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!

Baa-bles and pom-poms.

Posted by Julia on June 18, 2015

While we were at TNNA, in between swatching new yarns and meeting with vendors, I worked on a colorwork hat. In spite of the long, busy days, the hat was quickly completed, due to the thick, quick-knitting yarn, and the adorable, addictive nature of the pattern.

Here’s my “Baa-ble Hat,” a free pattern designed by Donna Smith for Shetland Wool Week 2015. I knit it in four shades of Jamieson’s Shetland Heather Aran, which has all the wooly charms of its fingering weight cousin, the beloved Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift.

I topped it with this delightfully oversized pom-pom, which I made using what looks to be the largest pom-pom maker available.

I trimmed a good inch or so off of the pom-pom after removing it from this gadget, and still, it’s a rather significant pom-pom.

Anne and I have been getting some serious pom-pom practice of late, making colorful pom-poms for our summer shop window display. We used all different gauges of yarn, from fingering weight to super bulky, sometimes working with two different colors or multiple strands of yarn in any given pom-pom.

It’s a motley group of pom-poms, but now that they’re hanging neatly in the shop window, we’re really quite fond of them, and the whimsical atmosphere they’ve lent the place.

Come by the shop to pick up a pom-pom maker or two–we just got the full range of sizes in stock!

New colors in Vivacious 4ply.

Posted by Julia on June 16, 2015

We received a lovely bundle from Fyberspates last week, bursting with bags of their Vivacious 4ply yarn. Vivacious 4ply is a high twist, superwash merino wool in a fingering weight. Though we just started stocking this yarn in February, a reorder was already necessary, and their newest shades tempted us, too.

Each 100 gram skein has 399 yards, enough for a pair of socks or mitts, a hat, scarf, or shawlette. 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 were also delighted to see these two new books from Fyberspates. Vivacious Kids is a collection of garments and accessories for children ages 2-10, a range for which it is sometimes surprisingly hard to find knitwear designs. CoopKnits Socks Vol. 2 is a pleasing and diverse collection of sock patterns, from the simple to the ornate.

Look for Vivacious 4ply in the fingering weight section of the shop!

More and more new colors in Shetland Spindrift.

Posted by Julia on April 13, 2015

It’s been about a year since I last wrote about Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift here on the blog. Our little basket of Shetland Spindrift has grown over the past year, as interest in the yarn and in colorwork knitting has grown here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

Jamieson’s Shetland Spindrift is a classic fingering weight 2-ply shetland wool. It comes in little 25 gram balls to accommodate fair-isle knitters and their many-colored projects, for they don’t always need much yardage in any one shade.

Shetland Spindrift comes in 200+ colors, and though we can’t have them all in stock, we’re more than happy to order whatever colors you like, in whatever quantity.

We’ve expanded our selection of colors one special request at a time, and now I associate these shades with particular knitters and their projects: a palette of undyed shades for a “Sheep Heid” tam, rich blues and greens to recreate a favorite striped sweater, a few bright shades to perk up a growing stash of Shetland wool for colorwork knitting, autumnal rusts and mossy greens for a series of slip-stitch scarves, and so on.

We’ve seen lots of finished projects in Shetland Spindrift, too. Here’s Ruth in her “Mitered Cardigan,” from Elizabeth Zimmermann’s Knit One, Knit All. With guidance from Nancy during last year’s class on the subject, Ruth knit this unusually-constructed cardigan in record time for such a fine gauge yarn.

One of Shetland Spindrift’s many lovely qualities is the structure it brings to knitted fabric, which is critical for a good-sized garment mostly in garter stitch. I’m certain Ruth’s sweater will look as lovely years from now as it does in this photo.

Here’s my “Puffin,” from Kate Davies’ Colours of Shetland, a sweater that you’ve likely seen on my person if you’ve been by the shop in the past several months. I loved knitting it, love wearing it, and anticipate making another Kate Davies sweater with Shetland Spindrift sometime soon.

Amy brought in her “First Footing,” an elaborate pair of colorwork socks designed by Kate Davies. This half of the pair is currently on display at the shop, so you can get a good look at it while you browse our baskets of Shetland Spindrift.

I know there’s plenty of Shetland Spindrift out there on the needles; we’d love to see what you’re making with it! Come by the shop to share your progress and plan your next project. See you there!

Baa Ram Ewe Trunk Show!

Posted by Julia on April 3, 2015

We’re delighted to be hosting a Baa Ram Ewe Trunk Show, featuring garments from Rachel Coopey’s Coop Knits Toasty Vol. 1!

All of these accessories are knit with Baa Ram Ewe Titus, a fingering weight blend of alpaca, Wensleydale, and Bluefaced Leicester wools, sourced and spun entirely in the UK.

This collection shows how well Titus behaves in a variety of stitch patterns, from smooth stranded colorwork to texture patterns, cables, and lace.

Come by the shop during April to admire the Baa Ram Ewe Trunk Show and pick out a few skeins of Titus for your next project!

Hello, MJ Opulent Fingering.

Posted by Julia on March 31, 2015

Another new yarn has found its way to the shop this Spring: meet MJ Opulent Fingering.

Based in Lafayette, Colorado, MJ Yarns specializes in variegated and semi-solid colorways, with short color runs to minimize pooling.

Opulent Fingering is a tightly-plied blend of 80% superwash merino, 10% cashmere, and 10% nylon, with 416 yards on each 100 gram skein. It’s perfect for a special pair of socks, a cowl, shawl, or pair of mitts.

MJ Yarns offers a selection of free patterns on their website; consider also the “Willow Cowl,” “Starshower” cowl, and “Multnomah” shawlette, all of which are well-suited to variegated fingering weight yarns. Look for more pattern inspiration on the “Fingering weight” board on the HYS Pinterest page. See you at the shop!

Back in stock: Classy mini-skeins.

Posted by Julia on March 24, 2015

Back in August, we got a bundle of mini-skeins from Dream in Color and a fun, simple pattern to go with: the “Technicolor Cowl.” We all had fun putting wild colorways together, and before we knew it, they were sold out. I’m happy to report that we were finally able to get Dream in Color Classy mini-skeins back in stock!

Dream in Color Classy is a worsted weight superwash merino, hand-dyed in Chicago, IL. Each of these mini-skeins comes with about 50 yards of yarn.

Nancy Leuer’s “Technicolor Cowl” calls for 8 mini-skeins.

We’ve seen so many kinds of color combinations made from these mini-skeins, and they all look great. Some are gradients, pulling 8 shades from one or two color families. Some are brightly colored, with high contrast shades side by side in each stripe. Some feature duplicate skeins of one main color studded with only a few contrasting shades, for a less colorful but no less interesting look.

Come by the shop to put together a “Technicolor Cowl” colorway of your own!

Rowan Pure Wool: new colors, booklets.

Posted by Julia on March 15, 2015

Rowan has added six new shades to their Pure Wool Worsted line, and we’re happy to have them on our shelves.

All six are heathered, each shade composed of a few solid shades that are blended together to look solid from a distance. They fill out our existing selection nicely to make a well-rounded palette.

What to make with Rowan Pure Wool Worsted? Martin Storey has answered this question with two pattern collections in Pure Wool Worsted.

Pure Wool Worsted makes a great sweater yarn, especially for casual everyday sweaters.

It’s smooth and predictable on the needles, sturdy and easy to care for, renders stitch patterns crisply, and happens to be the most economical superwash worsted weight wool we’ve found.

Superwash wool at this gauge is tremendously versatile, and has many uses beyond adult-sized sweaters: use it for baby blankets, children’s sweaters, slipper socks, cold weather accessories, home goods, and the like. It’s also a good candidate for toy-making, as it happens.

I used Rowan Pure Wool recently to knit this pair of bunnies from a pair of free patterns. The bigger one, “Henry’s Rabbit,” is for my niece, and the smaller one, “Henry’s Bunny,” is for her sibling-to-be, due at the end of the month. One skein of Rowan Pure Wool was enough to make the pair. Stuffed animals are definitely not my typical knitting project, but I must say, this was a truly delightful diversion, and this yarn was a perfect fit!

Come by the shop to peruse the Martin Storey booklets, see the new colors, and plan your next project. See you there!

New colors in Zauberball Starke 6.

Posted by Julia on March 11, 2015

We recently replenished our supply of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Starke 6, a sport weight, self-striping yarn.

Zauberball Starke 6 slowly changes from one color to the next several yards at a time, so that whatever you’re knitting or crocheting with it comes out striped. Additionally, it’s 2-ply, where both plies are not always the same shade, giving the yarn and finished product a marled look.

Thinking Spring, Anne and I chose several colorways with grassy greens, bright shades for lively stitching.

When you’re choosing projects for Zauberball Starke 6, look for patterns with interesting construction but relatively simple stitch patterns, as the stripes and marled colors will likely outshine any complex lace or texture pattern. Paging through Ravelry, lots of knitters have used Zauberball Starke 6 to make “Wingspan,” “Hitchhiker,” “TGV (High Speed Knitting),” and “Wurm.”

Here at the shop, we have a “Multidirectional Diagonal Scarf” on display knit in Zauberball Starke 6; this self-striping yarn highlights the short-row triangles. Composed of 75% superwash wool and 25% nylon, Zauberball Starke 6 is great for socks or legwarmers, too! Look for more pattern ideas on the “Sport weight” board on the HYS Pinterest page.

Come by the shop to pick up a skein or two of Schoppel-Wolle Zauberball Starke 6! See you there.

Hello, Shibui Staccato.

Posted by Julia on March 8, 2015

Another new yarn from Shibui! Meet Staccato.

Staccato is a lustrous blend of 70% superwash merino and 30% silk in a fingering weight. Like Cima, it has a nice high twist, giving it the look of a string of pearls. Each 50 gram skein has 191 yards, enough for a hat or a pair of mitts; two skeins would make a lovely cowl, or a special pair of socks. Staccato looks to be a stellar sweater yarn, as well; check out the “Fingering weight” board on our Pinterest page for pattern ideas!

Both silk and superwash wool have a tendency to grow after washing and blocking; plan for this by washing your swatch and adjusting needle size accordingly. I know this can feel like an extra step sometimes, but it’s worth it to end up with a garment in the size you intended!

Look for Shibui Staccato in the fingering weight section, and be sure to check out our other Shibui yarns and patterns while you’re here. Come by the shop when you’re seeking inspiration; we look forward to helping you plan your next project!