Back in stock: Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on November 27, 2015

Fyberspates Vivacious 4ply has only been on our shelves since February, and already we’re due for a second big reorder. Over and over again, knitters are drawn to our cubby full of Vivacious 4ply by the rich, hand-dyed colorways and the softness of the yarn.

I’m happy to report that a big box of Vivacious 4ply landed here at the shop last week. Our cubby is stuffed with more colors than ever, and there’s plenty to go around!

Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. Check our “Fingering weight” board on Pinterest for pattern ideas!

Vivacious 4ply is hand-dyed, so each skein is unique, even from the same dye-lot; remember you can alternate skeins to blend hand-dyed yarns in larger projects.

We carry lots of hand-dyed yarns, but each one has their own color personality. Vivacious 4ply seems to excel in low-contrast, painterly colorways, the kind that I’d expect to knit up looking well-blended rather than streaky. Their brightest shades are rich and eye-catching, but their muted browns and grays are not to be overlooked.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section at the shop. See you there!

Technicolor cowl.

Posted by Julia on November 18, 2015

For the past year or so, Nancy Leuer’s “Technicolor Cowl” has been a popular project here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Calling for eight 50-yard mini-skeins of Dream in Color Classy, it’s a simple but entertaining project with a focus on color.

This cowl is knit in the round, with stripes of stockinette and reverse stockinette that make a squishy, textured fabric from this springy superwash merino yarn.

I knit the sample “Technicolor Cowl” that hangs over the worsted weight section, and it’s caught many an eye, inspiring knitters to put together their own color combinations. We’ve been lucky to capture some of them and share them here on the blog in show and tell posts.

Here’s Joanne in her “Technicolor Cowl,” knit in eight shades of Alchemy Sanctuary. With a wide variety of colors, from pastel to earth tones to vivid blue and orange, Joanne’s cowl is technicolor, indeed. Josie, shown below in her cowl, took a similar approach, using Dream in Color Classy and Malabrigo Rios.

This pattern looks more subdued, but just as good in fewer colors, too. Debbie knit the “Technicolor Cowl” below in just three shades, with two skeins of green and three skeins each in gold and rust.

The pattern is free when you purchase eight Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins for the project, which I’m happy to report are back in stock. We now have two cubbies full of the stuff!

Dream in Color produces the Classy mini-skeins only occasionally, and the color selection is different every time. I was pleased to see a nice range of teals and blues in this batch that had been absent in the last two rounds of mini-skeins.

Look for Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins in the worsted weight section, and have fun picking colors for a “Technicolor Cowl” of your own!

Hello, Lang Merino+ Color.

Posted by Julia on November 11, 2015

Another new yarn has found a home here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! Meet Lang Merino+ Color.

Merino+ Color is an aran weight superwash merino wool, smooth, springy, soft, and self-striping. It comes in nine different colorways, a nice variety. Some. are subdued and painterly, while others are playful and bright.

Each 100 gram ball boasts 197 yards, plenty for an adult-sized hat, pair of mitts, or small cowl.

I knit this modified version of Wendy Johnson’s free “Easy Broken Rib Cowl” with just one ball of Lang Merino+ Color, shortening the circumference by casting on fewer stitches than called for.

Come by the shop to try on the sample for size; if you’d like to make one like it, make a note to cast on 192 stitches. If you’d prefer the cozier, larger size shown in the pattern, pick up a second skein and follow the pattern as written.

Look for Merino+ Color in the aran weight section here at the shop. See you there!

Hello, Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK.

Posted by Julia on October 17, 2015

Rowan’s newest yarn has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! Meet Pure Wool Superwash DK.

We’ve long been searching for a good quality superwash wool in DK weight, one that comes in loads of colors and at a reasonable price, and this yarn is it. Last fall, Rowan met a similar need with their Pure Wool Superwash Worsted, and this yarn is very much a thinner version of the same good stuff.

Superwash DK weight wools like this one are good for all kinds of projects, from accessories to home goods to garments. One 145 yard ball would make a nice pair of mitts, like the Churchmouse “Welted Fingerless Gloves,” or for that matter, my own “Welting Fantastic Mitts.” Baby and children’s things are also a good fit for Pure Wool Superwash DK; I’ve made “Milo” a couple of times using Rowan Wool Cotton, and this yarn would make a nice wintry version of the same little vest.

For adult sweaters, Martin Storey’s Easy DK Knits is a collection worth checking out. Rowan sent along a sample of the cover sweater, “Barbican,” a garter stitch pullover with drop stitch patterning at the bottom edge. Come by the shop to see it in person, and get a tangible sense of how this yarn works up. Easy DK Knits uses a variety of knitting techniques to make relatively simple sweaters, including texture patterns, cables, and beginner-level colorwork.

In addition to these patterns, consider Rowan’s recently-announced Fall Knit-Along, featuring this very yarn, and hosted by designer Amy Herzog. Herzog is a prolific sweater-designer, and one who cares deeply about how those sweaters fit the knitters who make them. Her Options Knit-Along will guide you through the creation of a highly-customizable sweater knit in Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK, from choosing a size to making modifications to finishing. There’s a textured pullover option and a striped cardigan option, and it looks like there’ll be other options within each of those. Read more about it on her website, where you can download the shopping list and get ready to start the Rowan Options Knit Along this Monday, October 19th!

Look for Rowan Pure Wool Superwash DK in the DK weight section of the shop, where we’re happy to help you plan your next project. See you there!

Hello, Regia sock yarns.

Posted by Julia on October 12, 2015

We’re happy to announce that we now carry self-patterning sock yarns from Schachenmayr Regia!

These colorful skeins are dyed in such a way that the yarn creates a color pattern when you knit it in a small width or circumference, such as a scarf, pair of socks or mitts. No matter what stitch pattern you use, stripes or faux fair-isle colorwork come out as you knit, entertaining you as you knit even the simplest of projects.

The fiber content is a sturdy blend of 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon, to ensure that garments made in these yarns can hold up to the hard wear that socks typically endure.

Some of these colorways are from the Design Line by Arne & Carlos, and some are Pairfect. The Pairfect yarns are designed to make an identical pair of socks, and do so by marking the beginning of the color repeat with a yellow starter thread.

Look for Regia sock yarns in the fingering weight section of the shop!

Ewe Ewe Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on September 17, 2015

Our walls are newly decorated with garments made in Ewe Ewe yarns! To celebrate, we’re offering a special 10% trunk show discount on Ewe Ewe yarns during the show.

Ewe Ewe makes some of the softest, springiest, superwash merino yarns around. Ewe So Sporty is a sport weight, and Wooly Worsted is a worsted weight.

This collection features a variety of accessories and children’s things in both yarns, using a variety of knitting and crochet techniques.

Come by the shop before September 27th to see the Ewe Ewe Trunk Show, and get Ewe Ewe yarns at 10% off during the show!

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

Back in stock: Malabrigo Rios.

Posted by Julia on August 17, 2015

The July sale put a big dent in our inventory of Malabrigo Rios. It’s no surprise so many knitters took the opportunity to stock up at a discount; Rios is beautifully hand-dyed in rich, memorable colors, soft and springy in the hand, and machine-washable, no less. We’re delighted to have bunches more of the stuff on our shelves after a big reorder.

A superwash worsted weight wool is a versatile kind of yarn, good for garments and accessories alike. We’ve noticed that Rios is particularly beloved for baby blankets, and it was Purl Soho’s generous collection of free baby blanket patterns that came to mind as I unpacked this shipment.

The Purl Soho “Super Easy Crib Blanket” calls for seven colors, and I had fun putting a few colorways together in Rios. There’s a “Crochet Super Easy Baby Blanket,” too!

The classic colors in their “Hudson Bay Inspired Crib Blanket” pattern are easy to approximate in Rios.

I also like the “Shadow Stripe Baby Blanket,” which looks like a good, easy project for learning intarsia. It’s shown in three colors, a white background with two-tone stripes.

Also consider the Purl Soho “Flying Geese Knit Baby Blanket,” “Mosaic Blanket,” and “Forever Baby Blanket,” all of which would look great in Malabrigo Rios.

We also replenished our supply of Malabrigo Sock, for those that prefer a smaller gauge yarn. Come by the shop to plan your next project, and remember Rios next time a baby blanket appears on your to-do list!

Back in stock: Swans Island Organic Washable DK.

Posted by Julia on August 13, 2015

Our recent Swans Island shipment that brought the new All American Sport brought a few other goodies, too. We’ve restocked two of our favorite Swans Island yarns with new colors! Let’s begin with Organic Washable DK.

Organic Washable DK is no ordinary superwash wool. Swans Island have made this dk weight yarn machine-washable using a process called Ecowash®, which coats the yarn with an organic compound rather than stripping the scales from the fiber. This helps to prevent felting and gives the Swans Island Organic Washable a softer hand than many other superwash wools.

I recently knit a cowl with this soft, springy yarn, using a pattern of my own design, the “Welting Fantastic Cowl.”

It’s a pleasing texture pattern, both in the process and the finished product, and this yarn is a perfect choice to show it off. I alternated skeins to minimize any pooling, working two rows from one skein, then two from the other, back and forth as if knitting stripes. I was glad I did, too; though I carefully selected three skeins from the same dyelot that looked harmonious, one turned out noticeably darker than the rest once I began knitting. Alternating skeins helped to create a consistent-looking fabric.

Come by the shop to see our newly expanded palette of Swans Island Organic Washable DK, and try on my “Welting Fantastic Cowl” for size. If it strikes your fancy, note that I also wrote a pattern for matching fingerless mitts! Keep your eyes on the blog for more from Swans Island soon.

Back in stock: Jitterbug.

Posted by Julia on August 4, 2015

Colinette Jitterbug is a longtime favorite here at the shop, a bouncy superwash merino wool in a fingering weight.

We were so delighted yesterday to fill the somewhat empty Jitterbug cubby with an armful of new colors, some semi-solid, some wildly variegated.

Jitterbug is great for socks, but over the years, we’ve seen it put to many other uses, like blankets and baby things, sweaters and shawls. Check out the “Fingering weight” board on the HYS Pinterest page for pattern ideas.

Look for Jitterbug in the fingering weight section at the shop! See you there.

Back in stock: Malabrigo.

Posted by Julia on June 24, 2015

Malabrigo is a small yarn company out of Uruguay that is well known for its soft merino yarns, and their vivid, hand-dyed colorways.

We stock many of their yarns here at the shop, and their popularity means we order and reorder from Malabrigo with some frequency. Our most recent Malabrigo order was a particularly large one, filling cubbies of Mechita, Arroyo, Rios, Mecha, and Rasta.

Mechita is Malabrigo’s newest yarn, a single-ply superwash merino wool in fingering weight. Consider pairing a semi-solid shade with a wildly variegated one in a stripe or slip-stitch pattern.

Arroyo is a sport weight superwash merino, sturdy and smooth because of its tightly-plied nature. It’s ideal for baby and children’s things, and a nice weight for adult sweaters, too.

Rios is the worsted weight version of Arroyo, all the same qualities at about 5 stitches per inch on a US 7 or 8. This is a popular yarn for all kinds of projects, from cowls and hats to sweaters, blankets, slipper socks, and beyond.

Mecha is a bulky weight single-ply superwash merino, useful for quick, cozy stitching. We tried to pick colors that we hadn’t seen in this yarn before, and the results range from subdued to bright as can be.

For seriously quick projects, look to Rasta, a slightly felted single-ply merino calling for size US 13 – 15 needles. We more than doubled our inventory of Rasta with this order, adding loads of new colors, and filling two cubbies with the stuff.

We’re always happy to fill our shelves with Malabrigo yarns. These new colors and quantities are already going fast, though, due to that particular Malabrigo combination of beauty, softness, easy-care, and good value. If you’re hoping to put your hands on specific colorways, feel free to call ahead and check that we still have them in your desired quantity. See you at the shop!