Tag Archives: merino

Back in stock: Classy mini-skeins.

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Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins are back in stock, and how!

Dream in Color only occasionally produces these 50-yard mini-skeins of their worsted weight superwash wool, Classy, and the color selection is different every time. This order of mini-skeins is our biggest yet, boasting an astonishing 63 colors!

Melon & lime.

Some are highly variegated, some are semi-solid, some are speckled, and some are hybrids, but all are hand-dyed, so there’s some color variation in each skein.

Variegates & speckles.

Cherries & pastry.

I had a lot of fun arranging them in 8-skein combinations for “Technicolor Cowls.”

Denim & chambray.

Jewels & gems.

Nancy Leuer’s “Technicolor Cowl” is a simple but entertaining project with a focus on color.

It’s knit in the round, with stripes of stockinette and reverse stockinette that make a squishy, textured fabric from this springy superwash merino yarn. The pattern is free when you purchase eight Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins for the project.

Eggplant & pepper.

Moss & bark.

We’ve created kits in each of the colorways shown here, so if you’re struck by any of these combinations, it’s easy to pick up all the materials you need for the project.

A bundle of colorful mini-skeins and an easy pattern are the makings of a lovely gift, too!

Look for Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins in the worsted weight section, and have fun picking colors for a “Technicolor Cowl” of your own!

Lucerne.

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Our shop is abuzz with excitement over Brooklyn Tweed’s new yarn, Peerie. The folks at BT were kind enough to send a couple of sample skeins our way in advance of the release, giving Anne just enough time to knit “Lucerne.”

Jared Flood’s “Lucerne” is a colorwork hat in two, three, or four shades of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie. It’s a perfect starting place for those new to stranded colorwork, and Peerie’s 45 shades are an absolute playground for knitters of all experience levels.

Anne’s “Lucerne” is in two shades, the dark green Nori and pale gray/green Gale. In this sample, the darker shade is the main color, but their positions could easily be swapped for an equally attractive, but very different look. Here are a few more two-color combinations to consider.

I couldn’t stop here, of course – in fact, I spent the better part of Wednesday afternoon creating and photographing color combinations for this project! Next up are three-color combinations. I began with one that Flood suggests in his pattern.

The formula here is straightforward: three colors, all from the same family – one light, one medium, and one dark. I had fun creating a few more in this vein.

The possibilities for four-color combinations are even more varied, of course. There are no rules, but it’s wise to have a range of values, so the individual colors can be distinguished from one another in the context of the pattern. Here’s one from Jared Flood.

Here are a few I came up with, just the beginning of what’s possible.

Until June 30th, the pattern is free when you buy Peerie here at our shop. Look for the yarn in the fingering weight section. We can’t wait to see what color combinations you come up with for “Lucerne” hats of your own!

Hello, Peerie.

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We are bursting with excitement because Brooklyn Tweed’s new yarn is here! Meet Peerie.

Peerie is a fingering weight, worsted spun, 100% merino wool yarn made entirely in the US. The sheep graze in Utah and Nevada, their fleece is spun in Springvale, Maine, and the resulting yarn is dyed in Saco, Maine.

Brooklyn Tweed is devoted to supporting the domestic textile industry, and works only with producers and processors who share their commitment to environmentally sustainable practices. Founder and designer Jared Flood and his team are also interested in breed-specific yarns, allowing knitters and crocheters to appreciate the unique qualities that each kind of wool possesses. Merino is one we’re used to seeing and working with, but American merino is less common; head to the BT blog for more information on that.

In Shetland vernacular, “peerie” means small, and is the name for the littlest, simplest fair isle motifs, a good sign that this yarn was designed with colorwork in mind. It comes in 45 shades, and we have each and every one on our shelves here at the shop.

Because of its round, smooth structure, Peerie is equally well-suited to texture, lace, and cable patterns.

The BT team reworked patterns in each of those veins: Heidi Kirrmaier’s “Boardwalk,” Irina Dmitrieva’s “Loden,” and Jared Flood’s “Afton.” For colorwork, consider Julie Hoover’s “Ashland” and Flood’s new “Lucerne.”

Any pattern that calls for fingering weight yarn should work well with Peerie – what are you itching to make with this exciting new yarn?

Look for Peerie in the fingering weight section here at our shop!

New colors in Malabrigo Mechita.

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This week brought us a big box of Malabrigo Mechita in nine brand new speckled colorways!

Mechita is a single ply superwash merino in a fingering weight, with a generous 420 yards on each 100 gram skein.

Suitable for sweaters, shawls, scarves, cowls, mitts, baby things and lightweight hats, Mechita has great potential.

In fact, it’s become a bit of a staple in our Fingering weight department, one we reorder again and again.

Look for Mechita in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and peruse our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas. We hope you find inspiration there, as well as among these colorful skeins of yarn!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Dynamic Trio.

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May 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 sample is “Dynamic Trio,” by Joji Locatelli, an asymmetric triangular shawl in three colors, decorated with chevrons and garter stitch stripes.

This “Dynamic Trio” was knit with Shibui Lunar held double throughout. Lunar is a lace weight blend of merino and silk, soft and lustrous for an elegant fabric.

Come by the shop to before May 31st to see “Dynamic Trio” and get Shibui Lunar at 10% off to make one of your own!

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

Back in stock: Vivacious 4ply.

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Last week brought an enormous shipment from Fyberspates, bursting with bags and bags of Vivacious 4ply.

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in fingering weight. Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette.

We restocked all the colors we’ve ever had and added a few new ones, too.

Tom recently knit this “Wuthering Heights MKAL” shawl with two skeins of Vivacious 4ply in a beautiful high-contrast color combination.

Lately we’re seeing many knitters reach for this yarn to knit larger shawls and wraps. The robust and ever-growing palette of colors lends itself particularly to gradient-making, or fades – think Andrea Mowry’s “Find Your Fade,” or Joji Locatelli’s recent “Fading Point.” Here are a few color combinations with the latter pattern in mind.

Colors shown, left to right: 602, 617, 615, 626, 625.

Colors shown, left to right: 609, 607, 608, 606, 626.

Colors shown, left to right: 624, 610, 628, 609, 607.

Colors shown, left to right: 611, 618, 600, 620, 628.

Check our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for more pattern ideas, and look for Vivacious 4ply here at the shop!

Dream in Color Pop up! Club, part 4.

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UPDATE :::: this color is SOLD OUT as of 2/2/2018 – thanks for the positive response!

 

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We’re happy to announce that we’re participating in Dream in Color’s Pop Up! Club 2017-18! That means that every two months from August to February, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tuscon-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns.

Our February shipment features Smooshy with Cashmere, an aptly-named blend of 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, and 10% nylon. This colorway is inspired, in dyer Veronica’s words, by “all the amazing blue and green minerals of Arizona that I wish I would find out hiking around: Malachite, Chrysocolla, Azurite, Copper and everyone’s favorite, Turquoise.”

As its name suggests, Smooshy with Cashmere is deliciously soft and squishy, perfect for next-to-skin wear. It makes an amazing pair of socks or a special scarf, shawl, or cowl. Look for pattern ideas on our “Fingering weight” board over on Pinterest.

Look for this limited edition Pop Up! Club colorway in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

New colors in Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply.

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Fyberspates recently announced six new colors in their Vivacious 4ply yarn, and we’re happy to announce that they’ve arrived here at our shop this week.

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Check our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas!

These new colors are a mix of gentle pastels and more vibrant, saturated hues.

They complement and enhance the existing Vivacious 4ply palette, creating new and exciting options for projects using multiple colors.

Look for the full selection in our Fingering weight section here at the shop!

Hello, Kelbourne Woolens Andorra.

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Meet our first new yarn of the year, Kelbourne Woolens Andorra.

You may recognize the name Kelbourne Woolens – they’re the North American distributors for Fibre Company, and they also design some of the most popular pattern collections for those yarns. Kate Gagnon Osborn and Courtney Kelley are the minds behind Kelbourne Woolens, and while they will continue their good work for Fibre Company, they’ve also cooked up something new to mark the 10th anniversary of their business: their very own line of yarn.

Andorra is the first yarn under their own Kelbourne Woolens imprint, 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.

Andorra is obedient on the needles, which for me means it doesn’t split, and it has enough elasticity to move smoothly from needle to needle, stitch by stitch. In short, it’s lovely to work with, and while it’s well suited to a variety of projects, it has me thinking, “Sweater!”

Anne got a sweater’s worth of Andorra in advance, for sample knitting, and has started a top-down, Bohus-style pullover from the new Kelbourne Woolens collection. More on that soon – til then, here’s a preview, Anne’s first few rows.

Look for Andorra in the sport weight section here at the shop!

New colors in CoopKnits Socks Yeah!

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Not long ago, we welcomed a bundle of new shades in CoopKnits Socks Yeah!, expanding the palette of that lovely yarn.

Developed by avid sock-designer Rachel Coopey, CoopKnits Socks Yeah! is a hard-wearing, machine-washable blend of superwash merino wool and nylon, and it’s put up in 50 gram, 231 yard hanks.

It now comes in 22 solid colors, many of which are light in value, and both of those features make it ideal for showing off texture patterns, cables, and lace.

Remember CoopKnits Socks Yeah! when your fingering weight project requires sharp stitch definition and durability. You’ll find it in the Fingering Weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, in a little basket bursting with color. See you there!