Tag Archives: shibui

Revisiting Room 606.

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As I created colorways for Isager Spinni and Highland Wool over the past couple of weeks, I found myself paging through an older book by Helga Isager, Amimono: Room 606. It’s a stylish collection of garments and accessories inspired by Danish modernist design and architecture of the 1960s, and makes use of a variety of Isager yarns.

Amimono: Room 606, by Helga Isager – $29

The “Vivi” pullover caught my eye in particular because it happened to pair the two Isager yarns I’d been playing with, Spinni and Highland Wool.

Isager Spinni: lace weight, single ply, 100% Danish wool, 328 yards/50 g; $12.50 each

Isager Highland Wool: light fingering weight, 2ply, 100% Peruvian Highland wool, 301 yards/50 g; $10 each

The two yarns have a slight difference in thickness and in texture, bringing interest to the overall slip stitch pattern.

Both Marianne and Helga Isager have a fondness for combining their yarns two or three strands at a time – this creates interesting color combinations and unique fiber blends. The Isagers share this with the folks at Shibui, so I’ve brought them together in the colorways that follow, for the “Malene” hat.

Shibui Silk Cloud: lace weight, 60% mohair, 40% silk, 330 yards/25 g; $26.50 each

Get in touch to order a copy of Room 606 for yourself – use our online order form!

Shibui Haven + Malabrigo Caprino.

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As soon as we saw Shibui Haven, another DK weight merino/cashmere blend came to mind – Malabrigo Caprino. Though these yarns have gauge, fiber content, yardage, and texture in common, they have such different looks simply because of how they’re dyed.

Malabrigo Caprino:

  • DK weight
  • hand-dyed, variegated, speckled, and semi-solid colorways
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 159 yards/50 g
  • $18 each

I’m intrigued by the contrast between Shibui’s austere solids and Malabrigo’s wild hand-dyed shades, and I think they’d play beautifully together.

Here are a few pattern ideas for Haven and Caprino:

Eager to get these squishy cashmere yarns into your hands and onto your needles? Order online for local pickup or shipping!

Hello, Shibui Haven.

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We’re delighted to announce that Shibui’s new yarn has arrived! Meet Haven.

Shibui Haven:

  • DK weight
  • 80% merino, 20% cashmere
  • 160 yards/50 grams
  • $25 each

Shibui Haven is just as soft as its fiber content suggests, a treat for the hands. With its unique 7 ply structure, Haven boasts excellent stitch definition for showing off texture, cables, and lace.

What to make with Haven? Shibui’s new pattern collection is full of ideas that perfectly suit this luxurious yarn!

“Repose,” a striped garter stitch cowl. Pattern is free when you buy 7 skeins of Haven.

“Beacon,” a batwing pullover knit with Haven and Tweed Silk Cloud held together throughout.

“Peak,” a twisted rib shawl. Pattern is free when you purchase 8 skeins of Haven.

“Harbor,” a ribbed capelet knit with Haven and Cima held together throughout.

Use our online order form to get some Haven of your own, whether for local pickup or USPS Priority Mail shipping!

Sale Spotlight: Shibui Fern.

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Everything in our shop is 15% off during July, our Annual Inventory Sale! All month, I’ll be shining a spotlight on the yarns we have in stock – today, let’s look at Shibui Fern!

Shibui Fern:

  • sport weight
  • plied, matte
  • 100% organic cotton
  • 232 yards/50 grams
  • $19.50 each

Like all Shibui yarns, Fern is designed to be used on its own or mixed with other yarns for intriguing fiber and color blends. By itself on a US 4, the suggested gauge is 24 stitches over 4 inches.

What to make with Shibui Fern? Here are a few ideas:

Order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

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

On our needles.

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What’s in Anne’s Plystre Project Pouch, besides a Baby Baggu?

A grandson-sized “Atlas (For Kids),” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Loft!

I love the color combination she chose – Flannel for the main color, Snowbound and Old World for the contrast colors.

Many of you know that Anne never limits herself to one project at a time. So what else is on her needles right now? Let’s take a look!

Anne’s “Calla” tank is growing, stripe by stripe. You can see how Anne keeps unruly plant fiber yarns in check, by hand-winding them into tight balls and storing them in ziplock bags as she knits.

Designed by Shellie Anderson for Shibui Koan, this is shaping up to be a lovely, lightweight summer garment.

Anne is almost done with another Shellie Anderson design, “Cather,” an elegant pullover in Shibui Echo. As she set in the first sleeve the other afternoon, she remarked on cocoknits Claw Clips – “I don’t know how I ever seamed without them!”

Another work in progress from Anne’s collection is this “Rainy Day Hat,” designed by Melanie Berg for her Balayage yarn. It’s a super-soft fingering weight blend of merino and alpaca, a treat for the hands.

I confess, I’m not quite as prolific as Anne, and my projects are coming along more slowly! Above is my “Kirigami,” designed by Gudrun Johnston and knit with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor. I’ve been savoring this project for some months now, enjoying the simplicity of stockinette and the elasticity of Arbor, one of my very favorite yarns.

I’m about halfway through Churchmouse’s “Vineyard Cowl,” knit with one skein of Baa Ram Ewe Winterburn DK. It’s an easily-memorized stitch pattern, and a soothing knit in this wonderfully wooly yarn, shown here on another of my works-in-progress – a quilt I’ve been slowly stitching.

There’s a lot we miss about being “open” in the usual sense, but one of the main things is seeing what everyone is working on! What’s on your needles? Share in the comments, or post photos on Instagram, tagged #hillsboroughyarnshop – we can’t wait to hear from you!

Amirisu, Issue 20.

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A new issue of Amirisu is here!

Amirisu is a knitting magazine based in Japan, each issue filled with articles, interviews, and patterns from designers all over the world.

This is Amirisu’s 20th issue since starting the magazine in 2012, an accomplishment that founders Tokuko and Meri discuss in an interview.

This issue features designs by Paula Pereira, Alice Caetano, Justyna Lorkowska, and more.

I spotted a couple of familiar names in a feature on linen blends for summer – Shibui Twig and Isager Merilin, both of which are available here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

Another Isager yarn shows up in this issue – Tvinni, a light fingering weight wool from Denmark.

Issue 20 of Amirisu is $24 – order online and we’ll ship it to you or you can come by to pick it up!

Tweed Silk Cloud + Verve!

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For as long as we’ve stocked Shibui yarns here at the shop, we’ve been admirers of Shellie Anderson’s designs. She was an in-house designer Shibui for some years and still loves to work with their yarns, creating garments that look simple, but feature thoughtful details to “challenge and delight the knitter,” in her words.

© Shellie Anderson

“Verve” is one such design, a lightweight colorblock top knit with Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud. The loose-fitting tee is knit all in stockinette stitch, showing off this luxurious lace weight yarn in five or six colors.

  • Sizes: A (B, C, D, E)
  • Finished dimensions: 46 (52, 58, 64, 68)″ bust circumference

I put together three colorways for “Verve,” the first of which is based on Anderson’s own sample version. Each colorway is shown in two variations – one with five colors, for sizes A-C, and one with six colors, for sizes D-E. I named them with the word “verve” itself in mind, conjuring the enthusiasm and boldness it suggests.

 

Each 25 gram skein of Tweed Silk Cloud has 191 yards, and is composed of 65% silk and 35% mohair. Skeins are $23 each, or $25 for special Julie Hoover colors.

Head to Ravelry to download Shellie Anderson’s “Verve,” and use our online order form to request five or six skeins of Tweed Silk Cloud to knit one of your own!

Sale of the Week: Shibui Vine and Silk Cloud!

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We’ve decided to keep our doors closed through the month of June, though we’re still virtually open for online orders. As we have done throughout April and May, we’ll have a special sale each week – 15% off a featured yarn, our Sale of the Week!

We have two yarns on sale this week – Shibui Vine and Silk Cloud are 15% off from June 15 – 20!

Vine is a unique combination of 41% paper, 31% cotton, and 28% silk. The texture is notable, too – a flat yarn wrapped in lustrous, overlapping threads.

Silk Cloud is a lace weight blend of 60% mohair and 40% silk, a fuzzy and luminous yarn.

 

They’re very different, Vine and Silk Cloud, but together they make an incredible fabric: Vine is cool to the touch and brings elegant drape, and Silk Cloud brings unmatched softness.

“Torrent” is a textured triangular shawlette knit on the bias, holding Vine and Silk Cloud together. The pattern is available for free when you buy Vine and Silk Cloud here at our shop.

The “Torrent” below was made by Maxine, one of the biggest Shibui fans we know!

 

Hold matching colors of Vine and Silk Cloud together for seamless blending.

Or combine two different colors for high or low contrast marls!

You’ll need 2 skeins of Vine and 1 skein of Silk Cloud to knit a “Torrent” of your own.

  • Vine: usually $20 each; $17 at 15% off
  • Silk Cloud: usually $26.50 each; $22.50 at 15% off
  • Special Julie Hoover shades of Silk Cloud: usually $28.50 each; $24.25 at 15% off

Head to our online order form if you’d like to place an order – it’ll be on sale through June 20. Thanks for all your support!

 

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

Sale of the Week: 40% off Discontinued Shibui!

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Update! The discounted and discontinued Shibui yarns shown below are going fast – photos show which colors/yarns have sold out as of April 26, and which remain. Quantities vary – get in touch if you see anything you’d like to order!

 

Though we have to keep our doors closed during April, we’re still virtually open for mail orders, and we want to offer something fun during this uncertain time. Throughout April, we’ll have a special sale each week – this one is extra special!

While we’re always disappointed when well-loved yarns are discontinued, the bright side is that it means exciting new yarns are coming. We’ve learned that Shibui is discontinuing production of Staccato, Rain, and Drift, and though we’re sad to see them go, we’re pleased to announce a sale to see them off!

Our final Sale of the Week for April is an Out With the Old Sale – from April 22 – 30, Shibui Staccato, Rain, and Drift will be 40% off!

Discontinued Shibui colorways will also be marked down – 40% off select shades in many of the Shibui yarns we carry.

All of the yarns and colorways included in this sale are pictured on this page. Some we have in large quantities, while other skeins are one of a kind – contact us with your requests!  We’re handling orders on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. We’ll check our inventory and get back to you as quickly as possible.

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted yarn. There can be no returns or exchanges, nor special orders – the discount applies only to what we currently have in stock. Thanks! 

Shibui Spring 2020 patterns.

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Shibui recently released a pattern collection for Spring 2020 – let’s take a look!

This collection comes from Shellie Anderson, who was an in-house designer Shibui for some years and still loves to work with their yarns. She has a knack for creating garments that look simple, but feature thoughtful details to “challenge and delight the knitter,” in her words.

Most of these garments feature Koan, Shibui’s latest yarn, a linen and silk blend that’s perfect for warm-weather knitting.

Anne has “Calla” on her needles now, a striped tank with a bit of texture. She’s stretching a little by knitting in this bright aqua shade, which looks sharp with dark gray stripes.

There are so many fun combinations possible in Koan – below are a few I came up with, but I’m looking forward to seeing what others choose!

Patterns from the Spring 2020 collection are all available to purchase on Ravelry, and we have plenty of Koan in stock, along with many other Shibui yarns. Use our new form to Order Online – though our storefront is closed to walk-in traffic, we’re still here filling mail orders!