Tag Archives: kelbourne woolens

Yarn ideas for Laura Nelkin’s Open Minds MKAL.

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A knitter recently brought our attention to Laura Nelkin’s upcoming mystery knit-along, Open Minds, asking if we could help put some yarns together. I’m always happy to help make suggestions for just the right yarn and color combinations, but a mystery knit-along is usually a little tricky. After all, how to choose colors for a project you can’t see? Luckily, Laura Nelkin has made it simple with a video explaining how much contrast is needed, and in which yarns. I watched carefully and had fun putting together the following color combinations:

Each of these bundles includes the following:

  • 1 skein Kelbourne Woolens Perennial: light fingering weight, 60% superwash merino, 25% suri alpaca, 15% nylon, 497 yards/100 g; $26 each – this will be the MC (main color)
  • 1 skein Ella Rae Lace Merino: light fingering weight, hand-dyed, 100% superwash merino, 460 yards/100g; $23 each – this will stand in for the MS (mini-skeins)
  • 2 skeins Shibui Silk Cloud: lace weight, 60% kid mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each – this will be the LY (lace yarn)

The total cost is $102, and Laura Nelkin’s pattern is sold separately on her website. To get the yarn from us, order online for local pickup or shipping!

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Camper!

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We’re excited to announce that Kelbourne Woolens has a brand new yarn, and we’ve got it right here at our shop – meet Camper!

Kelbourne Woolens Camper:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% wool
  • 200 yards/50 g
  • $9.50 each

Camper is a lighter weight version of KW’s popular Scout, and comes in all the same solid and heathered colors. The fine weight, soft but sturdy fiber content, and smaller 50g skeins make it perfect for stranded colorwork, which is illustrated beautifully in the new Camper Collection!

“Laurel Hill,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn – colorwork hat

The design team at Kelbourne Woolens has dreamed up seven colorwork patterns for Camper, including hats, mittens, a scarf, and stunning sweaters for adults and children.

“Presque Isle,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn – colorwork pullover

“Moreau Lake,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn – colorwork mittens

“Cumberland Falls,” by Courtney Kelley – colorwork cardigan

“Selbu Modern 2.0,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn – colorwork hat

“Baxter Peak,” by Kate Gagnon Osborn – colorwork pullover, ages 6 months – 10 years

“Ridley Creek,” by Courtney Kelley – colorwork hat and scarf

To sweeten the deal, the first purchases of Camper from our shop will come with a download code for a free Kelbourne Woolens pattern. Head to our online order form to place your requests!

 

Camper Collection pattern photos by Linette Kielinski / Team Kielinski.

Hello, Germantown Unicorns!

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We’re pleased to have a special new limited edition yarn from Kelbourne Woolens – meet Germantown Unicorns!

Kelbourne Woolens Germantown Unicorns:

  • worsted weight
  • marled
  • 100% wool
  • 220 yards/100g
  • $16 each

Germantown Unicorns are made from mill ends in the spinning process, combining two shades of Germantown for a unique marl.

Each skein is enough for a hat, and the folks at Kelbourne Woolens have designed one for every month of the year. Even better, every one of these patterns is free to download from Ravelry – look there for “January,” “February,” “March,” “April,” “May,” “June,” “July,” “August,” “September,” “October,” “November,” and “December.” This collection shows Germantown’s versatility in a variety of techniques, from ribbing and texture to cables and lace to stripes and colorwork.

These colorful new skeins got me thinking about Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” again, that ever-popular slip-stitch shawl – mixing up the Unicorns with solid shades of Germantown makes for exciting new combinations! Here are a few ideas.

Pick your favorite colors and order online for local pickup or shipping!

New colors in Kelbourne Woolens Andorra!

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We’re delighted to have five new colors of Kelbourne Woolens Andorra!

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra:

  • sport weight
  • 60% merino wool, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair
  • 185 yards/50 g
  • $12 each

Andorra is a bouncy sport weight blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair. It’s a wooly, lustrous 2-ply with a medium twist, not too tight or loose, and especially after knitting, it looks pleasantly fuzzy – perfect for colorwork knitting!

Members of our HYS Hat Club got two skeins of Andorra in their most recent bundles, contrasting colors to make Tressa Weidenaar’s “Pyramid Hike Hat.” The pattern is named for Pyramid Peak in Weidenaar’s home state of New Mexico, and the colorwork motif suggests high mountains and wide, clear skies.

I had fun putting these combinations together with the “Pyramic Hike Hat” in mind – there are so many possibilities with all these colors!

Here are a few other intriguing patterns for Andorra:

Order online for local pickup or shipping! We’re still closed to walk-in browsing, but are otherwise here for orders and pickups between 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays. Thanks for your support!

Courage Shawl.

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Shannon Cook’s “Courage Shawl” has been a popular one at our shop, and though we don’t carry exactly the marled, self-striping yarn it calls for, we’ve always come up with appealing substitutes. This pattern came to my mind again recently as I rediscovered Reynolds Odyssey, a marled, self-striping wool that’s been hiding in plain sight in our worsted weight section for years!

Reynolds Odyssey:

  • worsted weight
  • marled, self-striping
  • 100% merino wool
  • 104 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

The “Courage Shawl” is made with three colors: two solid shades, and one of these marled self-stripers. For the solids, I went with the hearty Kelbourne Woolens Germantown and the oh-so-soft Austermann Merino Silk.

Austermann Merino Silk:

  • worsted weight
  • 70% merino, 22% silk, 8% cashmere
  • 125 yards/50 g
  • $10 each

I had so much fun putting these “Courage Shawl” colorways together, and naming them after different kinds of courage – I hope you like them, too! Each of these bundles is $65, the pattern is an additional $7.

Order online to make a “Courage Shawl” of your own!

Back in stock: Kelbourne Woolens Perennial.

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We recently restocked some of the most popular colors of Kelbourne Woolens Perennial, a soft and fuzzy fingering weight yarn.

Kelbourne Woolens Perennial:

  • light fingering weight
  • 60% superwash merino, 25% Suri alpaca, 15% nylon
  • 497 yards/100g
  • $26 each

The folks at Kelbourne Woolens have designed this yarn to be something of a staple – soft from the alpaca but sturdy from the nylon, easy care on account of the superwash merino, suitable for all kinds of projects.

Browsing through Perennial projects on Ravelry, Joji Locatelli’s “Cedar Pullover” caught my eye – though it originally called for a linen yarn held double, several knitters had made it with Perennial held double. This got me thinking… wouldn’t it be lovely to hold Perennial together with a linen yarn? A little bit of fuzz, a bit of cool drape – a balanced fiber blend for a three-season sweater.

For nearly matching colors that would bring depth and a hint of marled variation to the knitted fabric, I looked to Shibui Koan. It’s also a light fingering weight, composed of 70% linen and 30% silk, with 247 yards/50 g; $21 each.

Knitters on Ravelry have also used Perennial for Caitlin Hunter’s “Navelli,” a cropped, short-sleeved colorwork pullover. Since the main color requires so much more yardage than the contrast colors, I picked pairs of Isager Alpaca 2, which comes in smaller skeins.

Isager Alpaca 2 is composed of 50% alpaca, 50% merino, with 275 yards on each 50 g skein; $12 each.

Order online if one of these “Cedar Pullover” or “Navelli” colorways intrigues you, or if you’d like to see a special combination just for you! Just let us know what size you’re planning and we’ll double check the yardage requirements.

We’re happy to help you plan your next project, and can ship your order or hold it here at the shop for local pickup. Thanks for supporting our small business!

Andorra + Tweed Silk Cloud.

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We recently replenished our supply of Kelbourne Woolens Andorra, a bouncy sport weight blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra:

  • sport weight
  • 60% merino wool, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair
  • 185 yards/50 g
  • $12 each

Not long ago, I put together some color combinations for a knitter interested in combining Andorra with a lace weight mohair for Jacqueline Cieslak’s “Water Born” headwrap. I noticed that the Andorra color palette lined up beautifully with Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud, matching in places or providing a bit of contrast and interest in others.

Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud:

What else to make with these delightful pairs? Check out PetiteKnit’s “Anker’s Hat,” Isabell Kraemer’s “Leni” hat, or Emily Luis’s “Frida” headband.

Anxious to get some mohair on your needles? Order online for local pickup or shipping! We’ll be closed on January 1, but are otherwise here for orders and pickups between 11:00 am – 3:00 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays.

Show and tell: HYS Hat Club!

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Before we get into today’s show and tell, a reminder: the shop is closed for a Thanksgiving break from November 25 – 30. We’ll be back in the shop for phone calls, emails, and pickups on Tuesday, December 1. Feel free to place orders during our closure, but know that we won’t be monitoring our inbox until December 1 – thanks for understanding! Enjoy the holiday.

We’re two months into the HYS Hat Club, a subscription of thoughtfully curated hat projects for knitters. It’s been so fun selecting patterns, yarns, and colors for our members, but even better to see their completed hats! Let’s take a look.

Pat’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Seaglass.

October’s pattern was “Gault,” by Jared Flood, a textured hat knit with two skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. This design was just published in BT’s new Terre: Verdant collection, a group of patterns inspired by the lush vegetation of a well-tended garden.

Cassie’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Norway.

Beth’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Humpback.

Arbor’s wooly softness and elasticity is ideal for making hats, and its excellent stitch definition shows Flood’s waffle texture pattern with precision.

Emily’s “Gault,” knit with BT Arbor in Firebrush.

November’s pattern was, fittingly, “November Hat,” by Meghan Kelly, a cable and twisted stitch hat knit with 1 skein of Kelbourne Woolens Germantown.

Beth’s “November Hat,” knit with KW Germantown in Tan.

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

Pat’s “November Hat,” knit with KW Germantown in Persian Red.

Thanks so much to Pat, Cassie, Beth, and Emily for sharing their HYS Hat Club projects with us! If you’d like to join the HYS Hat Club for Quarter 2, starting in January, keep an eye out – we’ll be announcing the signup period early in December.

Wishing everyone a happy Thanksgiving! We know it will be a very different holiday this year for most of us; hope it finds you safe and sound, with time for stitching.

Back in stock: Kelbourne Woolens Scout.

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Mills around the world have been closed or working at lower capacity due to COVID-19, causing delays in shipping and short supply on some of our favorite yarns. Kelbourne Woolens Scout is one such yarn, but after months of waiting, we are delighted to have it back in stock!

Kelbourne Woolens Scout

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

Marie Greene’s new “Soundtrack” is a circular yoke pullover, knit from the top-down in 2 shades of Scout. It was the subject of a recent Knit-Along, so hundreds of knitters have already made it, though it’s very recently published – this means you can see lots of great color combinations on Ravelry! Here are some more ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

New colors in Kelbourne Woolens Mojave.

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Last week brought five new colors in Kelbourne Woolens Mojave!

Mojave is a sport weight blend of 60% cotton and 40% linen, with 185 yards on each 50 gram skein. It’s composed of five tiny 2ply yarns twisted together, for a yarn that’s smooth and soft but also strong, with the beautiful drape we expect from plant fiber yarns.

Mojave is perfect for warm weather stitching – here are some ideas for knitters and crocheters!

Knit with Mojave:

Crochet with Mojave:

Order online for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail Shipping – do so during July for 15% off!

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