Straw into Gold.

Posted by Julia on June 20, 2016

As I wrote last week from the TNNA showroom floor, catching up with designer Gina Wilde is always one of the highlights of our annual trip to market. She’s the artist and creative mind behind Alchemy yarns, but we love her as much for her funny anecdotes and generous spirit as we do for her luxurious, unique creations.

Her generosity and creativity are now both on display at our shop, in the form of her “Straw Into Gold Shawl,” an elegant piece that she kindly lent to us.

Gina’s “Straw Into Gold Shawl” is knit from the top down, a triangular shawl with feather and fan down the spine and along the bottom edge, with stockinette and garter stripes throughout the body.

Three different Alchemy yarns are used in this piece: Silken Straw, Sparky, and Lust. All three yarns are dyed in the same pale gold shade, “Sand Dollar,” so the stripes are subtle, showing the textural differences between each yarn.

Come by the shop soon to see Gina Wilde’s own “Straw Into Gold Shawl,” for it won’t be with us forever. We have all you need to make it in “Sand Dollar,” along with other colors, and the pattern is free when you buy the Alchemy yarns to make it. See you there!

Hello, Scrumptious 4ply/Sport.

Posted by Julia on June 18, 2016

In a blog post a couple of weeks ago, I teased that our big box from Fyberspates held a new yarn we’d never carried before, along with refills on the Fyberspates yarns you’re used to seeing on our shelves. Just what was that new yarn, anyway? Meet Fyberspates Scrumptious 4ply/Sport.

Scrumptious 4ply/Sport is a soft, shimmering yarn, made of 55% superwash merino and 45% silk. It’s a bit heavy for a fingering, and a bit light for a sport, hence its fractured name. In our shop, you’ll find it in the sport weight section, but don’t rule it out if your pattern calls for fingering weight yarn; look carefully at the pattern gauge and check to see if it falls in the suggested gauge range of Scrumptious 4ply/Sport–between 24 and 28 stitches over 4 inches.

Anne picked this exquisite color palette, cool pastels and neutrals with dark accents in charcoal and deep cobalt. I think this yarn would make a truly dazzling “Vitamin D,” a drape-front cardigan by Heidi Kirrmaier. Look for more pattern ideas on our Fingering and Sport weight Pinterest boards, or come by the shop to peruse the Scrumptious pattern booklets Jeni Hewlett left with us after her visit to our shop last week.

Come and see us for summer knitting inspiration, and consider Scrumptious 4ply/Sport for your next project!

Back in stock: Fyberspates Scrumptious Lace.

Posted by Julia on June 1, 2016

We recently placed a rather large order from Fyberspates, and the rather large box it arrived in was full of new books, new yarns, and new colors in old favorites. Our supply of Scrumptious Lace had grown particularly meager – are we really down to just three shades? – so Anne nearly quadrupled our selection with this order.

Scrumptious Lace is a shimmering blend of 55% merino and 45% silk, with 1094 yards on each 100 gram hank. Its vivid solid colors and smooth texture make for sharp stitch definition, ideal for lace knitting.

Consider Ysolda Teague’s “Ishbel,” “Pear Drop,” and “Barley Sugar,” Jared Flood’s “Rock Island,” and Laura Nelkin’s “Life Cycle.” We’ve also seen Emily Ross’s “Haruni” knit in Scrumptious Lace, with extra repeats of the first chart to make a larger shawl and take advantage of this yarn’s generous yardage. Fine yarns like this one are perfect for lace crochet projects, too; check out Elena Fedotova’s “Scarlet Berry” and “Ink Ripples.”

Look for Scrumptious Lace in the lace weight section here at the shop!

Hello, Echoview Fiber Mill.

Posted by Julia on March 12, 2016

We’re always on the lookout for locally-sourced yarns, and we’ve already brought a few in this year: Shenandoe Farm and Cutthroat Yarn. I’m delighted to announce that we found another, and that we now carry kits from Echoview Fiber Mill, in Weaverville, North Carolina!

Echoview Fiber Mill is exactly what it sounds like: a fiber processing mill where yarns are made, along with a variety of readymade machine-knits. What sets them apart is their commitment to domestically-sourced fiber and environmentally sound practices; in 2013, theirs was the first manufacturing mill to receive Gold LEED Certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.

We have two Echoview Knit Kits to choose from, the “Espen” hat and the “Gimli Slouch and Mitts.” The “Espen” kit features a 100% merino wool naturally dyed in what Echoview calls “Coolidge Red,” a replica of a shade once produced at Asheville’s Biltmore Industries in the early 1900’s.

The yarn inside the “Gimli” kit is a DK weight blend of merino and silk with a rustic tweedy look but a soft texture.

Anne also ordered a machine-knit Echoview Fiber Mill blanket to decorate our sofa here at the shop, something to be sure and pet next time you’re here. We’re happy to special order one for you, too; we have sample swatches of all the available colors.

Come by the shop to see these Echoview Fiber Mill Knit Kits for yourself, and to plan your next project!

New colors from the Fibre Company.

Posted by Julia on January 11, 2016

Every so often, we get word that one yarn company or another has developed new colors, broadening their spectrum and filling in gaps. When the word came recently from the Fibre Company, we put in our order right away for new colors in Road to China Lace and Knightsbridge.

Road to China Lace is a relatively new Fibre Company yarn for us, a 2 ply lace weight blend of 65% baby alpaca, 15% silk, 10% camel, and 10% cashmere. Each 100 gram skein boasts 656 yards, enough for a good sized shawl. These four bright new shades bring a certain whimsy to the Road to China Lace color palette.

Knightsbridge is a soft and fuzzy blend of llama, merino, and silk, a light worsted weight yarn that knits up comfortably between 5 and 5.5 stitches per inch.

Knightsbridge also got four new colors, but they’re more muted and rustic, in keeping with the existing selection.

Look to our Pinterest page for Lace weight and Worsted weight pattern ideas, and come by the shop to plan your next project. Have any of you faithful readers worked with Road to China Lace or Knightsbridge before? Feel free to leave a comment and tell us what you made.

See you at the shop!

Hello, Berroco Artisan.

Posted by Julia on October 1, 2015

Here at the shop, we’ve spent a few afternoons unpacking a truly huge order from Berroco. They sent an exciting new book, bags and bags of two of our favorite Berroco yarns, sample garments, and a brand new yarn for fall. Let’s start there: meet Artisan.

Berroco Artisan is a worsted weight blend of 80% merino wool and 20% silk, with 123 yards on each 50 gram skein. Artisan is dip-dyed for tonally variegated colors, which look as good in texture and lace patterns as they do in garter stitch or stockinette.

Anne and I passed this swatch back and forth a few times before we ordered Artisan for the shop, seeing how it stood up to a variety of stitch patterns and enjoying its springy feel along the way.

Berroco sent along this “Ceonothus” shawl, by Amy Christoffers, worked from the point up in an allover lace pattern. I’ve often admired Amy Christoffers’ designs, particularly for how she makes use of texture patterns, using them to cover entire garments and keeping the knitter interested along the way. “Ceonothus” looks like it would make a great pattern for a first-time lace knitter, and should work up relatively quickly in this worsted weight yarn.

The pattern, like all of Berroco’s Artisan collection, is available as a Ravelry In-Store Pattern Sale. This means that you can buy them at the shop, have us print a copy for you, and also know that a digital copy is saved in your Ravelry pattern library or sent to your email. Head to Ravelry to check out the other sweaters and shawls that Amy Christoffers designed for Artisan, and head to the HYS “Worsted weight” board on Pinterest for lots of other ideas. In particular, don’t miss “Memphre,” a free hat pattern for Artisan.

Look for Artisan in the worsted weight section at the shop, and look out for more new Berroco goodies on the blog soon!

Hello, Shibui Dune.

Posted by Julia on September 13, 2015

We’re delighted to welcome Shibui’s newest yarn to the shop this week: meet Dune.

Dune is a luxurious dk weight blend of 50% baby alpaca, 25% baby camel, and 25% silk. The alpaca and camel fibers give it a bit of a fuzzy halo, the silk gives it some lustre, and all three have great drape. To say Dune is soft is a bit of an understatement.

Shibui kindly sent us a few advance skeins of Dune earlier this summer, and I’m the lucky so-and-so who gets to knit them up into a sample garment for the shop. I’m nearing the halfway point on the “Motif” wrap, a new Shibui pattern for Dune that’s free with the purchase of yarn for the project. It’s an easily memorizable stitch pattern, just little squares of reverse stockinette on a stockinette background, but entertaining nonetheless. Decadent yarn and simple pattern make for a soothing, satisfying project.

Shibui is leading a Fall Knit-Along featuring “Motif” on their Ravelry group; come by soon to select a color and be ready to join the Motif Knit-Along by September 23rd! Look for more pattern ideas for Dune among Shibui’s Fall collection here at the shop, and check the “DK weight” board on our Pinterest page for more.

Come by the shop to see Dune for yourself, and check back here soon for more new goodies from Shibui!

Hello, Fibre Company Road to China Lace.

Posted by Julia on August 30, 2015

We didn’t hold back when we visited the Fibre Company booth at TNNA this year. Not only did we order their newest yarn, Cumbria, we also picked up two other Fibre Company yarns that are new to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Meet Road to China Lace.

Road to China Lace is a 2 ply lace weight blend of 65% baby alpaca, 15% silk, 10% camel, and 10% cashmere. It’s lustrous, silky, and slightly fuzzy, ideal for luxurious lace projects. Each 100 gram skein boasts 656 yards, enough for a good sized shawl.

If this special yarn piques your interest, check out Laura Nelkin’s Pathways Collection for Kelbourne Woolens, featuring shawls, cowls, and shrugs knit in Road to China Lace. Also take a peek at our “Lace weight” board on Pinterest for more pattern ideas. See you at the shop!

Hello, Malabrigo Mora.

Posted by Julia on August 22, 2015

Not long after our recent Malabrigo restock, we received another little box from Malabrigo. Say hello to their newest yarn, Mora.

Mora is a 2 ply fingering weight yarn composed of 100% silk, which explains its soft, smooth hand, and deeply saturated hand-dyed colors.

Each 50 gram skein has about 225 yards, enough for a small cowl, like Michele Wang’s “Pei” or Jo Strong’s “Irish Mesh Cowl.” Two skeins will make a shawlette, like Heidi Kirrmaier’s “Saltwater” or Kate Ray’s “Multnomah.”

Come by the shop to see these shimmering skeins for yourself, and plan a special project with Mora. See you there!

Knightsbridge Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on July 25, 2015

We’re excited to be hosting a Fibre Company Trunk Show: the Knightsbridge Collection!

The Knightsbridge Collection features menswear-inspired designs from Kate Gagnon Osborne, Courtney Kelley, and the rest of the Kelbourne Woolens design team, along with independent designers, the likes of Bristol Ivy, Isabell Kraemer, Carrie Bostick Hoge, and more. This collection boasts a wide variety of garments, from hats, scarves, and legwarmers to vests, cardigans, pullovers, and one stunning shrug.

All of these pieces are knit in Fibre Company Knightsbridge, a light worsted weight blend of llama, merino, and silk that knits up comfortably between 5 and 5.5 stitches per inch.

Knightsbridge renders cables and other texture patterns surprisingly well for such a soft yarn; I’m really impressed with how it behaves in knitted fabric.

We’ve stocked up on Knightsbridge and all of these patterns in time for the Trunk Show; come by to look them over, try on a sweater or two, and perhaps find your next project.

We’ll have the Knightsbridge Trunk Show on display here at the shop until August 19th, 2015. Stop by soon to see it for yourself!