Tag Archives: worsted weight

Nightshift.

Posted by on

The knitters and crocheters who populate our shop are a diverse bunch, with all kinds of projects on their hands – any given week could find us suggesting yarns for striped shawls, intarsia cowls, granny square blankets, and all kinds of sweaters. When someone asks “What’s popular?” or “What’s everyone making around here?” I usually don’t know where to begin. Every once in a while, however, a particular pattern seems to appear on everyone’s needles.

Right now, that popular pattern is Andrea Mowry’s “Nightshift.” This triangular shawl is decorated with bands of a simple slip stitch pattern, the background and foreground colors changing every so often. It’s trimmed with an attached i-cord edging, then finished off with a clever striped i-cord bind off.

I made one with Malabrigo Caprino, selecting a variety of dark, medium, and light colors. It was fun to watch how they interacted with one another, sometimes popping out in high contrast, other times receding when the color values were close.

Joanne and Sue have “Nightshifts” going in Caprino, too – I love seeing the variety that’s possible even when these knitters were choosing from the same small selection of colors!

Emily recently finished her “Nightshift,” also made with Caprino, and models it here, though she plans to gift it to a friend in need.

We’ve also had folks reach for worsted weight yarns to make “Nightshifts,” a natural choice since that’s what the pattern calls for. Nancy and Pam both used Malabrigo Rios for their shawls, below:

Andrea Mowry has more than one “Shift” pattern, of course – below is Toya’s “Shiftalong” hat in progress, and the next item on her to-knit list is “The Shift” cowl. She’s using Malabrigo Arroyo and Caprino for both projects, combining semi-solids with speckles.

I can’t wait to see these projects complete, and all the other “Nightshifts” I know are underway out there. Happy stitching to all of you, and special thanks to those who shared their projects on the blog today!

Sale of the Week: Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 02!

Posted by on

Though we have to keep our doors closed during April, we’re still virtually open for mail orders, and we want to offer something fun during this uncertain time. Throughout April, we’ll have a special sale each week – 15% off a featured yarn, our Sale of the Week!

Our next Sale of the Week is 15% off Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 02, from April 8 – 14!

Ranch 02 is a worsted weight, woolen-spun, limited edition, ranch-specific Rambouillet yarn, which means every fiber in these skeins was sourced from a single flock of sheep living on Forbes Ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming. From there, the wool was scoured at Bollman Industries in Texas, spun at Crescent Woolen Mill in Wisconsin, and dyed at Caledonian Dye Works in Pennsylvania.

The 10-color palette is inspired by the landscape of northern Wyoming, and the sheep that roam the land. This 3 ply yarn is nice and round, and shows texture beautifully. That and its bouncy elasticity make it great fun to knit with, springy and light in the hand, making a soft, cohesive fabric.

Each 50 gram skein of Ranch 02 has 102 yards, and usually costs $16. For this week, it’s 15% off, which comes to $13.60 per skein. 2 skeins makes a hat, 7 skeins makes a shawl, and 10-19 makes a sweater.

Get in touch with us by April 14 to get 15% off BT Ranch 02 – thanks so much for continuing to support our small business!

 

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

The Weekender KAL: show and tell.

Posted by on

Back in April 2019, Anne and I embarked on an informal knit-along, knitting Andrea Mowry’s “The Weekender” sweater and inviting anyone and everyone to join us. We were delighted that so many folks were inspired to make the sweater, each bringing their own style and taste to this simple design, each knitting at their own pace. Some finished right away and then had to wait patiently for sweater weather to arrive, others signed up for Amy’s Weekender class to have her guidance as they knit along through the fall and winter. Many are still knitting, and we’re looking forward to seeing their sweaters in use this winter or next. As far as I’m concerned, our KAL has no end-date, so consider this round of Weekender KAL show and tell the first of many!

Michele was the first to finish. She knit her “Weekender” with Debbie Bliss Luxury Tweed she picked up on sale a few years ago, putting that sweater quantity to good use.

Here’s Debbie in her “Weekender,” knit with Brooklyn Tweed Shelter in Snowbound, BT’s softest gray. Something about the reverse stockinette seems to let the heathered colorway shine – flecks of dark gray and black pop out from the overall light color, giving a simple stitch pattern more interest.

Anne and I had our own “Weekenders” on display at the shop all through the fall, and in fact, hers is still hanging – I was excited to wear mine and brought it home last month! Anne’s is on the left, knit with Shelter in Soot, and mine is on the right, knit with Kelbourne Woolens Scout in Sunflower Heather.

Amy is well into teaching a handful of classes on “The Weekender,” and so finished hers in a productive flurry of preparation for teaching. She used Shelter in the marled Caraway color, a good match for this design, with its plain texture and simple shape. She also modified the neckline for a turtleneck, and opted to knit the entire body in the round and steek the armhole openings – very clever!

Many thanks to Michele, Debbie, and Amy for sharing their sweaters and knitting along with us! We know there are many other Weekenders in various stages of completion out there in our HYS knitting community – let us know how it’s going, we can’t wait to see you all in your sweaters!

Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month: Slade.

Posted by on

Our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month for January is here! Come by this month to see “Slade.”

“Slade” is a cardigan designed by Michele Wang for BT Men in 2013, which was then and is still now a rarity in hand knitting: a collection of garments for men. This shawl-collared cardigan is knit with Shelter, Brooklyn Tweed’s signature worsted weight, woolen-spun yarn. It comes in 45 colors, so there’s plenty to choose from. Even better, we’re offering them at 10% off during January – come by soon to take advantage of this discount!

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

Brooklyn Tweed and Shibui Samples of the Month!

Posted by on

December is here, and with it, new featured samples from Brooklyn Tweed and Shibui!

Our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month is Jared Flood’s “Umaro,” an impressive lace and cable blanket knit with two strands of BT Quarry held together.

Quarry is Brooklyn Tweed’s heaviest yarn, a bulky weight, woolen-spun Targhee-Columbia wool. Each plump 100 gram skein boasts 200 yards, quite a bit for a yarn that knits up at 3-3.5 stitches per inch. It’s what our friend Emily used for her own “Umaro” blanket, below – she brought it in this week for show and tell, and reports that she snuggles underneath it on the couch with her kids all the time. A success!

Our Shibui Sample of the Month is “sequences,” by Lori Versaci, knit with Shibui Drift.

Drift is a treat to work with, a luxurious worsted weight blend of merino and cashmere.

We’re offer a 10% discount on Brooklyn Tweed Quarry and Shibui Drift until the end of the month – come by soon to take advantage and see these beautiful knit items!

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

Shibui Sample of the Month: Sandoval Hat.

Posted by on

November is here, and with it, a new Shibui Sample of the Month! We offer a 10% discount on Shibui yarn purchased for our featured sample until the end of the month.

Our current Shibui Sample of the Month was knit by one of our very own teachers – Marsha made this “Sandoval Hat” as a sample for a recent class on the subject. It takes 2 skeins of Shibui Drift, a luscious blend of merino and cashmere.

Below is a bit of show and tell – one of Marsha’s students, Jill, completed her “Sandoval Hat” and immediately cast on for another.

Drift is a treat to work with, and we’re offering it at 10% off all month long. Look for Drift in our worsted weight section here at the shop!

We’ll be closed for a Thanksgiving break from Wednesday, November 27 – Monday, December 2, reopening at our regular business hours on Tuesday, December 3, so if you’re anxious to get Drift at a discount, plan your visit accordingly. We hope to see you soon!

 

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

Hello, Malabrigo Rite.

Posted by on

We recently celebrated our 13th year in business here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, a milestone we could not have reached without your support. In Jewish communities, 13 years marks a coming of age, a bar or bat mitzvah. For our own bat mitzvah year, we did something extra special, something so exciting, we’ve had a hard time keeping it under wraps!

We asked our friends at Malabrigo to create a special colorway for our 13th anniversary, and here it is, after months of planning: meet Rite.

Since March, we’ve emailed back and forth with Antonio at Malabrigo, dreaming up color combinations and anxiously awaiting his photos of trial skeins and swatches. The final colorway is a variegated mix of grey and blue, two of Anne’s favorite colors, and mine, too. It’s flecked with dashes of teal, Antonio’s brilliant contribution, and one that makes our colorway unique.

We have Rite in both Rios and Sock, our best-loved Malabrigo yarns. Both are super soft, superwash merino, plied for durability and stitch definition. It was positively flying off the shelves over our Anniversary weekend, but we still have plenty in stock! You’ll find Rios in the worsted weight section and Sock in the fingering weight section, and plenty of project ideas on our Pinterest boards. Naturally, we’ve been knitting with Rite ourselves – more on that soon!

See you at the shop!

On our needles: Brooklyn Tweed Ranch.

Posted by on

One of the perks of working at the shop is knitting with exciting new yarns, sometimes even before they are available on our shelves. For the past couple of weeks behind the scenes, Anne and I have both been working with Ranch 02, the latest small batch, ranch-specific yarn from Brooklyn Tweed. Take a look at what’s been on our needles!

I’ve just completed Jared Flood’s “Tillage Hat,” a new design for BT Ranch 02, and a cousin to his “Tillage” pullover. I chose a light color to be sure all the texture and cables would show well, somewhat uncertain about the stitch definition of a woolen-spun yarn. I needn’t have worried, however, as this 3 ply yarn is nice and round, and shows texture beautifully.

Ranch 02 is great fun to knit with, springy and light in the hand, and makes such a soft, cohesive fabric.

Anne has had both Ranch 01 and Ranch 02 on her needles of late, and chose the same pattern for both. “When In Scotland” is a triangular garter stitch shawl, a lovely project for letting the yarn shine.

For the first shawl, she used Ranch 01, a worsted spun Rambouillet wool in naturally dyed shades.

She used Ranch 02 for the second shawl, and marveled at the difference between the two yarns.

Despite all they have in common – their fiber content, gauge, and number of plies – they differ in spinning method. Ranch 01 is worsted spun and Ranch 02 is woolen spun, making the former heavier and more smooth, and the latter lighter and more squishy. You can learn all about worsted and woolen spun yarns on Brooklyn Tweed’s website; they’ve written at length about how each kind of yarn is produced and what the difference is in the knitted fabric.

Come by the shop to see Ranch 02 and all of Brooklyn Tweed’s offerings – we have every yarn they make, and binders full of their patterns. There’s even some Ranch 01 left on our shelves!

See you at the shop!

Hello, Brooklyn Tweed Ranch 02.

Posted by on

We are delighted to announce that Brooklyn Tweed’s newest yarn has arrived!

Meet Ranch 02, the second in Brooklyn Tweed’s series of ranch-specific, small-batch yarns.

Ranch 02 is a worsted weight, woolen-spun, limited edition, ranch-specific Rambouillet yarn, which means every fiber in these skeins was sourced from a single flock of sheep living on Forbes Ranch in Kaycee, Wyoming.

Brooklyn Tweed has always sought to highlight single breed wools and support US ranchers with sustainable environmental practices. This project allows them to shine a spotlight on the people and practices behind their yarns, one ranch at a time. You can learn more about Forbes Ranch from a lovely video produced by BT – it gives a good sense of the people who made this yarn possible.

After the wool was sourced at Forbes Ranch in Wyoming, scoured at Bollman Industries in Texas, and spun at Crescent Woolen Mill in Wisconsin, it traveled to Pennsylvania to be dyed at Caledonian Dye Works. The 10-color palette is inspired by the landscape of northern Wyoming, and the sheep that roam the land.

What to knit with Ranch 02? Anything that calls for Shelter, Ranch 01, or worsted weight yarn of any kind. Here are a few ideas from the BT archive, all available to purchase from Ravelry and many available in print here at the shop:

Looking beyond Brooklyn Tweed designs, here are a few other patterns that would be great for Ranch 02:

Jared Flood has also designed two new patterns especially for Ranch 02, a textured yoke pullover and a cabled hat. As a special treat, you can get a coupon for a free download of Flood’s “Tillage Hat” with any purchase of Ranch 02 here at our shop!

Look for Ranch 02 in the worsted weight section here at our shop while supplies last, and check out our full selection of Brooklyn Tweed yarns and patterns while you’re here. See you at the shop!

Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month: Guernsey Wrap.

Posted by on

Our Brooklyn Tweed Sample of the Month for October is here! Come by this month to see the “Guernsey Wrap.”

Jared Flood’s “Guernsey Wrap” has become Brooklyn Tweed’s best-selling pattern of all time, a now-classic rectangular shawl decorated with bands knit and purl texture patterns.

This version is knit with Shelter, Brooklyn Tweed’s signature worsted weight, woolen-spun yarn. It comes in 45 colors and we’re delighted to report that we have them all in stock. Even better, we’re offering them at 10% off during October!

Come by this month to see it for yourself, and pick a color for a “Guernsey Wrap” of your very own!

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