Tag Archives: hats

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

Posted by on

Time for another round of show and tell! We love to see what you all are making with yarn from our shop, and when I’m able, I take pictures so that I can share those projects here on the blog. Looking over my current collection of show and tell photos, I spotted three in Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, which is currently 10% off as it’s featured in our BT Sample of the Month. With its soft hand, bold colors, and superb stitch definition, Peerie is worth celebrating – here are a few great ways to use it!

Above is Pam’s “Butterfly / Papillon,” a striking shawl decorated with short rows, which she knit using six shades of Peerie.

Emily was in a mood for colorwork one day, and came by the shop to select an open-ended palette of Peerie for hat-making. She wound up knitting two “Lucerne” hats and a “Bousta Beanie,” two of our favorite fingering weight colorwork hat patterns. These are great fun, whether you’re trying stranded knitting for the first time or just in a colorwork mood, like Emily!

Margaretta has worked with Peerie several times now, coming back again and again for the smoothness, bounce, and stitch definition.

This is her “Ensata Scarf,” rich with twisted stitches, texture, and lace, all of which shine in this special yarn.

Thanks to Pam, Emily, and Margaretta for sharing their work with us, and thanks to everyone who starts their projects with a trip to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next. If these talented knitters have inspired you, come by the shop during February to get Brooklyn Tweed Peerie at 10% off!

 

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges. Thanks! 

New Brooklyn Tweed Kits!

Posted by on

Just in time for last minute gift shopping, we’ve put together brand new kits featuring Brooklyn Tweed Peerie!

Each kit includes a “Cloudline” hat pattern and 2 skeins of Peerie, Brooklyn Tweed’s fingering weight merino wool. For this beginner-friendly pattern, two different shades of Peerie are held together throughout, creating a marled fabric.

“Cloudline” is from the new BT by Brooklyn Tweed collection, a line of concise, beginner-level patterns.

We’ve made up a couple of kits in the color combination shown in the pattern, and created four more of our own!

Swing by to see the colorways we came up with and pick one out for a knitting friend this holiday season!

Back in stock, show and tell: Shetland.

Posted by on

The appetite for Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift and colorwork knitting in general seems to be growing, if our frequent Jamieson’s orders are any indication. We recently unpacked yet another big box of Shetland Spindrift, a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool, which has brought our selection up to 160+ colors at the moment!

It’s fitting, then that Marie Wallin’s Shetland is back in stock! This exquisite book is full of intricate fair isle designs in a kaleidoscopic array of colors, all knit with the quintessential Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. We still have a couple of copies of her newest book, Meadow, as well.

What else to make with Shetland Spindrift? Two knitters we know have recently completed colorwork hats with it, an excellent use of one of our favorite yarns.

Above is Sue’s “Roadside Beanie,” knit during a recent class here at the shop. Below is Joanne’s “Alba.” Both of these knitters have become somewhat smitten with Shetland Spindrift, developing collections of the stuff for colorwork swatching and projects, and they’re not alone – give it a try and see if you don’t feel the same way!

Look for Shetland on the teacart here at the shop, amidst piles of new books and magazines, full of inspiration for new projects, and you’ll find Shetland Spindrift in our fingering weight section. See you there!

Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month: BT Kids.

Posted by on

Our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month for November is here! Come by this month to see selections from the BT Kids collection.

When we were planning our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month program, Anne was especially excited to see “Atlas (For Kids),” a colorwork yoke that called her grandchildren to mind. When Kel at Brooklyn Tweed offered to lend us anything from the BT Kids collection, we jumped – you’ll find six pieces on display this month!

All of them are knit with Loft, Brooklyn Tweed’s signature fingering weight, woolen-spun yarn. It comes in 45 colors and we’re delighted to report that we have them all in stock. Even better, we’re offering them at 10% off during November!

We’ll be closed for a Thanksgiving break from Wednesday, November 27 – Monday, December 2, reopening at our regular business hours on Tuesday, December 3, so if you’re anxious to see these samples and get Loft at a discount, plan your visit accordingly. We hope to see you soon!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, returns, or special orders. Thanks!

On our needles: Brooklyn Tweed Ranch.

Posted by on

One of the perks of working at the shop is knitting with exciting new yarns, sometimes even before they are available on our shelves. For the past couple of weeks behind the scenes, Anne and I have both been working with Ranch 02, the latest small batch, ranch-specific yarn from Brooklyn Tweed. Take a look at what’s been on our needles!

I’ve just completed Jared Flood’s “Tillage Hat,” a new design for BT Ranch 02, and a cousin to his “Tillage” pullover. I chose a light color to be sure all the texture and cables would show well, somewhat uncertain about the stitch definition of a woolen-spun yarn. I needn’t have worried, however, as this 3 ply yarn is nice and round, and shows texture beautifully.

Ranch 02 is great fun to knit with, springy and light in the hand, and makes such a soft, cohesive fabric.

Anne has had both Ranch 01 and Ranch 02 on her needles of late, and chose the same pattern for both. “When In Scotland” is a triangular garter stitch shawl, a lovely project for letting the yarn shine.

For the first shawl, she used Ranch 01, a worsted spun Rambouillet wool in naturally dyed shades.

She used Ranch 02 for the second shawl, and marveled at the difference between the two yarns.

Despite all they have in common – their fiber content, gauge, and number of plies – they differ in spinning method. Ranch 01 is worsted spun and Ranch 02 is woolen spun, making the former heavier and more smooth, and the latter lighter and more squishy. You can learn all about worsted and woolen spun yarns on Brooklyn Tweed’s website; they’ve written at length about how each kind of yarn is produced and what the difference is in the knitted fabric.

Come by the shop to see Ranch 02 and all of Brooklyn Tweed’s offerings – we have every yarn they make, and binders full of their patterns. There’s even some Ranch 01 left on our shelves!

See you at the shop!

Show and tell: colorwork hats.

Posted by on

We love to see finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and when I’m able, I love to photograph them and share them here on the blog. At the moment, I have enough photos stockpiled for at least four blog posts – let’s begin with colorwork hats!

Kerry designed and knit the “Rionnag Hat” above with Tukuwool Fingering, a match for her “Rionnag Cowl” pattern.

Above is Peggy’s “Selbu Modern,” knit with Fibre Co. Cumbria Fingering. This high contrast combination of navy and cream is so striking, and really pairs well with the repeating motif.

Kate knit this “Slalom Ski Hat” with Kelbourne Woolens Andorra, another high contrast combination well suited to the graphic motif at hand.

Nancy knit this “Frances Hat” with Swans Island All American Sport, a good example of the lovely effect that semisolid hand dyed yarn has on a colorwork project.

Our Nancy does love colorwork – here’s another hat she knit, the “Roadside Beanie” in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. She taught a class on this one, which means I expect to see more “Roadside Beanies” as they come off her students’ needles – always fun to see variations on a theme.

Thanks to the knitters, crocheters, and weavers who bring in their work to show us what they’ve made! You inspire and amaze us, and we can’t wait to see what you get into next. Keep an eye on this blog for more show-and-tell soon!

New colors in Kelbourne Woolens Germantown.

Posted by on

Last week, a big box arrived from Kelbourne Woolens, packed full of their worsted weight wool, Germantown. Inside were six new colors, plus a handful of colors we’d sold out of.

Germantown is a recreation of a classic wool that had been produced in Germantown, Pennsylvania, under a few different brand names since the mid-to-late 19th century. Made of 100% North American wool, Germantown is a worsted spun, worsted weight yarn with a smooth texture, soft hand, and nice elasticity.

The Kelbourne Woolens team see this yarn as a classic basic wool for beginners as well as more advanced stitchers – easy to work with, with good stitch definition, but at a reasonable price for a domestically-produced yarn of this quality.

These new colors are a playful mix of brights and pastels, one that fits beautifully into the existing Germantown color palette. 

© Kelbourne Woolens

One skein is enough for a hat, and the folks at Kelbourne Woolens are designing one for every month of this year. Even better, every one of these patterns is free to download from Ravelry – look there for “January,” “February,” “March,” “April,” and “May,” and stay tuned for the rest of their Year of Hats!

See you at the shop!

Roadside Beanie kits.

Posted by on

The shop is buzzing with excitement about the “Roadside Beanie,” Shetland Wool Week’s featured pattern for 2019. Nancy will be teaching a class on it, and we’ve just made up kits in several colorways with Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

The pattern shows the hat in four different Shetland yarns, including one in Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift. I’ve made up several kits in the suggested Shetland Spindrift colorway, another in shades similar to the Jamieson & Smith colorway, and two more of Anne’s design – shades of gray with pops of blue or purple.

Come by the shop to pick out a kit, or select your own color combination – we keep over 100 shades of Shetland Spindrift in stock, so the possibilities are plentiful.

See you there!

Weel Riggit.

Posted by on

© Kate Davies

Kate Davies has designed just two patterns so far for her newest yarn, Àrd Thìr. They are both named “Weel Riggit,” which means “well dressed” in Scots and Shetland dialects.

© Kate Davies

The sweater pattern is currently exclusive to Davies’ club, but eventually it will be available as a single pattern. The “Weel Riggit Hat,” on the other hand, is available to purchase from Ravelry, and has been the subject of much discussion here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop since Àrd Thìr arrived!

Color A: Kiloran, B: Ardnave, C: Vatersay, D: Luskentyre.

Color A: Camusdarach, B: Firemore, C: Huisinis, D: Kintra.

Davies’ pattern shows the hat in two colorways, both of which share a certain logic: color A (pictured here on the right) is much lighter in value than the three contrast colors, B, C, and D, which are themselves similar in value. With this strategy in mind, I’ve created a few more “Weel Riggit” color combinations.

Color A: Camusdarach, B: Luskentyre, C: Ardnave, D: Huisinis.

Color A: Luskentyre, B: Vatersay, C: Kiloran, D: Camusdarach.

Color A: Huisinis, B: Kintra, C: Veyatie, D: Glamaig.

After much deliberation, I decided to knit my own “Weel Riggit” hat in the colorway shown at the very top of this post, in Davies’ “Weel Riggit Pullover.”

Color A: Ardnave, B: Camusdarach, C: Kiloran, D: Vatersay.

I’m so pleased with the outcome – the experience of knitting it was satisfyingly quick, and the finished hat blocked beautifully, relaxing and softening an already lovely fabric.

You can read more about Davies’ design process on her blog, where she also discusses a bit of the history and cultural context for “Weel Riggit.” Come by the shop to see this “Weel Riggit” hat on display, and to pick four shades for your own!

Show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Peerie.

Posted by on

I’m back with more show and tell, focused this time on accessories and garments knit with Brooklyn Tweed Peerie. Peerie is one of the four yarns featured in our current BT Wool People 12 Trunk Show, so it seems fitting to share some of the projects folks are making with this special yarn.

Kathryn knit this “Lucerne” hat with Peerie, enlisting her young daughter’s help in selecting colors. I love what they came up with, as well as Kathryn’s description of Peerie – “supernaturally springy.”

Elsbeth knit this “Architexture” scarf with Peerie and came back for more to make another one, an excellent endorsement of yarn and pattern alike. Peerie’s smooth, round texture is perfect for showing off knit and purl texture patterns like those featured here.

Margaretta has also been charmed by Peerie, having used it to knit both the “Afton” scarf above and the “Hazelfern” socks below.

Both of these texture-rich patterns were thoughtfully designed by Jared Flood, and Margaretta appreciated the quality and clarity of the patterns as much as the yarn.

Jane knit this impressive “Butterfly / Papillon” shawl with six shades of Peerie during Nancy’s recent class here at the shop.

I’m particularly struck by Jane’s unique color combination, a balance of warm and cool colors, light and dark. Well done, Jane!

Here’s Ruth in her “Boardwalk,” knit with Peerie in a cheery pink shade. This pattern has been a popular one, whether knit in Peerie or in Loft, in part because of how wearable it is. The design is clever and flattering, a layer that manages to look both smart and casual.

Thanks to Kathryn, Elsbeth, Margaretta, Jane, and Ruth for sharing these knits with us, and to everyone whose projects begin with trips to our shop.

Come by before March 3rd to see the Wool People 12 Trunk Show and get 10% off Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, Loft, Vale, and Arbor. See you there!

 

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges or returns. Thanks!