Tokyo Shawl.

Posted by Julia on March 27, 2017

A new knit sample appeared on our wall the other day, an eye-catching shawl that Rosi has been working on for quite some time: Marianne Isager’s “Tokyo Shawl.”

“Tokyo Shawl” is a geometric striped shawl knit with Isager Spinni and Alpaca 1 yarns. The Spinni colors change from stripe to stripe, but the Alpaca 1 remains the same, muting and complicating whatever shade of Spinni it’s held with.

Marianne Isager’s “Tokyo Shawl” comes exclusively in kits, in three colorways: “Light,” “Medium,” and “Dark.” Rosi’s sample, shown here, is the “Dark” colorway, an intriguing blend of heathered charcoal and deep jewel tones, with a pop of salmon orange and red.

Come by the shop to admire this shawl and get a tangible sense of what’s possible when you combine yarns and colors. We have all three shades of the “Tokyo Shawl” kit in stock now, too!

See you at the shop!

Hello, Echoview Fiber Mill.

Posted by Julia on March 12, 2016

We’re always on the lookout for locally-sourced yarns, and we’ve already brought a few in this year: Shenandoe Farm and Cutthroat Yarn. I’m delighted to announce that we found another, and that we now carry kits from Echoview Fiber Mill, in Weaverville, North Carolina!

Echoview Fiber Mill is exactly what it sounds like: a fiber processing mill where yarns are made, along with a variety of readymade machine-knits. What sets them apart is their commitment to domestically-sourced fiber and environmentally sound practices; in 2013, theirs was the first manufacturing mill to receive Gold LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

We have two Echoview Knit Kits to choose from, the “Espen” hat and the “Gimli Slouch and Mitts.” The “Espen” kit features a 100% merino wool naturally dyed in what Echoview calls “Coolidge Red,” a replica of a shade once produced at Asheville’s Biltmore Industries in the early 1900’s.

The yarn inside the “Gimli” kit is a DK weight blend of merino and silk with a rustic tweedy look but a soft texture.

Anne also ordered a machine-knit Echoview Fiber Mill blanket to decorate our sofa here at the shop, something to be sure and pet next time you’re here. We’re happy to special order one for you, too; we have sample swatches of all the available colors.

Come by the shop to see these Echoview Fiber Mill Knit Kits for yourself, and to plan your next project!

Schacht Zoom Loom.

Posted by Julia on December 5, 2014

Last week, we announced that the Hillsborough Yarn Shop has become a Schacht dealer, and I promised a closer look at the Schacht products we carry. First up: the Zoom Loom.

The Zoom Loom is Schacht’s littlest loom, a pin loom for weaving small squares of fabric. It comes with clear instructions, and is accessible enough for weavers-to-be from age 10 on up.

Anne has been experimenting with the Zoom Loom, learning to use it and seeing what happens when different fibers and gauges of yarn are used.

What to do with these squares? On their own they can be coasters, or sewn on as pockets. When you make a slew of them, they can be pieced together into scarves, shawls, bags, holiday ornaments, pincushions, blankets, and more. The Schacht website is full of ideas and inspiration for the Zoom Loom, and you’ll find others on our Pinterest “Weaving” board.

The clever Deb Essen, of DJE Handwovens, has come up with another use for Zoom Loom squares: Swatch Critters! Her kits include yarn and instruction for transforming a stack of squares into a stuffed sheep, frog, or dragon, among other creatures. A Zoom Loom and Swatch Critter kit would make a stellar gift this holiday season!

Intrigued? Come by the shop to get a closer look at our weaving supplies. Try your hand at pin-loom weaving on our display Zoom Loom, which has a square in progress, ready to weave. Keep your eye on the blog in the coming weeks for a closer look at the Schacht Cricket Loom. In the meantime, see you at the shop!

Isager “Tokyo” kits.

Posted by Julia on December 3, 2014

If you haunt Ravelry like we do, you may already be aware of Marianne Isager’s latest design: “Tokyo,” a geometric striped shawl knit with her Spinni and Alpaca 1 yarns.

When “Tokyo” caught our eye, we learned that the pattern is only available in kit form. What could we do but order some for the shop?

“Tokyo” comes in three colorways, “Light,” “Medium,” and “Dark,” and we now have one of each on the shelf.

We spotted the “Dark” colorway advertised in the latest issue of Twist Collective, an intriguing blend of heathered charcoal and deep jewel tones, with a pop of salmon orange and red.

If you’ve been seeking a “Tokyo” kit, know that you can get it here, or send someone who loves you to the shop to get you a special holiday gift. See you there!

Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show.

Posted by Julia on October 23, 2014

We’re thrilled to announce that the Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show arrived early, giving us more time to enjoy these ten beautiful garments!

Hanne Falkenberg is a Danish designer whose patterns come in kits with her signature Shetland yarn, and are often made in garter stitch with flattering short-row shaping and colorful stripes. They are always constructed in surprising ways to intrigue the knitter and compliment the wearer.

Over the years, we’ve had a few Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Shows, each time getting different designs in different colorways. This group includes Falkenberg’s very newest, “Ypsilon,” a short sleeved cardigan decorated with flattering vertical stripes.

We always have a handful of Falkenberg kits in stock at the shop, though the selection changes from time to time.

As I’m writing this, we have “Lascala,” “Luna,” “Lastrada,” and “Mariager” on the shelf, and now “Ypsilon” joins the ranks, in three different color combinations.

There may well be another Falkenberg design you like, or a colorway you prefer; we’re more than happy to order it for you. In fact, during the Trunk Show, we’re offering a 20% discount to those who prepay for their Hanne Falkenberg kit orders!

Come by the shop before November 9th to admire these clever garments, try them on, and place your order!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges and no returns. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!

Mountain Colors boot-topper kits.

Posted by Julia on January 28, 2014

Another collection of knitting kits has arrived from Mountain Colors!

Based in Montana, Mountain Colors is a small yarn company that has been hand-dyeing yarn for almost twenty years. In the past couple of months, we’ve gotten Mountain Colors kits for headbands and colorwork mittens. This latest kit is for fair isle boot toppers.

Come by the shop to see all our kits from Mountain Colors and others!

Mountain Colors headband kits.

Posted by Julia on December 29, 2013

A knit or crocheted headband is a practical accessory, but not one that we see tons of patterns for; hats are far more common. For those with cold ears and ponytails, however, headbands are far superior to hats, and much more likely to be worn. From Mountain Colors: a headband kit that knits up quickly, using super bulky yarn.

There are four headband patterns included in each kit, and enough yarn to make one headband.

The yarn is Mountain Colors Bozeman, a thick-and-thin variegated wool that knits at about 2 stitches per inch on US #15 needles. We ordered 10 colors, from mossy greens and rich blues to warm reds and browns.

Treat yourself to a Mountain Colors headband kit, and remember them when you’re seeking a knitterly gift, as well. See you at the shop!

Julep B.

Posted by Julia on December 15, 2013

We just got some brand new kits from Julep B. featuring Classic Elite Firefly!

Firefly is a sport weight blend of rayon and linen, lustrous fibers that drape beautifully, making the yarn perfectly suited to shawl-knitting.

We have Julep B. shawl kits in two styles, “Lillian” and “Sylvia.” Each kit contains a shawl pattern and enough yarn to complete it, and all of the above is contained in a sweet muslin project bag.

Kits make great gifts, as they the guesswork out of pairing yarn and pattern, all the while looking nice and neat in their packaging. Come by the shop to pick up a Julep B. kit and check out the rest of our kit selection, including hats, scarves, mitts, and more. See you there!

Hanne Falkenberg hat kits.

Posted by Julia on July 18, 2013

Hanne Falkenberg is a Danish knitwear designer whose patterns come in kits with her signature shetland wool yarn. You may have seen some of her designs in person at our Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Show last Fall, when a group of finished garments were lent to us so that knitters interested in Falkenberg kits could admire the sweaters and try them on for size. Her colorful Lascala scarf has been hanging on our wall for some time now, intriguing knitters with its garter and slip stitch colorwork. Here is the smallest Hanne Falkenberg project yet: a hat, perfect for dipping your toe into Falkenberg’s clever designs.

The body of the hat is knit in stripes, though you can’t see it in this picture; the black stripes are knit in reverse stockinette, and the blue stripes are knit in stockinette, which recedes behind the reverse stockinette stripes like an accordion.

The result is a cozy, stretchy, textured hat that fits snugly and is long enough to pull down over your ears to keep the cold away. Winter accessories like this make for great summer knitting, if seemingly counterintuitive. It’s small enough not to feel heavy as you work on it, and will certainly be ready to wear when the cold weather reappears.

We recently got a shipment of kits to make these hats in all manner of color combinations, from the subdued to the whimsical.

Come by the shop to try the hat on for yourself, and get one of the kits at 15% off during our Annual Inventory Sale!

Claudia Hand Painted Yarns. Again.

Posted by Julia on November 22, 2011

We first welcomed Claudia Hand Painted Yarns to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop only a few months ago, but already it’s been such a hit that we decided to order more. We made up a few more kits for the Double Silk T-Shirt and Cardigan, replacing the color combinations that flew out of the shop when we first got them in stock. We also made up kits for the Warm Me Up pullover sweater, also knit with the Claudia Hand Painted Silk Lace.

For those of you who’d like to find other uses for the Silk Lace, we’re also offering that yarn separately outside of the kit. Each shining skein is 1100 yards long, so one could easily get you through a sizeable lace shawl.

The most exciting part of the most recent Claudia shipment for me, however, was this:

A handful of new colors in the Fingering yarn. Anne generously let me pick out the colors from Claudia’s tremendous selection, and as you might have predicted, I went with the semisolid colorways instead of the variegated. These colors are vivid, rich, and complement one another nicely, if I do say so myself. Any of them would make a stellar pair of Interrupted socks, no?

Come by to see these new beauties and the rest of the Claudia Hand Painted Yarns.