Shibui Sample of the Month: Multigrain and Origami Top Hat.

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

We normally have just one featured Shibui sample each month, but the good people at Shibui offered us two this time and we couldn’t see why not. Let’s look first at “Multigrain,” by Antonia Shankland, a seed stitch scarf knit with Shibui Pebble, Silk Cloud, and Cima. These were our first three Shibui yarns, and they remain favorites. All are lace weight, but they vary in fiber content and texture.

“Multigrain” is a great way to experiment with yarn mixing, where two strands are held together for a unique fiber or color combination. Here, the color is the same from yarn to yarn, but the different yarns make for a subtle shift in texture throughout the piece. The pattern is free when you purchase Shibui yarns for the project here at our shop.

Next up is Lori Versaci’s “Origami Top Hat,” knit with just two skeins of Shibui Drift. At first glance, it looks like your basic stockinette cap with a ribbed brim.

From the top, however, you can see the clever shaping and folding that gives this design its name. It looks like it will be fun to knit and easy to wear, a good combination now that gift-knitting season is upon us.

Come by the shop to see both our Shibui Samples of the Month, and get 10% off the Shibui yarns featured in “Multigrain” and “Origami Top Hat.” See you there!

 

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: Envoy.

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!

Show and tell: Malabrigo.

We love Malabrigo yarns around here. We have over 10 different Malabrigo yarns in stock, from delicate Lace up to super bulky Rasta and Caracol, and hardly a day goes by that we don’t send some happy knitter or crocheter home with a shopping bag full of Malabrigo. They’re known for their buttery soft merino wool and their lively, memorable colorways. Here are a couple of finished projects knit with Malabrigo yarns that found their way back to us for some show-and-tell!

Above is Donna’s “Drafter’s Cardigan,” knit with Malabrigo Arroyo in “Regatta Blue.” She knit it for her daughter, finishing the job with the perfect pearly blue buttons.

Lois came in last week with another beautiful pair of socks knit with Malabrigo Sock. The pattern is “Summer Slice,” and she used the color “Boticelli Red” with “Diana” as an accent at the heels and toes.

Mary is a big Malabrigo fan, and she particularly loves to work with “Aniversario,” a wildly variegated colorway that’s truly unique from skein to skein.

She crocheted this “Sea Shells Scarf” with Malabrigo’s newest yarn, Dos Tierras, and trimmed it with Shibui Dune for a bit of a stained glass effect.

Thanks to Donna, Lois, and Mary for sharing their Malabrigo projects with us! Come by the shop to see all the Malabrigo Lace, Finito, Sock, Mechita, Arroyo, Silky Merino, Dos Tierras, Rios, Mecha, Rasta, and Caracol we have in stock. See you there!

Show and tell: BT Arbor.

We always love to see what you’re making with HYS yarns, and I love to take photos of your beautiful finished pieces to share here on the blog. I have a nice collection to share at the moment, enough for at least three blog posts. Today’s group all happen to be made in the same wonderful yarn: Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a DK weight Targhee wool.

Above is Judy’s “Celtic Myths” shawl, a stockinette crescent with an intricate knitted-on cabled border. This delicious shade of gray is called “Heron,” and like nearly all colors, it’s tricky to photograph accurately, and far more beautiful in person.

One of Arbor’s distinguishing features is its crisp stitch definition, which makes cables, lace, and texture patterns shine. You can clearly see that quality in Judy’s beautifully-knit shawl, and you’ll also see it in each of the garments that follow.

Here’s my “Hirombe” hat in the color “Firebrush,” a shop sample which nicely illustrates another of Arbor’s special qualities: its tremendous elasticity. This is one of my favorite yarn characteristics, and one that suggests good long-term wear. Garments knit with Arbor should wear well and look sharp for years to come. I thoroughly enjoyed Jared Flood’s pattern, as well, especially because it taught me at least three new techniques: a cast-on, an increase, and a decrease I’d never tried before. The twisted stitch pattern is fully reversible; below is the “wrong-side” view, which I think I prefer.

Anne knit a little something with Arbor recently, too: this pair of Churchmouse “Welted Fingerless Gloves” was a Mother’s Day gift for Phyllis, Anne’s mom who recently turned 100. This quick-to-knit gift was well-received; Phyllis reportedly put them right on and said, “They fit like a glove!”

This soft, warm gray is called “Gale,” and one skein of Arbor was plenty for a pair, making this a great pattern for trying out this special yarn.

Above is Glen’s “Herringbone Hat,” knit with Arbor in the excellent high-contrast combination of “Black Fig” and “Hammock,” demonstrating that this yarn is perfect for stranded colorwork, too!

 

Barbara knit not one, but two “Byway” scarves during Marsha’s class on the subject. The purple one on the left is knit with Rowan Pure Wool Worsted, and the white one on the right is Arbor in the color “Hammock.” Though the pattern calls for bulky weight yarn, Barbara knit hers in a worsted and a DK, wanting a narrower finished product.

Thanks to everyone who starts their projects at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, and to those who share their progress with us. Come by the shop to pick up some Brooklyn Tweed Arbor for your next project!

Mother’s Day gift ideas.

Mother’s Day fast approaches, a good time to remind you of our Gift section here at the shop. We’ve sought out makers in our local community as well as our wider community of suppliers and assembled a collection of items that make excellent gifts for knitters and non-knitters alike.

Harmony Farm Candles are always a welcome gift, hand-poured by Erin in nearby Mebane. We’re lucky enough to have a custom scent, Lavender Eucalyptus, on our shelves, along with a rotating selection of other Harmony Farm Candles, changing with the seasons and our moods.

We just got a new batch of ceramic yarn bowls, handmade in Durham by Frumet of Late Bloomer Pottery.

We also stock hand-painted silk scarves by Gina Wilde, the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy Yarns. Gina has been working with a fair trade collective in Cambodia to produce these silk scarves, and to develop work there centered in indigenous textiles. You can read more about what Gina described to us as her “heart project” on the Alchemy website. Gina herself paints the scarves, just as she paints Alchemy yarns, and the result is vibrant, elegant, and unusual.

We also have gift certificates available in any denomination, of course, and we so appreciate you thinking of us as a gift source. Thank you for supporting small businesses like ours, and shopping local for mothers and others! See you at the shop.

Crete.

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!

Show and tell: colorwork.

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. I noticed a theme running through my current stash of show-and-tell photos: colorwork. I’m defining that term broadly to include stripes, colorblocks, stranded knitting and intarsia – all the myriad methods for changing colors as you knit.

We’ll begin with Margie, who brought two special pieces in for us to see, both designed by Kieran Foley. Above is “Lotus Crescent,” a unique shawl bursting with techniques from lace to stranded knitting to intarsia – sometimes all three in the space of one row! Margie used Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift for this one, eager to play with the large color palette.

Kieran Foley’s patterns are not for the faint of heart, but Margie persevered. Below is her “Zanzibar” scarf, knit with Schoppel-Wolle Crazy Zauberball and a variety of fingering weight scraps.

Loretta knit Melanie Berg’s “Drachenfels” shawl with three shades of Fibre Company Cumbria Fingering, a yarn she’s since used for mittens and has come to love.

This adorable “Pandamonium” hat was Wanda’s first attempt at stranded knitting, and she did a great job! The yarn is Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK, and she came back for more to make another colorwork hat, encouraged by the success of this one.

Margaretta knit this “3 Color Cashmere Cowl” with Fibre Company Canopy Fingering in a most appealing trio of colors: two greens and a dark charcoal. It was a beautiful combination when I first saw it as three skeins of yarn, only to grow more beautiful as Margaretta stitched them into a cozy cowl.

Ruth knit the “Dreambird” shawl below using Schoppel-Wolle Starke 6 and Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Fingering, with help from a class on the subject here at the shop. The pairing of a self-striping yarn with a semi-solid hand-dyed yarn is a striking one for this pattern, perfect for showing off the short-row shaping.

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. Hope to see you at the shop soon, but do note our holiday hours, which are always posted on the main page of our website:

Saturday, Dec. 24: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Sunday, Dec. 25: closed

Saturday, Dec. 31st: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm

Sunday, Jan. 1st, 2017: closed

Hello, Alchemy Silk Scarves.

Many of you know Alchemy as a yarn company, makers of Silken Straw, Sanctuary, Sparky, and Lust. They are all that and more, and we’re delighted to share something new from Alchemy in our Gifts section: hand-painted silk scarves.

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Gina Wilde, the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy, has been working with a fair trade collective in Cambodia to produce these silk scarves, and to develop work there centered in indigenous textiles. You can read more about what Gina described to us as her “heart project” on the Alchemy website.

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Gina herself paints the scarves, just as she paints Alchemy yarns, and the result is vibrant, elegant, and unusual.

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She also creates unique tags for each scarf out of tarot cards, an eye-catching detail that lends an aura of mystery to these special scarves.

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If you’re looking for a special handmade gift this holiday season, come check out our new Gifts section, which is where you’ll find these beautiful lightweight scarves. See you there!

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The Arranmore Collection.

With the arrival of Fibre Company’s exciting new yarn, Arranmore, comes a predictably lovely pattern collection from the design team at Kelbourne Woolens.

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Inspired by traditional Irish knitwear, the Arranmore Collection features six sweaters, two hats, and a scarf.The_Rosses_4_medium2

Tweed yarns like Arranmore liven up simple stockinette, to be sure, but they do equally well in texture and cable patterns, and bring nuance to stranded colorwork.

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Anne’s knitting “Carrowkeel” as a sample for the shop, using Arranmore in “Meara,” a deep blue with flecks of cobalt and red.

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This cozy turtleneck is designed to be worn with positive ease, and looks like perfect North Carolina winter outerwear to me.

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Meanwhile, I’ve been working on a “Finn Valley” sample, using Arranmore’s “St. Claire,” a natural white with flecks of beige and pale blue that really lets the cables shine. I’m sorry to report that this color is currently on backorder; let us know if it tops your list so we can alert you when it arrives!

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Look for the Arranmore Collection along with Arranmore yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

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The Acadia Collection.

We just got a new pattern collection from Kelbourne Woolens, designers and distributors of Fibre Company yarns. This group is named for the yarn it features, a yarn that has become a classic in the few years we’ve stocked it: meet the Acadia Collection.

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Fibre Company Acadia is a dk weight yarn made of merino wool, alpaca, and silk.

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The silk fiber takes the dye differently than wool and alpaca, and stands out from those fibers, creating a tweedy, rustic look. The feel of this yarn is far from rustic, however; Acadia is just as soft as its fiber content suggests.

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The Acadia Collection celebrates this special yarn in its natural undyed shades with classic garments that walk the line between casual and elegant.

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Look for Acadia in the DK weight section here at the shop, and peruse the Acadia Collection while you’re here!

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