Tag Archives: show and tell

Weekend Hat.

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Margaretta recently brought in a bit of show and tell that captivated us – here’s her “Weekend Hat,” another simple but clever pattern by PetiteKnit.

Margaretta knit her “Weekend Hat” with Isager Jensen and Silk Mohair held together throughout, a perfect balance of structure and softness. As in PetiteKnit’s “Oslo Hat – Mohair Edition,” there are 3 layers of fabric at the brim, making for a super cozy hat. The “Weekend Hat” also features a few rows of double knitting at the fold to keep it in place, a nice detail.

I couldn’t resist putting a few more “Weekend Hat” color combinations together in Jensen and Silk Mohair…

…and then the new shades of Kelbourne Woolens Scout caught my eye, and I found some beautiful Silk Mohair matches for that yarn, too!

If any of these combinations catch your eye, you can order them online for local pickup or shipping, or come by the shop to put your own colors together – we can’t wait to see what you dream up! Look for Isager Jensen and Kelbourne Woolens Scout in the DK weight section, and Isager Silk Mohair in the lace weight section. See you at the shop!

Back in stock with new colors: NFC Organic Studio Sock.

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Our most recent order from Neighborhood Fiber Co. was full of vibrant colors, speckles, and variegated shades, brightening our NFC Organic Studio Sock cubby considerably!

Anne and I had fun selecting colorways we’d never seen before, along with those that have become favorites.

Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Studio Sock:

  • fingering weight
  • hand-dyed
  • machine washable
  • 100% organic merino wool
  • 400 yds/4 oz
  • $34 each

Organic Studio Sock is perfect for knitting socks, of course, but also great for sweaters and shawls – here’s one that Wendy made, Lesley Anne Robinson’s “Studio Sampler.”

Robinson’s design moves through garter stitch, stripes, and brioche, keeping things interesting with a variety of stitch patterns and color combinations. Pick three shades that excite you and have fun watching them interact as you knit – they can be high or low contrast, from the same color family or not. Here are a few combinations I came up with!

Look for Neighborhood Fiber Co. Organic Studio Sock in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; masks are required for entry. Online ordering is still available for local pickup or shipping – thanks for shopping with us!

“Simple Yet Effective” cowl.

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If you’ve been to the shop in the past few weeks, you might have seen me working on this cowl, “Simple Yet Effective,” by Tin Can Knits. The pattern is aptly named, alternating sections of stockinette and reverse stockinette – a nearly blank canvas for showing off some special yarn. The pattern calls for DK weight, but I’ve held a fingering weight and a lace weight yarn together, Kelbourne Woolens Cricket and Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft, respectively.

It can be tricky to visualize how different colors and textures of yarn will look when knit together. Luckily, Tin Can Knits has a super helpful blog post about just that, “Layering With Mohair.” I was inspired after reading it, and learned that you can achieve a fascinating effect when you combine a darker mohair with a lighter yarn. As Tin Can Knits designer Emily Wessel puts it, “When you blend a darker or more saturated mohair with a lighter yarn, the paler colourway seems to glow underneath a deeper halo.” I tried out that strategy in this cowl and am so pleased with the result – each yarn seems to be enhanced by the other, and of course the fabric is fuzzy and soft!

Here are a few more color combinations pairing Cricket and Loft, which seem to me like they’d blend beautifully.

I couldn’t stop there, when there are so many shades of Isager Silk Mohair to play with – here are a few more!

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Cricket in the fingering weight section here at our shop, not far from the lace weight section, which holds Neighborhood Fiber Co. Loft and Isager Silk Mohair. We can’t wait to see what other color combinations you come up with for your own “Simple Yet Effective” cowls!

Show and tell: PetiteKnit patterns.

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It’s been far too long since I shared show-and-tell here on the blog, though it’s an ongoing part of our daily Instagram posts – let’s see what folks have been making with yarn from our shop!

PetiteKnit has become one of the most-mentioned knitwear designers here at our shop. Almost every day, at least one knitter comes in shopping for, working on, or wearing a PetiteKnit design. Here are some of the PetiteKnit projects I’ve captured lately!

Margaretta is a fan of PetiteKnit – here are her two most recent sweaters, “Ingrid Sweater Baby” in Berroco Ultra Wool above, and “Moby Sweater” in Isager Jensen and Silk Mohair below.

Morgan knit this “No Frills Sweater” with Brooklyn Tweed Loft and Isager Silk Mohair held together throughout – the result is lovely, a perfect balance of structure and softness.

Michele came in wearing her first PetiteKnit sweater, “Sycamore Sweater,” and reports that the pattern was detailed and well written – she used Isager Jensen, Spinni, and Shibui Tweed Silk Cloud in this striking garment.

I knit my first PetiteKnit pattern recently, too, though it’s a far simpler design – here’s the “Sophie Shawl” I knit as a shop sample in Fibre Co. & Make Aran. The size small makes a such a nice scarf, wrapped around and tied like a kerchief, that I decided to make one for myself, too!

Thanks to Margaretta, Morgan, and Michele for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Back in stock: Malabrigo Caprino!

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It feels like we unpack at least one Malabrigo order each week – everyone loves their memorable colorways and soft fibers. This week’s Malabrigo box held a sizable restock of Caprino, a super soft merino/cashmere blend.

Malabrigo Caprino:

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

I knit Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift” shawl with Malabrigo Caprino a couple of years ago, and it now hangs at the shop, inspiring knitters to make their own. It was fun to combine semisolid, variegated, and speckled colorways in this slip stitch pattern and see how they worked together.

What else to make with Caprino? Here are some ideas!

Look for Malabrigo Caprino in the DK weight section here at our shop, and pick up a free copy of Breean Elyse Miller’s “Ikigai Cowl” pattern with your purchase!

Show and tell: sweaters!

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop, focusing this time on sweaters. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these beautiful knits.

Anne recently knit this sweet little “Dog Star” sweater as a shop sample, showing off CoopKnits Socks Yeah! DK. This Tin Can Knits pattern is one we often make and recommend for baby and kid knits, though it comes in adult sizes, as well – have you made one yet?

Here’s Karin in her first ever sweater, Andrea Mowry’s “Vellichor.” She chose three shades of Brooklyn Tweed Loft for this project, a lightweight woolen-spun yarn with nice structure for garment-making.

Molly knit this “Thistle” sweater for her mom, who models it here. The pattern comes from Anna Johanna’s Strands of Joy, a beautiful collection of modern colorwork sweaters. Molly used Tukuwool Fingering for this garment, another woolen-spun fingering weight yarn.

Above is Gail’s “Divide” pullover, knit with Brooklyn Tweed Arbor, a smooth and springy yarn perfectly suited to this intricate texture. Pattern by Emily Greene.

April came in last week wearing her brand new “Trove” pullover, knit with Kelbourne Woolens Andorra. We love that joyful new-sweater feeling!

Pattern by Emma Ducher for Pom Pom Quarterly 30 – we still have copies of this issue in stock, if you’re tempted to follow April’s lead and make a “Trove” of your own!

Thanks to Anne, Karin, Molly, Gail, and April for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Back in stock, show and tell: Brooklyn Tweed Tones!

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After months of backorders, we are delighted to have a fresh supply of Brooklyn Tweed Tones in the shop!

Brooklyn Tweed Tones:

  • worsted weight
  • woolen-spun
  • 3 ply
  • overdyed
  • 100% Columbia wool
  • 140 yards/50g
  • $16.75 each

At first glance, Tones bears a striking resemblance to Shelter – both are worsted weight and woolen spun, with the same yardage, weight, suggested gauge, and price. There are a few key differences, however, that make Tones an exciting addition to Brooklyn Tweed’s domestically-sourced, breed-specific lineup; the first is color!

Tones is overdyed in vibrant, playful colors, starting with two baseline shades of undyed natural gray. The lighter shade is the overtone, and the darker shade is the undertone, and each of them has been dipped in 11 colorways, creating tone pairs.

Another difference between Tones and Shelter is the number of plies. Shelter is a 2 ply, which has a slightly more rustic appearance, and Tones is a 3 ply, which is more round and smooth for outstanding stitch definition. Cables and other texture patterns show nicely in Shelter, to be sure, but they really pop in Tones!

Anne’s latest project illustrates this nicely – above is “Truss,” by Melissa Wehrle, a beautiful cardigan knit with Tones. Look for it on display here at the shop!

You’ll find Brooklyn Tweed Tones in the worsted weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. We are open 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Show and tell: colorwork.

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Time for another round of show and tell, this time featuring colorwork projects!

Susan knit this “Pātikitiki Hat” with Brooklyn Tweed Dapple, a mesmerizing colorwork pattern by Francoise Danoy.

Here’s another inspiring colorwork hat – Becki’s “Kasilof,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Tones. Pattern by Caitlin Hunter.

Linda sent us this photo of her finished “Hinterland,” knit with Mountain Meadow Wool Cody for the main color and Malabrigo Arroyo for the contrast. Pattern by Jennifer Steingass.

Same pattern, same yarns, different Linda – another gorgeous “Hinterland” is underway! I always love seeing the same pattern in different colors.

Here’s Pam in her “Embers” pullover, knit with Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03; pattern by Tin Can Knits. Pam loves colorwork knitting, and came with two other sweaters for show and tell, too!

Here’s her “Illuminate” pullover, also knit with Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 03. She omitted the stripes on the body and chose high contrast colors for a more graphic effect at the yoke, and it looks great in this smooth, solid yarn. Pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Here’s Pam’s third finished sweater, “Bean & Olive,” knit with Berroco Ultra Wool DK. Pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Thanks to Susan, Becki, Linda, Linda, and Pam for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Show and tell!

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Back with more show and tell! Here’s another batch of completed projects made with yarns from our shop. If you follow us on Instagram, some of these may look familiar – let’s take a closer look at these beautiful knits.

Here’s Peggy’s “Kith,” a striped shawl knit with Tukuwool Fingering. Her bold choice of contrast color really makes the short row sections pop out! Pattern by Justyna Lorkowska.

Wendy brought in her “Nightshift” shawl for us to admire, knit with Malabrigo Rios – a popular yarn choice for a very popular pattern by Andrea Mowry.

Margaretta knit this sweet baby “Festival Sweater” with Berroco Ultra Wool DK – love the playful contrast colors! Pattern by PetiteKnit.

We were delighted when Rosi sent us photos of her recently completed “River Otter” – she knit this cute critter with Berroco Ultra Wool, then made the fish with Fibre Co. Acadia. Pattern by Sara Elizabeth Kellner.

Anne has been busy knitting hats! In an attempt to clean up her leftover bits and bobs, she made the first three hats holding two to five strands of yarn together for a super bulky gauge and fun marled colors.

The gray hat above is “Wister,” by Courtney Kelley, knit with Ewe Ewe Baa Baa Bulky, and the striped hat is made with leftover Malabrigo Caracol. Earth Guild’s “Super Simple Circular Hat Calculator” is her go-to pattern, making it easy to knit any size at any gauge.

Thanks to Peggy, Wendy, Margaretta, Rosi and Anne for sharing their work with us! We love to see what you make with our yarns, and can’t wait to see what comes off your needles next.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Winter Lights.

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The Koigu Collector’s Club continues! Each month, we’ll receive 21 skeins of KPPPM in a limited edition color dyed especially for a select group of local yarn stores that carry Koigu.

Koigu KPPPM:

  • fingering weight
  • hand dyed, variegated
  • 100% superwash merino wool
  • 175 yards/50 g
  • $15.50 each

This month’s special colorway is Winter Lights, a mix of blues, from light to dark, with streaks of plum and lavender.

As I unpacked this new bundle of Koigu, I thought of the “Oslo Hat – mohair edition,” by PetiteKnit, a super cozy cuffed beanie knit with lace weight mohair and fingering weight wool held together throughout. Our friend Margaretta made one recently, using KPPPM in Autumn Burst and Isager Silk Mohair, which picks up one of the many colors in the Koigu for a beautiful blended effect.

Here are a few color combinations using Winter Lights – can’t wait to see what else you might come up with!

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, and head to the lace weight section for Isager Silk Mohair – see you there!