Show and tell: sweaters.

Posted by Julia on September 11, 2016

For me, there’s something very special about sweaters. I love making them because the process changes every few inches–different stitch patterns, needle sizes, new shaping, parts, and pieces keep it interesting throughout. Here are some of the finished sweaters we’ve seen at the shop recently, all of whom started life as skeins of yarn on our shelves.

Here Rosi models her “Sonora,” knit with two strands of Shibui Pebble and one strand of Shibui Linen held together throughout. Rosi knit this beautiful, wearable top last year, but I didn’t get a chance to capture it until just a few weeks ago. I love this mustard yellow color, and I love seeing multiple yarns put together to create a unique fabric. Bravo, Rosi!

Here’s Leslie’s “Sundottir,” knit in Queensland Kathmandu Aran Tweed and Swans Island Natural Colors Merino Worsted. Colorwork yokes like this are my passion and my weakness – this just looks like so much fun to knit!

I finished a summer top not long ago, “Dafne,” by Julie Hoover, knit in the discontinued-but-still-in-stock Berroco Linen Jeans. I was moved to knit this by the exquisite armhole shaping, an esoteric inspiration, perhaps, but one that proved satisfying in the knitting.

Baby sweaters are just as fun to knit as adult sweaters, and so much faster! Here’s Paula’s “Milly Tank Top,” knit in Ewe So Sporty.

Thanks to all the sweater knitters who begin their projects at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! To those whose first sweaters are still ahead of them, we offer encouragement and support–we’re happy to help along the way!

The Arranmore Collection.

Posted by Julia on August 30, 2016

With the arrival of Fibre Company’s exciting new yarn, Arranmore, comes a predictably lovely pattern collection from the design team at Kelbourne Woolens.

Inspired by traditional Irish knitwear, the Arranmore Collection features six sweaters, two hats, and a scarf.

Tweed yarns like Arranmore liven up simple stockinette, to be sure, but they do equally well in texture and cable patterns, and bring nuance to stranded colorwork.

Anne’s knitting “Carrowkeel” as a sample for the shop, using Arranmore in “Meara,” a deep blue with flecks of cobalt and red.

This cozy turtleneck is designed to be worn with positive ease, and looks like perfect North Carolina winter outerwear to me.

Meanwhile, I’ve been working on a “Finn Valley” sample, using Arranmore’s “St. Claire,” a natural white with flecks of beige and pale blue that really lets the cables shine. I’m sorry to report that this color is currently on backorder; let us know if it tops your list so we can alert you when it arrives!

Look for the Arranmore Collection along with Arranmore yarn here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop!

Anne’s gifts-in-progress.

Posted by Julia on August 16, 2016

“What are you working on?” is knitters’ small talk, a question Anne and I encounter and ask many times a day here at the shop. Today, we’ll pose the question to Anne herself, taking a rare peek in her personal knitting bag.

Just how much does a large Binkwaffle dumpling bag hold? If you pack as skillfully as Anne, no less than seven works in progress in various stages of completion!

Anne is a tremendously generous knitter who loves clothing her family in handknits, and she’s also a project manager. That means she’s already planned her holiday gift-knitting for the year, completed the first piece (a twirly skirt for her eldest granddaughter), and started on the next few. The sweater above is for her husband, a “Honeycomb Pullover” in Rowan Pure Wool Worsted.

These two skeins of Swans Island All American Sport are destined to become colorwork gloves for her husband. The socks below are for her grandsons, in Colinette Jitterbug and Noro Silk Garden Sock. She’ll work on both pairs at once, switching back and forth between the blue and striped socks until they’re completed. Also note how she stores them safely in DP Wip Tubes, so none of those tiny stitches slide off the needles!

These two skeins of Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK will grow up to be a cuddly “Fancy Hen” for Anne’s youngest granddaughter, who gets lots of handknit hand-me-downs, but still deserves something all her own.

Quick to knit and easy to wear, hats and cowls are go-to gifts for many knitters, and Anne has one of each in progress. The hat above was knit in the discontinued Shibui Merino Alpaca, and sits nearly finished with just one lingering question: does it need a pom-pom? The cowl below is a bit of a teaser, since all I can say is that the yarn it’s made of is coming to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop later this Fall. More soon!

(Outside of this particular knitting bag, she also has three sample sweaters going for the shop… more on those another time.)

Are you dreaming of handmade holiday gifts for your friends and family? Follow in Anne’s footsteps and start now, so you’re not limited to late nights, super-bulky yarns and tiny accessories towards the end of the year!

Interweave Knits.

Posted by Julia on August 7, 2016

The 20th Anniversary issue of Interweave Knits is here!

This Fall 2016 issue is packed with cozy sweaters, and many of them are knit in yarns we carry here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. The colorwork sweater below was knit in one of my personal favorites, Swans Island All American Sport.

Not only is the “Comanche Hill Cardigan” knit in a familiar yarn, it was also designed by a familiar knitter, Kathryn Folkerth. Though she now lives in Tanzania, Kathryn is a HYS regular when she’s in town, and we’re so excited to see her work in Interweave!

Flipping through this issue, I saw more of my personal favorites: Fibre Company Cumbria Worsted in the “Rawah Pullover” above, Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK in the “Calder Pullover” below, Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift in the fair isle “Fall River Vest” … yes, this issue is dedicated to wooly, toothy sweater yarns!

Mary Jane Mucklestone’s article on steeking is a good introduction to the subject of cutting your knitted fabric, a technique often used in colorwork cardigans and vests.

Look for Interweave Knits on the teacart here at the shop, tucked in with the latest books and magazines. See you there!

Isager Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on August 2, 2016

We’re delighted to announce that a new trunk show has arrived to decorate our walls this month! Come by the shop before August 31st to see an array of garments and accessories knit in Isager yarns.

Isager is a Danish yarn company run by designers Marianne Isager and her daughter, Helga Isager.

Their yarns are mostly lace and fingering weight, and often combined two or three strands at a time to create bespoke fiber blends and unique colorways.

Isager has long been a favorite of ours here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop; Anne’s knit a handful of Isager patterns, guided knitters through plenty more, and even traveled to Denmark to study with Marianne and Helga a few years ago.

You’ll find our shop well-stocked with Isager yarns like Alpaca 1, Alpaca 2, Spinni, Tvinni, and Tweed.

We also keep lots of Isager patterns and booklets on hand, covering a wide range of projects, with an emphasis on contemporary knitted garments for adults and children.

Later this month, we’ll introduce a brand new Isager yarn at our Isager Yarn Tasting – sign up now to join us at this exciting event, and come by the shop soon to see the Isager Trunk Show for yourself!

Shibui Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on July 20, 2016

Our walls are newly decorated with an exciting Shibui Trunk Show! We’ll have 8 garments from their Spring/Summer 2016 pattern collection on display here at the shop until July 31st, 2016.

Many of these garments feature their newest yarn, Rain, a dk weight mercerized cotton that’s chain-plied for a unique texture. You’ll notice two “Nova” tunics made in Rain; the white one came from Shibui, while Anne knit the black one as a shop sample that just happens to be in her size.

Shibui’s Mix concept means combining different yarns to create bespoke fiber and color blends. Create drape by adding Linen to Cima or Staccato, add a fuzzy halo by adding Silk Cloud to Rain, and so on.

There are many fun and useful things about trunk shows, like being able to play a bit of dress-up and try garments on for size, but one of the best aspects of a Shibui trunk show is seeing these yarn combinations in person.

Come by before the 31st to see the Shibui Trunk Show for yourself!

The Complete Surprise.

Posted by Julia on July 18, 2016

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s “Baby Surprise Jacket” is a classic pattern and a feat of creative knitted engineering.

It’s one that we always have copies of, though when we went to reorder it from Schoolhouse Press, we also noticed a new book on the subject: The Complete Surprise. No surprise, you’ll now find both the single pattern and this new book here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

Elizabeth Zimmermann’s grandson, Cully Swansen, is the mind behind this book and a designer in his own right. Inside The Complete Surprise, you’ll find thorough instructions for adult-, baby-, and child-sized Surprise Jackets, with new custom sizing info and all manner of Surprise variations.

Look for The Complete Surprise on the teacart here at the shop, and remember that everything (including brand new books!) is 15% off during our Annual Inventory Sale and Book Raffle. For each book you buy this July, you’ll receive a raffle ticket, an entry to win a signed copy of an exciting new knitting book. See you at the shop!

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

Acadia Collection Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on June 29, 2016

I’m happy to announce that a new Trunk Show has arrived at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! Come by soon to see the Fibre Company Acadia Collection.

This collection is named for the yarn it features: Acadia, a dk weight blend of merino, alpaca, and slubs of silk. The silk takes the dye differently than the other fibers, giving most colorways a rustic, tweedy appearance, which belies its luxuriously soft hand.

The Acadia Collection is designed to show off this special yarn, and so it features classic, simple garments that walk the line between casual and elegant.

So often we knit from instructions and sets of measurements and guesses about how a sweater will look or feel after we spend time creating it; a trunk show is a unique opportunity to experience a handknit garment before you put the work and money into making it, to be sure it’s what you want before you begin. Come by the shop before July 10th to see the Acadia Collection for yourself, to admire and try on these garments for size!

On and off our needles.

Posted by Julia on May 12, 2016

Anne and I are always knitting. I’m sure this comes as no surprise. At home, we work on our own projects – Anne is currently knitting a sweater for her husband, I’m (almost always) knitting a sweater for myself – and here at the shop, we knit on samples that will one day hang on the wall to inspire knitters that come to visit. Within the past two weeks, we’ve both completed shop samples and cast on for new ones.

Anne’s “Nova” tunic is made with Shibui’s newest yarn, Rain, a mercerized cotton so smooth and shiny it could pass for silk.

“Nova” is simply constructed in two pieces, then stitches are picked up for the mandarin collar. Side seams give structure to the drapey fabric that comes with plant fibers like cotton.

The pattern photo shows “Nova” in a silvery gray, but I think it looks particularly elegant in Anne’s signature black. Come by the shop to try it on!

With “Nova” behind her, Anne is now stitching on another pattern from Shibui’s Spring/Summer 2016 collection, a colorblock pullover called “Horizon.”

She’s knitting it in the uncharacteristically bold color combination of “Lime” and “Suit,” holding Linen and Cima together for a lightweight fabric. Each ball of yarn is tucked in a separate plastic bag for the duration of the project: an effective, if not glamorous, method for managing slick, delicate yarns.

My most recently completed project is “Spearmint Tea,” a shawl knit with Cutthroat Yarn Gradient Cotton.

Because this yarn changed color at a different rate than the yarn called for in the pattern, I made a few changes along the way, all noted in my project page on Ravelry, for those curious. Look for the finished piece here at the shop!

My next shop project is a second “Baa-ble Hat,” knit in Plymouth Tweed and Queensland Kathmandu Aran. I like how the colorwork looks in the mottled tweed yarns, and I’ve had fun watching the sheep emerge row by row.

Knit in aran weight yarn, this is a quick project. Come by the shop in the next week, and you’ll likely find it finished! We look forward to seeing what’s on your needles, too – come in for inspiration and to plan your next project.

New patterns for Dovestone DK.

Posted by Julia on April 20, 2016

I’m happy to report that we recently got some new single patterns for Dovestone DK, the yarn featured in our current Baa Ram Ewe Trunk Show.

Alison Moreton’s Landmark Collection features garments and accessories knit in Baa Ram Ewe Dovestone DK. Each design is inspired by a landmark in Yorkshore, home of Baa Ram Ewe.

The pattern photos show each piece before the landmark that inspired it, a fascinating peek into the process of translating the shapes and textures around us into knitted fabric.

Another new collection for Dovestone DK is Ella Austin’s Dovestone Smallholding.

This sweet spiral bound book is filled with stuffed animals and dolls knit in Dovestone DK: a cabled kitten and wensleydale lamb, colorwork fowl, pig, and shetland pony.

Look for these new patterns here at the shop, and come before May 6th to catch the Baa Ram Ewe Trunk Show and the 10% discount on Dovestone DK that goes with it. See you there!

A reminder: all sales are final on discounted items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!