Tag Archives: wool

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.

Back in stock with new colors: Kelbourne Woolens Germantown!

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Last week, a giant box arrived from Kelbourne Woolens, packed full of their worsted weight wool, Germantown. Inside were no less than 10 new colors, plus a handful of colors we’d sold out of. We now have 35 shades in stock, including a few marled Germantown Unicorns – enough to warrant a new display!

Kelbourne Woolens Germantown:

  • worsted weight
  • 4ply, worsted spun
  • 100% North American wool
  • 220 yards/100g
  • $16 each; Germantown Unicorns are $16 each

Germantown is a recreation of a classic wool that had been produced in Germantown, Pennsylvania, under a few different brand names since the mid-to-late 19th century. Made of 100% North American wool, Germantown is a worsted spun, worsted weight yarn with a smooth texture, soft hand, and nice elasticity.

One skein is enough for a hat, and the folks at Kelbourne Woolens have designed one for every month of the year. Even better, every one of these patterns is free to download from Ravelry – look there for an entire Year of Hats!

Here are some more pattern ideas for Germantown:

Look for Kelbourne Woolens Germantown in the worsted weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop! We’re open from 11-5:30, Tuesdays-Saturdays, and also taking orders online for local pickup or shipping.

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: March 2022.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. March’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

March’s special colorway is a wild blend of neons and brights streaked with black and white.

It reminds me of February’s Pop-Up Club colorway, but darker, which had me wondering if they could be part of a fade; these three would make a striking “Temperance Shawl,” or a “Free Your Fade,” by Andrea Mowry!

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We are open between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Koigu Barn at Dawn.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

This month’s limited edition shade is Koigu Barn at Dawn, a variegated mix of peach, ivory, burgundy, and shades of gray.

This new colorway made me think of Andrea Mowry’s “Curio Socks,” a striped, slip-stitch pattern I’ve seen several knitters working on lately. The heathered CoopKnits Socks Yeah! makes a great Main Color, letting the variegated KPPPM take center stage as Contrast Color.

Look closely at Mowry’s sizing as you select your yarn and colors; some sizes will require two skeins of Socks Yeah! as shown here, while others will only need one.

CoopKnits Socks Yeah!: fingering weight, 75% superwash wool, 25% nylon, 231 yards/50 grams; $11.60 each

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with CoopKnits Socks Yeah! and more – see you there! We’re also taking online orders for local pickup or shipping.

Zauberwolle + solid colors.

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Schoppel-Wolle Zauberwolle is the latest arrival here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a marled self-striping merino wool. I wrote in its introductory post about mixing two contrasting colors, but Zauberwolle plays well with solid colors, too. Read on for some color and pattern ideas!

Here, I’ve paired Zauberwolle with Swans Island All American Sport – a hand-dyed yarn, so you can expect a little bit of variation in the skein, but an overall semisolid effect.

Swans Island All American Sport: sport weight, hand-dyed, 100% Rambouillet wool, 185 yards/40 g; $12.50 each

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra is a great playmate for Zauberwolle, too – a soft and slightly fuzzy blend of merino and highland wool with a dash of mohair.

Kelbourne Woolens Andorra: sport weight, 60% merino, 20% highland wool, 20% mohair, 185 yards/50 g; $12 each

What to make with these color pairs? Here are some ideas!

Sweaters:

Accessories:

Look for Zauberwolle, All American Sport, and Andorra in the sport weight section here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we’re open from 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays! We’re still taking online orders for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Back in stock: Spindrift.

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We got a big shipment from Jamieson’s this week, bursting with Spindrift!

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift is one of my very favorite yarns in the shop, a classic Shetland wool that comes in over two hundred colors! We don’t have every available shade here at the shop, but it’s a nice selection – we try to make sure there are plenty of lights, mediums, and darks in every color family, which makes for a tantalizing color palette.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift:

  • fingering weight
  • 100% shetland wool
  • 115 yards/25 g
  • $8.40 each

Spindrift is a classic choice for stranded colorwork, a particularly beloved technique around here – here are some pattern ideas!

Hats:

Mittens:

Sweaters:

Look for Spindrift in the fingering weight section here at the shop!

Dream in Color Pop-Up Club: February 2022.

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Dream in Color’s Pop Up Club is back! Every month, we’re getting a special new colorway from Dream in Color, a Tucson-based producer of small batch hand-dyed yarns. February’s new limited edition colorway is here while supplies last!

Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere:

  • fingering weight
  • 70% superwash merino, 20% cashmere, 10% nylon
  • 400 yards/100g
  • $34 each

February’s special colorway is a wild blend of neons and brights on a backdrop of creamy white.

We got some coordinating semisolid shades of Smooshy Cashmere, as well – some offer high contrast, others may blend, but all of them complement their variegated cousins!

Here are a few color trios, thinking of Lesley Ann Robinson’s “Studio Sampler,” or Stephen West’s “The Doodler.”

Look for Dream in Color Smooshy Cashmere in the fingering weight section here at our shop! We are open between 11am – 5:30pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays; you can still order online for local pickup or shipping, as well.

Koigu Collector’s Club: Fjord.

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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. KPPPM is a fingering weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in vibrant colors by mother/daughter team Maie and Taiu Landra on their farm outside of Toronto, Canada.

Koigu KPPPM:

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

This month’s special colorway is Fjord, muted but colorful – look closely and you’ll see shades of plum, rose, navy, denim, copper, wheat, sage, and more.

What to knit with highly variegated skeins like these? Woolly Wormhead’s entire “Get Garter” pattern collection comes to mind, an introduction to sideways hat construction, all knit in variegated fingering weight yarns.

Another Woolly Wormhead pattern caught my eye, too – “Square Cubed” is a colorwork hat decorated with small square motifs, which means we’ll need plenty of contrast to show the pattern clearly.

I think these shades of Kelbourne Woolens Camper, Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, and Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering will do the trick, having looked at the photo in black and white to better assess the color value.

Look for Koigu KPPPM in the fingering weight section here at the shop, along with Kelbourne Woolens Camper, Brooklyn Tweed Peerie, Ewe Ewe Fluffy Fingering, and more – see you there!

HYS Color Club: Peerie + Dipyramitts.

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HYS Color Club members just got their very first project!

Inside the bag, there are 2 skeins of Brooklyn Tweed Peerie to knit a pair of “Dipyramitts,” by Emily Greene. We included a color wheel, too!

Greene’s clever colorwork hand warmer pattern includes options for fingerless mitts, mittens, or convertible mittens.

“Dipyramitts,” by Emily Green. Photo © Emily Greene.

Of course, you can make a pair even if you didn’t join the HYS Color Club – just pick a high contrast combination in Brooklyn Tweed’s soft and springy Peerie. Here are a few ideas!

If any of these catch your eye, pick your favorite and order online for local pickup or shipping! BT Peerie is $17.25 per skein, and we have 30+ colors in stock – come by the shop between 11 – 5:30 pm, Tuesdays – Saturdays to see them all.

Back in stock: Malabrigo Washted.

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We’re delighted to have a fresh supply of Malabrigo Washted!

Malabrigo Washted:

  • worsted weight
  • single ply
  • hand-dyed
  • 100% superwash merino
  • 210 yards/100g
  • $15.95 each

Washted is a worsted weight, superwash merino, with 210 yards on each 100 gram skein, and it’s hand-dyed in rich variegated colors. It’s a lot like Malabrigo’s popular Rios yarn, except that Washted is single ply where Rios is plied.

The downside of single ply yarn is often discussed here at the shop, namely, that single ply yarns are the first to pill. The upside, however, is that the super soft merino wool is even softer in a single ply. This makes Washted ideal for accessories that don’t see a lot of abrasion, like shawls, cowls, and hats. Here are a few pattern ideas:

Look for Malabrigo Washted in the worsted weight section here at our shop, or order online for local pickup or shipping!