socks, and three skeins makes a stunning “3 Color Cashmere Cowl.” Staccato looks to be a stellar shawl or sweater yarn, as well; check out the “Fingering weight” board on our Pinterest page for pattern ideas!

Look for Shibui Staccato in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and peruse our full Shibui selection while you’re here. We keep Silk Cloud, Pebble, Cima, Linen, Twig, Rain, Dune, and Maai in stock, along with two big binders of Shibui patterns!

Isager Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on August 2, 2016

We’re delighted to announce that a new trunk show has arrived to decorate our walls this month! Come by the shop before August 31st to see an array of garments and accessories knit in Isager yarns.

Isager is a Danish yarn company run by designers Marianne Isager and her daughter, Helga Isager.

Their yarns are mostly lace and fingering weight, and often combined two or three strands at a time to create bespoke fiber blends and unique colorways.

Isager has long been a favorite of ours here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop; Anne’s knit a handful of Isager patterns, guided knitters through plenty more, and even traveled to Denmark to study with Marianne and Helga a few years ago.

You’ll find our shop well-stocked with Isager yarns like Alpaca 1, Alpaca 2, Spinni, Tvinni, and Tweed.

We also keep lots of Isager patterns and booklets on hand, covering a wide range of projects, with an emphasis on contemporary knitted garments for adults and children.

Later this month, we’ll introduce a brand new Isager yarn at our Isager Yarn Tasting – sign up now to join us at this exciting event, and come by the shop soon to see the Isager Trunk Show for yourself!

Hello, Scrumptious 4ply/Sport.

Posted by Julia on June 18, 2016

In a blog post a couple of weeks ago, I teased that our big box from Fyberspates held a new yarn we’d never carried before, along with refills on the Fyberspates yarns you’re used to seeing on our shelves. Just what was that new yarn, anyway? Meet Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply/Sport.

Scrumptious 4ply/Sport is a soft, shimmering yarn, made of 55% superwash merino and 45% silk. It’s a bit heavy for a fingering, and a bit light for a sport, hence its fractured name. In our shop, you’ll find it in the sport weight section, but don’t rule it out if your pattern calls for fingering weight yarn; look carefully at the pattern gauge and check to see if it falls in the suggested gauge range of Scrumptious 4ply/Sport–between 24 and 28 stitches over 4 inches.

Anne picked this exquisite color palette, cool pastels and neutrals with dark accents in charcoal and deep cobalt. I think this yarn would make a truly dazzling “Vitamin D,” a drape-front cardigan by Heidi Kirrmaier. Look for more pattern ideas on our Fingering and Sport weight Pinterest boards, or come by the shop to peruse the Scrumptious pattern booklets Jeni Hewlett left with us after her visit to our shop last week.

Come and see us for summer knitting inspiration, and consider Scrumptious 4ply/Sport for your next project!

Prince of Purple.

Posted by Julia on May 22, 2016

Last month, we were saddened by the death of Prince, a bold and innovative musician, songwriter, and producer whose work I respect so much. He has since been memorialized in many ways, and we were surprised and delighted to find one such tribute coming from the world of yarn: Dream in Color created a gradient set in shades of purple, Prince’s signature color. Anne put in a request for as many as we were allowed to order, just 12 for this limited edition run, and I’m happy to report that they’re here!

These Prince of Purple gradient sets are composed of ~1125 yards of Dream in Color Smooshy, a fingering weight superwash merino. Those ~1125 yards are divided into five 2 oz skeins, each one a successively darker shade of purple. There’s enough here for a generous shawl or two, or perhaps even a short-sleeved sweater. Consider Kirsten Kapur’s “Seastripes,” Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s “Aranami Shawl,” Melanie Berg’s “The Joker and the Thief,” Ambah O’Brien’s “Inara Wrap,” or Diana Walla’s “Vasa.” Some of these patterns call for just two colors, while others want six or more, but if you’re creative with your color placement, any of them could work with just these five. Or select a complementary shade in another fingering weight merino to frame them–a pale gray, perhaps, a wild yellow, or good old black.

Come by the shop to snag a Prince of Purple gradient set of your own, or pick one up for a Prince- or purple-loving knitter in your life! We’re also happy to ship anywhere in the US; call us at (919) 732-2128 if you’d like to order a set from afar.

Going-to-Market Sale spotlight: Colinette Jitterbug.

Posted by Julia on May 10, 2016

**************** As of May 30, 2017, we are totally sold out of Colinette Jitterbug ****************

From May 10th – June 5th, we have Colinette and Schulana yarns discounted during our Going-to-Market Sale: single skeins are 30% off, or 40% off when you buy 10 or more! Throughout the sale, I’ll be highlighting some of these yarns and giving ideas for what to make with them. Today: spotlight on Colinette Jitterbug.

Jitterbug has been a well-loved yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and I expect it to be one of the first to sell out during our Going-to-Market Sale. This fingering weight superwash merino is tightly-plied, making it sturdy enough for socks, but soft enough for shawls or baby things. It’s on the robust end of fingering weight, so it still makes a substantial fabric at a larger gauge; knit it tightly for hard-wearing socks or mittens, or go up a few needle sizes for a softly draping fabric.

Consider Elizabeth Zimmermann’s classic “Baby Surprise Jacket,” Martina Behm’s “Hitchiker,” or the “Simple Sock Pattern” that comes printed on the Jitterbug label. Look for more pattern ideas on our “Fingering weight” Pinterest board!

Come by the shop to pick up some Colinette Jitterbug before it disappears, and be sure to check out all our other discounted yarns during the Going-to-Market Sale!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted items. There can be no returns or exchanges, nor special orders–the discount applies only to what we currently have in stock. Thanks!

Swans Island Limited Edition Ikat.

Posted by Julia on April 25, 2016

There’s a brand new, limited edition color in Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering, and we’re delighted to have it here at the shop! These unique blue and white skeins are hand-dyed with natural indigo using an Indonesian dyeing technique called Ikat. Hanks of undyed merino wool are tied tightly with cord, and the portions of the skeins that are wrapped resist the dye, creating a variegated colorway.

Indigo is a pigment rather than a dye, so you can expect to find blue streaks on your hands after knitting with indigo-dyed yarns for a while. Rest assured, it comes off easily with soap and water, and wont continue to crock once you’ve washed your finished project, rinsing til the water runs clear. I’ve written about indigo-dyed yarns here on the blog before; click here to read more.

Each 100 gram skein of this yarn boasts 525 yards, plenty for a pair of mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawl. Patterns with simple stitch patterns will allow this colorful yarn to shine; think “Sumatra Mitts,” “Hitchhiker,” or “Ahull.”

Look for a special Ikat-dyed skein tucked into our basket of Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering. See you at the shop!

New colors in Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton.

Posted by Julia on March 27, 2016

A new batch of colors in Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton now graces our shelves.

Cutthroat Yarn’s Gradients have been warmly welcomed by knitters at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, who are snapping them up for lightweight spring and summer shawls, the likes of “Spearmint Tea,” “Everyday Shawl,” and “Wildheart,” to name a few.

When we heard requests for more blues, greens, and neutral shades, we put it to Jeanette at Cutthroat, and she came up with these four colorways for us.

This run of Gradient Cotton, while maintaining the same yardage, weight, and gauge, is dyed on a different base yarn than the last batch. This a 2-ply fingering weight cotton that’s loosely spun for a soft hand and somewhat rustic texture.

Look for Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton and BFL in the fingering weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Bristol Ivy Collection Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on March 9, 2016

Another Fibre Company Trunk Show has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! From now til March 20th, 2016, we’ll have the Bristol Ivy Collection on display.

All six of these sweaters were designed by Bristol Ivy for Fibre Company Cumbria yarns, three in Cumbria Worsted and three in Cumbria Fingering. Both yarns are composed of merino and masham wools with a bit of mohair, and while plenty soft, they are also quite sturdy.

These designs appear simple at first glance, mainly smooth stockinette trimmed with tidy ribbing, but each one has a clever detail or surprising design element–a bit of lace at the shoulder, a mesh panel at the back, and so on.

Don’t hesitate to ask us to take these sweaters off the wall for a closer look! They’re here to be admired up close and personal, tried on for shape and size. Though we don’t keep print copies of these patterns in stock, they are all available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, where we print a copy for you and a digital copy is stored in your email and Ravelry pattern library.

Come by the shop before March 20th, 2016, to see the Bristol Ivy Collection Trunk Show. We’re offering a 10% discount on Fibre Company Cumbria yarns during the Trunk Show, so come by soon to plan your next project!

A reminder: discount applies to in-stock Cumbria Worsted and Fingering as well as prepaid Cumbria Worsted and Fingering special orders. All sales are final on discounted yarn; there can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks!

Hello, Pairfect Cotton.

Posted by Julia on March 5, 2016

Our latest acquisition here at the shop is one for sock-knitters: meet Schachenmayr Regia Pairfect Cotton.

Pairfect Cotton is a self-patterning fingering weight blend of 72% cotton, 18% nylon, and 10% polyester. You wont usually find fibers like these on our shelves, but for some sock yarns we make an exception to our all-natural-fibers rule. Small percentages of nylon or polyester are often blended into sock yarns for strength, and in this case, also for elasticity.

Occasionally we get requests for a non-wool sock yarn, but we’ve rarely found one that seems to have enough elasticity for sock-making. Though we haven’t knit with it yet, we can feel the elasticity of Pairfect Cotton just by tugging on it a bit; it bounces back in a way 100% cotton never could.

Just like the original woolen version of Pairfect, Pairfect Cotton is designed to make an identical pair of socks, and does so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread. Simply cut off the yellow thread at the beginning, cast on and knit a sock, unwind the yarn til you see another stretch of yellow, and repeat.

Look for Pairfect Cotton and other self-patterning Regia sock yarns here at the shop! See you there.

A new kind of color card.

Posted by Julia on February 27, 2016

By now, you likely know how we feel about Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift: how perfectly suited it is for colorwork knitting, the vast selection of colors, and my fondness for knitting sweaters with it, in spite of–nay, because of!–its rustic texture.

I’ve loved watching our one little basket of Shetland Spindrift grow into three over the years, as more and more knitters work with this classic yarn and ask for more and more colors. We are only too happy to oblige!

Anne recently ordered a set of Shetland Spindrift mini-skeins, one in each available color. We’re not selling these mini-skeins; rather, they’ll live here at the shop and function as a kind of interactive color card.

We can’t keep all 200+ colors in stock, so we keep the Jamieson’s color card on hand to give you a sense of all that’s available for special order.

While the regular color card is a thing of beauty, and very useful indeed, one gets a better sense of any given color when one can see more of it. You may love that heathered green when you see just a little sliver of it, but find that en masse, it’s just a little too yellow for you. The mini-skeins are small, but they’re still bigger than the snippets on the color card, so when you’re picking out a color that we don’t have in stock, ask for the mini-skeins and get a bigger picture before you place your order.

The other nice thing about the mini-skeins is that you can move them around, line up the five colors you need for your colorwork tam or striped vest and see how they look together.

Here’s an example from Kate Davies’ Colours of Shetland, a book I often flip through, daydreaming about sweaters like this “Ursula Cardigan.” First I pulled a set of mini-skeins that resemble what’s shown in the pattern, just to see how they relate to one another. From there, I began playing with alternate colorways, making a couple with a gradient-like trio of contrast colors, and many more that my camera didn’t capture.

This is a very fun game to play, indeed. Next time you’re planning a colorful project in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift, let us pull out the mini-skeins so you can play, too!