Tag Archives: lace weight

Hikari Collection Trunk Show!

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We’re delighted to announce that the fourth Trunk Show of this busy month has arrived. Come by the shop by September 3rd to see the Hikari Collection, featuring five gossamer garments in Fibre Co. Meadow!

The Hikari Collection comes from Japanese knitwear desgner michiyo, who has created lightweight, roomy garments well-suited to warm-weather wear or layering as autumn sets in.

Fibre Co. Meadow looks great in the lace, texture, and stockinette patterns michiyo has employed in these breezy pieces. Nearly all are knit at 5.5 stitches per inch, a loose but cohesive fabric in this robust lace weight yarn.

The patterns are available as Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sales, where we print a copy for you and a digital copy is stored in your Ravelry Pattern Library and emailed to you for safe keeping. We’re offering Meadow at 10% off during the show, so visit us by September 3rd to try these pretty sweaters on for size and plan a late summer project from the Hikari Collection!

A reminder: discounted yarns are considered final sale, meaning no returns or exchanges can be made after purchase. Thanks!

Brooklyn Tweed Vale Trunk Show!

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We are delighted to announce that a new trunk show from Brooklyn Tweed is here to spend a couple of weeks at our shop. Come by before August 20th to see the Vale Collection!

The Vale Collection features five garments: four popular lace patterns from the Brooklyn Tweed archives that have been revised for Vale, and one brand new design from Jared Flood.

The old favorites are “Girasole,” “Rock Island,” “Bridgewater,” and “Lucca,” classic lace shawls in a variety of shapes. “Gully” is the newest pattern, a brioche cowl that takes just one skein of Vale.

Seeing this collection in person is a treat, and really highlights the quality of the yarn. Vale is a lace weight Rambouillet wool, with 450 yards on each 50 gram skein. It’s worsted-spun for a smooth yarn with sharp stitch definition, one that’s spectacularly bouncy in the skein and in the knitted fabric.

These exquisite pieces are on display here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop until August 20th, and while they’re here, we’re offering 10% off purchases of Brooklyn Tweed Vale. Hurry in to see the show and soak up some lace knitting inspiration!

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

Shibui Sample of the Month: Envoy.

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August is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.

This month’s featured sample is “Envoy,” by Shellie Anderson, a triangular garter stitch scarf. The pattern is free when you purchase Shibui yarns for the project here at our shop.

It’s made with just one skein of Lunar, Shibui’s newest yarn, a smooth and lustrous lace weight blend of merino and silk.

We’re offering a 10% discount on Shibui Lunar purchased for this project til the end of the month. Come by the shop to start an “Envoy” of your own before August 31st!

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

Shibui Sample of the Month: Spectrum.

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June is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.

This month’s featured sample is “Spectrum,” by Shellie Anderson, a rectangular wrap with sheer stripes. The pattern is free when you purchase Shibui yarns for the project here at our shop. It offers instruction for a scarf size, as well, if it’s a slimmer accessory you’re after.

Two Shibui yarns are paired for this design: Rain, a dk weight cotton, and Silk Cloud, Shibui’s signature lace weight blend of mohair and silk.

Shibui Rain and Silk Cloud in “Ash.”

Pick matching shades, or try a near match for a marled effect.

Left to right: Shibui Rain and Silk Cloud in “Blueprint,” “Apple,” and “Ivory.”

Left to right: Shibui Rain in “Brick” paired with Silk Cloud in “Poppy,” “Brownstone,” and “Rust.”

We’re offering a 10% discount on Shibui Rain and Silk Cloud purchased for this project til the end of the month. Come by the shop to start a “Spectrum” of your own before June 30th!

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

Hello, Brooklyn Tweed Vale.

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We’re happy to announce that Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn is here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! Meet Vale.

Vale is a lace weight Rambouillet wool, with 450 yards on each 50 gram skein. Like all Brooklyn Tweed yarns, Vale is entirely sourced, spun, and dyed in the US, reflecting the company’s steadfast allegiance to domestic textiles.

Vale has a lot in common with Arbor: the fiber is worsted-spun for a smooth yarn with sharp stitch definition, then skein-dyed at the Saco River Dyehouse in Maine. Some of their colorways overlap, appearing in both Vale and Arbor, but there are some new shades unique to Vale, delicate pastels in particular.

Arbor and Vale are also spectacularly bouncy in the skein and in the hand, full of elasticity – one of my favorite yarn qualities.

To welcome their exciting new yarn, Brooklyn Tweed has revised several of their popular lace patterns for Vale. Old favorites “Girasole,” “Rock Island,” “Bridgewater,” and “Lucca” shine in Vale, and so does Jared Flood’s newest design, “Gully.” This one-skein brioche cowl pattern is free with a purchase of Vale until June 30th, 2017.

Look for Vale in the Lace weight section here at the shop!

New colors from Isager.

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Some yarn companies create new colors for their existing lines each season, or each year. Isager has never done it that way, instead sticking with a tried-and-true color palette for each yarn that truly has a personality, a voice all its own. Every now and then, however, Isager surprises us with a few new shades, and I’m happy to report that they’ve just expanded both Alpaca 1 and Alpaca 2!

Alpaca 1 is a lace weight yarn made of 100% alpaca which is spun in Peru. Often, Isager patterns pair this yarn with Isager Spinni, Tvinni, Highland, or Alpaca 2, to make thicker fabrics and unique color or fiber blends. Think “Camomille,” “The Fan,” or the “Tokyo” shawl kit.

These 5 new shades are complex heathers, each one composed of several colors blended together before spinning. As such, they appear solid from a distance, but up close reveal a variety of colors – perfect for lace, texture patterns, or simple stripes. These new colors fit right into the existing Alpaca 1 palette, filling spaces we didn’t know were empty, and giving us new ideas for color combinations.

The same can be said for the 5 new shades of Alpaca 2, which seem to call out for inclusion in a “Stole.”

Alpaca 2 is a soft and fuzzy blend of merino and alpaca in a fingering weight, and as I’ve written here on the blog so many times, it’s a real favorite at our shop, year in and year out. If you’ve never used it before, come by the shop to see it in person, pet our “Stole” sample, and see if you’re not moved to cast one on. We’ve got plenty of Isager pattern books to peruse here, too, including the Helga Isager’s newest collection, The Artisan. Our first stack of these books sold out in a flash, but I’m happy to report that they’re now back in stock.

See you at the shop!

Crete.

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Anne recently completed her “Crete,” a beautiful warm-weather accessory you’ll find hanging on our wall here at the shop.

“Crete” is worked with two yarns: Shibui Twig, a sport weight blend of linen, recycled silk, and wool, and the brand new Shibui Lunar, a lace weight blend of merino and silk.

This stockinette bias scarf begins and ends with Twig, and uses Lunar and Twig together during the body of the piece for a bit of transparency on either end. It’s this kind of simple-yet-clever detail that we’ve come to expect from Shibui, along with elegance.

Before blocking, however, the fabric is far from elegant; stockinette naturally wants to curl, and it needs a good blocking to become the smooth, gently draping fabric shown in the pattern photo.

Don’t be disappointed when your “Crete” comes off the needles looking like this, just give it a nice bath with some room-temperature water and Eucalan, then put your blocking wires to work. That’s what Anne did, with wondrous results.

Choose matching shades of Twig and Lunar for a subtle, sophisticated fabric.

Or, chose similar, low-contrast color combinations for a different effect – a subtly marled fabric with solid-yet-sheer ends.

This pattern is the subject of Shibui’s current knit-along, and is free when you purchase Shibui yarns for the project. We’re also offering a class on “Crete,” for new knitters who want help learning to increase, decrease, work with two strands of yarn together, and practice pattern reading. Head to our Classes page to read more about it and sign up, if you like!

Hello, Shibui Lunar.

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Shibui’s newest yarn is here! Meet Lunar.

Lunar is a shiny lace weight blend of 60% extrafine merino wool and 40% Mulberry silk. Each 50 gram skein boasts 401 yards, enough for a good-sized scarf or cowl; just two or three skeins is plenty for a shawl.

Shibui yarns are designed for mixing together, two or three strands at a time, to create bespoke fiber and color blends. Lunar is a lovely addition to their already robust selection of lace weight yarns, and can be used anywhere lustre is desired and Cima or Pebble is called for.

Shellie Anderson, Shibui’s in-house designer, has developed several patterns already for Lunar as part of the Spring/Summer 2017 Collection. “Milan,” pictured above, is a garter ridge pullover knit with Lunar alone.

 

“Crete” is another new pattern which finds Lunar paired with Twig. This bias scarf begins and ends with Twig, and uses Lunar and Twig together during the body of the piece for a bit of transparency on either end. It’s this kind of simple-yet-clever detail that we’ve come to expect from Shibui, along with elegance. This pattern is the subject of their upcoming knit-along, and is free when you purchase Shibui yarns for the project.

Marsha is offering a class on “Crete,” for new knitters who want help learning to increase, decrease, work with two strands of yarn together, and practice pattern reading. Head to our Classes page to read more about it and sign up, if you like!

The rest of the Shibui SS17 pattern collection features other well-loved Shibui yarns like Rain and Cima.

Come by the shop to see all the new designs and plan a project with Lunar!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Mix No. 23 colorways.

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Our January Shibui Sample of the Month is one of our own, that’s always on display here at the shop. While it’s the featured sample, we’re offering Shibui Cima for this project at 10% off!

This “Mix No. 23” is knit in a relatively low-contrast combination of Ivory and Ash, though it still shows well due to the thickness of the stripes.

When I made one a few years ago, I chose a higher-contrast pair, Caffeine and Suit.

Here are a couple of other colorways that would make a nice “Mix No. 23.”

Above is Pollen and Ash; below is Brownstone and Graphite.

Above is Brick and Grounds; below is Fjord and Cove.

Come by the shop to create your own “Mix No. 23” color combination, and get Shibui Cima for this project at 10% off during January!

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

Shibui Sample of the Month: Mix No. 23.

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January is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarns purchased for our featured sample til the end of the month.

This month’s featured sample is one of our own, a “Mix No. 23” cowl that Amy knit. This reversible double-knit cowl was designed by Lidia Tsymbal, and knit with Shibui Cima held double throughout.

I knit a “Mix No. 23” for myself a couple of years ago, and it served as my introduction to Shibui and to double knitting. It’s by far my favorite handknit accessory, I wear it every day of the winter and most of the fall and spring. Knitters often ask me if it’s difficult to do, and though “difficult” is in the eye of the beholder, I’d consider this a bit of a challenge, but a rewarding one. The double-knit chart took a bit of getting used to, and it was a few long rows before I realized how I was making two pieces of fabric at once. Since both colors are in use on every row, I found it really useful to hold one color in my right hand and one in my left as I worked.

We’re offering a 10% discount on Cima purchased for this project til the end of the month, so come by the shop to start a “Mix No. 23” of your own before January 31st!

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