New from MJ Yarns, part 2.

Posted by Julia on January 2, 2017

I’ll continue this virtual unpacking of our recent MJ Yarns shipment with the newest yarn at the shop: say hello to the Simple Sock mini-skeins.

These 50 yard mini-skeins are semi-solid colors hand-dyed on a fingering weight blend of Corriedale wool and nylon, machine-washable and sturdy enough for socks.

They’re perfect for small, decorative projects, like Churchmouse’s “Jolly Wee Elf,” Kate Gagnon Osborn’s “Holiday Cheer Ornaments,” Tanis Lavalee’s “Love You Forever” hearts, or Anna Hrachovec’s “Tiny Fox” and “Tiny Owl.”

Any of you out there working on “Beekeeper’s Quilts” with your fingering weight leftovers? A handful of Simple Sock mini-skeins could augment your collection, provide a little pop of color. The smallest toddler size of Kathryn Folkerth’s “Badlands Mitts” calls for just 50 yards, too!

Mini-skeins like these are also well-suited to striped or fair-isle socks or mitts, many-colored shawls, hats, or cowls. Consider Melanie Berg’s “Solaris,” Martina Behm’s “Leftie,” and Joji Locatelli’s “Fine Tune.” Here are a couple of combinations I dreamed up with no particular pattern in mind, just an impulse to play with the colors at hand.

Look for a basket full of MJ Yarns Simple Sock mini-skeins in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and create color combinations all your own! See you there.

New from MJ Yarns, part 1.

Posted by Julia on December 29, 2016

A couple of weeks ago, we got a big box from MJ Yarns in Lafayette, Colorado. It was stuffed with colorful hand-dyed yarns, half of them new shades in a familiar base and the other half a new yarn altogether. For today, we’ll look at that first half: new colors in Opulent Fingering.

Opulent Fingering is a tightly-plied blend of 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon, with 416 yards on each 100 gram skein. It’s perfect for a special pair of socks, a cowl, shawl, or pair of mitts.

MJ Yarns specializes in variegated and semi-solid colorways, some of which have short color runs to minimize pooling. Others, like the shades in the new Weird Sisters line, are dyed specifically with pooling in mind, and create a unique spiral stripe throughout socks, mitts, or other small circumference knits.

The Weird Sisters’ color names are as colorful as the skeins, inspired by the witches from Shakespeare’s Macbeth. For more information about how to manipulate the colors in these unique skeins, along with a free sock pattern, head to the MJ Yarns website. I also spotted the “Weird Sisters Hat” on Ravelry, a simple stockinette number designed to show off these very colorways.

Look for Opulent Fingering in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and keep your eye on the blog to see what else was in our box from MJ Yarns! See you at the shop.

Hello, Swans Island Firefly.

Posted by Julia on December 21, 2016

A special new yarn arrived at the shop a few weeks ago: meet Firefly, from the Swans Island Ikat Collection.

These unique skeins are hand-dyed using an Indonesian dyeing technique called Ikat. Hanks of undyed merino wool are tied tightly in a few places with cord, and the portions of the skeins that are wrapped resist the dye, creating little white flecks on a semi-solid background.

The yarn looks quite different in knitted fabric than it does in the skein; a wound ball of Firefly offers a little preview of how the color plays out.

Each 100 gram skein of this yarn boasts 525 yards, plenty for a pair of mitts, a hat, cowl, or shawl. Stacy McCrea Warner designed “Aurora,” a set of mitts, hat, and cowl for Firefly using a trio of colors.

Patterns with simple stitch patterns will allow this speckled yarn to shine; think “Hitchhiker,” “Stonington Hat,” or “Still Waters Cowl.” Look for Firefly in the fingering weight section here at the shop – see you there!

Hello, Malabrigo Caracol.

Posted by Julia on December 9, 2016

Back at TNNA in June, we stopped by the Malabrigo booth, eager to see their newest yarn for the first time. Caracol is not only new, but also an unusual yarn, for Malabrigo and the Hillsborough Yarn Shop alike. We were genuinely surprised when we saw it, and I’m happy to report that it’s now on our shelves! Meet Caracol.

Caracol is a super bulky weight yarn with a thick and thin texture, a style we haven’t brought into the shop for a few years now, as preferences for smoother yarns grew. What really sets this yarn apart, though, is that it’s criss-crossed by a thinner yarn before being kettle-dyed in Malabrigo’s signature super-saturated colorways, creating a unique look and texture we’ve just never seen before.

Some skeins are criss-crossed with a black binder thread, giving a stained glass effect, and others with white, for more subtle variation.

We went home from TNNA with a sample skein of Caracol that was handed over to me for sample-knitting. A yarn with this much personality doesn’t need a complicated pattern to show it off, so I knit up a very quick hat and topped it with a very big pom-pom. The pattern is “The Big Hat,” a free download from Ravelry, also suitable for Malabrigo Rasta if smoother yarns are more your speed.

Those who know me know this is not usually my kind of yarn, but I have to say, this was a really fun change of pace! Caracol is squishy, soft as can be, and provides near-instant gratification. Look for it in the super bulky section here at the shop, and remember it when the need for a handmade gift sneaks up at the last minute!

Hello, Alchemy Silk Scarves.

Posted by Julia on November 27, 2016

Many of you know Alchemy as a yarn company, makers of Silken Straw, Sanctuary, Sparky, and Lust. They are all that and more, and we’re delighted to share something new from Alchemy in our Gifts section: hand-painted silk scarves.

Gina Wilde, the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy, has been working with a fair trade collective in Cambodia to produce these silk scarves, and to develop work there centered in indigenous textiles. You can read more about what Gina described to us as her “heart project” on the Alchemy website.

Gina herself paints the scarves, just as she paints Alchemy yarns, and the result is vibrant, elegant, and unusual.

She also creates unique tags for each scarf out of tarot cards, an eye-catching detail that lends an aura of mystery to these special scarves.

If you’re looking for a special handmade gift this holiday season, come check out our new Gifts section, which is where you’ll find these beautiful lightweight scarves. See you there!

Back in stock: Malabrigo.

Posted by Julia on August 23, 2016

Two enormous boxes of Malabrigo yarn arrived at the shop last week, big enough to fill the table in the classroom.

I cut open those behemoths and sorted the yarn by type, stacking colorful bags of Rios, Arroyo, Sock, and Mechita. Before tucking them away in storage, I pulled one skein of each new color to be sure that every available shade is represented in our various Malabrigo cubbies throughout the shop.

Sock and Mechita are the stars of this particular Malabrigo order, with 17 bags of each yarn. Both are fingering weight, superwash merino yarns hand-dyed in those memorable Malabrigo colorways; the difference is just that Sock is plied and Mechita is a single-ply.

Above is our Malabrigo Sock cubby, full again at last.

Here’s our current selection of Mechita, a particularly photogenic bunch of skeins. I spotted some colorways that have never before been seen at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and look forward to seeing how they look when they’re knit or crocheted into fabric.

Look for Malabrigo Sock and Mechita in the fingering weight section, where you’ll also find Malabrigo Finito and Mora. Come by to pick up a skein or two for your next project!

Straw into Gold.

Posted by Julia on June 20, 2016

As I wrote last week from the TNNA showroom floor, catching up with designer Gina Wilde is always one of the highlights of our annual trip to market. She’s the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy yarns, but we love her as much for her funny anecdotes and generous spirit as we do for her luxurious, unique creations.

Her generosity and creativity are now both on display at our shop, in the form of her “Straw Into Gold Shawl,” an elegant piece that she kindly lent to us.

Gina’s “Straw Into Gold Shawl” is knit from the top down, a triangular shawl with feather and fan down the spine and along the bottom edge, with stockinette and garter stripes throughout the body.

Three different Alchemy yarns are used in this piece: Silken Straw, Sparky, and Lust. All three yarns are dyed in the same pale gold shade, “Sand Dollar,” so the stripes are subtle, showing the textural differences between each yarn.

Come by the shop soon to see Gina Wilde’s own “Straw Into Gold Shawl,” for it won’t be with us forever. We have all you need to make it in “Sand Dollar,” along with other colors, and the pattern is free when you buy the Alchemy yarns to make it. See you there!

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!

Vogue Knitting.

Posted by Julia on May 4, 2016

The Spring/Summer 2016 issue of Vogue Knitting is here!

This issue focuses on color, with one collection of knits in white and another in dusty rose.

This article on the growing prevalence of hand-dyed yarns looks like an interesting read, and is accompanied by a collection of colorful patterns featuring hand-painted yarns.

Shawl patterns by Rosemary (Romi) Hill and Heather Zoppetti are accompanied by interviews with each designer, offering some insight into their process.

Come by the shop to pick up a copy of Vogue Knitting for warm-weather knitting inspiration!