Tag Archives: shibui

New from Cocoknits.

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Cocoknits is the brainchild of Julie Weisenberger, a knitwear designer and purveyor of high quality tools for knitters. She’s carefully developed notions that are as nice to use as they are to look at.

Her foam Stitch Stoppers are the best point protectors we’ve seen, and since they first appeared last year, they quickly replaced any other kind we used to stock at the shop. No longer are the small and large sizes sold separately; now each pack comes with Stoppers for a range of needle sizes from US 0-15, and you can choose from Colorful or Neutral.

Even more exciting is a brand new product from Cocoknits, a Natural Mesh Bag to hold your yarn as you work.

The Natural Mesh Bag does the job of a yarn bowl, protecting your yarn from rolling about, keeping it safe and sound. Unlike a yarn bowl, however, this bag is lightweight, flexible, and easy to throw into a knitting tote to travel with you. It can sit open or you can snap up the top. Here it is in action, holding my Isager Jensen Yarn as I work on my “Summer Fog” vest, a sample for the shop.

Anne keeps her Shibui Birch in a Natural Mesh Bag as she’s knitting her “Icon” wrap. Just ask her and she’ll be happy to put it in your hands so you can see what it’s like out of its box. Look for them near the Cocoknits Sweater Care Kit in the front room, near the ballwinder – see you there!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Riverine.

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October 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 “Riverine,” by Theresa Gaffey, a stockinette and garter stitch wrap knit on the bias.

Three Shibui yarns are used in this design, just one skein of each: Cima, a lace weight merino/alpaca blend, Reed, a fingering weight linen, and Silk Cloud, Shibui’s signature lace weight blend of mohair and silk. Though all three are the same color, each fiber takes the dye slightly differently, and each yarn has its own unique texture.

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

 

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

Shibui Fall/Winter 2017 pattern collection.

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Shellie Anderson is the in-house designer for Shibui, the mind behind the simple, elegant garments the company is so well known for. Each season, we look forward to seeing what she’s been working on and the Fall/Winter 2017 season is no exception. Let’s take a look at the new Shibui pattern collection!

One of the first things we learned about Shibui back in 2013 when we first became a stockist is that they encourage yarn-mixing: working with two or three strands of yarn at a time to create bespoke fiber and color blends. The “Athos” cowl, above, mixes tweedy Pebble and fuzzy Silk Cloud for a unique effect.

They’ve continued that practice ever since, and each new yarn they produce means more possible combinations. Their newest yarn, Birch, plays well with old favorites Cima and Pebble in “Zona” and “Odessa,” respectively.

Sometimes they let one yarn shine, however, as in the garter stitch “Fresco” pullover below.

Come by the shop to see the full collection and to plan your fall knitting!

Hello, Shibui Birch.

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Our newest fall yarn is here! Meet Shibui Birch.

Birch is a single ply 100% extrafine merino wool yarn, soft as cashmere, dyed in 14 of Shibui’s signature colorways.

Each 50 gram skein boasts 262 yards, an especially large number for a sport weight. With a suggested gauge of 26-28 stitches over 4 inches, Birch is on the lighter end of sport weight, and would probably work well in many patterns calling for fingering weight yarns, too.

Anne has just cast on with Birch, and spends her quiet moments at the shop knitting “Icon,” a stockinette wrap decorated with short-row colorblocks. She’s using the colors Mineral, Velvet, and Ivory, a high contrast combination for a striking geometric motif.

I had “Icon” in mind as I unpacked Birch upon its arrival, arranging the colors this way and that, seeking pleasing trios.

The pattern for “Icon” is free when you purchase Shibui Birch from our shop for the project, but it’s not the only design Shibui’s Shellie Anderson has dreamt up for this new yarn. Come by the shop to see the whole Fall/Winter 2017 pattern collection, and expect a preview here on the blog this coming week!

See you at the shop!

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

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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!

Pom Pom Quarterly: Autumn 2017.

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The Autumn 2017 issue of Pom Pom Quarterly is here!

This issue is guest-edited by designer and writer Juju Vail, and the themes and motifs throughout reflect her interest in a fully handmade wardrobe. In many cases, the knit garments are modeled with sewn garments Vail herself created.

Anna Maltz contributes an essay on slow fashion, a thought-provoking, political piece that critiques the class-signifying language around capsule wardrobes.

Paging through this cozy-looking issue, I spotted a few familiar yarns: Shibui Pebble and Silk Cloud in Nancy Marchant’s “Abusson” scarf, and Brooklyn Tweed Loft in Olga Buraya-Kefelian’s “Soumak” mitts.

Each issue of Pom Pom wraps up with a recipe of some kind, and this hot toddy perfectly suits the season. Here in North Carolina, it’s not quite hot toddy weather yet, but we keep telling ourselves: cool weather is coming!

Look for Pom Pom Quarterly here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, with the latest books and magazines for anyone who likes to play with yarn. See you at the shop!

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!

Show and tell: Malabrigo.

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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: lace.

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We always love to see what you’re making with HYS yarns, and I love to take photos of your finished pieces to share here on the blog. Sifting through the many delightful show-and-tell photos I’ve accumulated, I noticed a group of projects with a technique in common: lace.

Margaretta has a fondness for lace-knitting, and has completed two lace shawls recently. The one above is “Arlington,” by Emily Ross, knit with Shibui Staccato.

The pattern is easy to modify for the stockinette-to-lace ratio of your choosing, and Margaretta opted for a lace-heavy version, with stunning results.

Above is Margaretta’s most recent finished piece, “Your Ice Cream Shawl,” knit with the new and exciting Brooklyn Tweed Vale.

Two of our teachers have been working with lace, too. Below is Amy’s “Stone Point” poncho, knit with the Fibre Company’s new yarn, Luma. She’s in the midst of teaching a class on the subject, so we expect to see more “Stone Point” ponchos in the coming months, knit by her students! In the meantime, look for this one on display here at the shop.

Robin has a lace class coming up this fall, featuring Lisa Hannes’ “Laurelie,” a two-color shawl with lace and mosaic motifs.

Her “Laurelie” is made with Plymouth Happy Feet and Isager Merilin, a marriage of two yarns alike in gauge, but different in fiber content. They play well together in the finished piece; look for it on the wall here at the shop, and head to our Classes page to sign up for the class!

Itching to start a lace project of your own? Brooklyn Tweed is hosting a Summer of Lace Knit-Along, and their blog is full of helpful hints and project ideas. I know some of you are participating, and look forward to seeing your finished pieces!

Thanks to the knitters who shared their work on the blog today. We love seeing what you’re working on, and can’t wait to see what you come up with next. See you at the shop!

Shibui Sample of the Month: Churchmouse Simple Tee.

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July is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We usually offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarns featured in our monthly sample, but during July, everything is 15% off – even better!

Our Shibui Sample of the Month is a Churchmouse “Simple Tee,” a breezy summer top that’s as easy to knit as it is to wear.

This one is knit with Shibui Twig, a sport weight blend of 46% linen, 42% recycled silk, and 12% wool.

Come by the shop during July to see and try on the Shibui Sample of the Month and get anything in stock at 15% off!

 

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