Twin Boston Whalers

I finished knitting a second hat from the Ella Rae Bamboo Silk in the Boston Whaler pattern. They are for a set of girl twins. Ella Rae Bamboo Silk has just enough yarn in the skeins to make two Fair Isle baby hats (with the plum as the background in one, and the pewter as the background in the other).

I ended up enjoying the reverse colors in the second hat more than I thought I would. I would definitely get Ella Rae to knit baby hats again. It would also make a wonderful hat for an adult.  Also, Heather Walpole's pattern is easy to work with. I'm going to experiment with substituting a different fair isle pattern in the stitch repeat.

Happy Knitting!

The Pink Boston Whaler

Last night, I knit the Boston Whaler in the colors pewter and plum. I had such a great time having another successful Fair Isle project. I'll definitely be using this pattern again.

Ella Rae Bamboo Silk is a new favorite yarn of mine. It has great stitch definition for the whale color work. It's also smooth and soft, which will be perfect for a baby's head.

The Hillsborough Yarn Shop

After dropping my siblings off to stay at my grandparents, my mom and I stopped at The Hillsborough Yarn Shop and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Everything is artfully placed on shelves, or hung on hat racks. The knitting needles are stored in a repurposed card catalog. How creative!

The children's knitting book collection is complete with Missions Falls cotton, a rocking chair, and a hand-knit pig.

There is a mother and baby alpaca pair on top of the spinning rack of alpaca and wool-blend hand-dyed yarns.

The front window is graced with buckets of lovely yarn.

I love the Christmas wreath from red and green skeins of yarn.

Here is a super cute set of hand warmers and a hat.

I really enjoy how the owner, Anne Derby, arranged the baskets of yarn with pattern books that would use that type of yarn.

The coral, pink, and purple blend in the bottom right of this picture is just stunning. Wouldn't it make a lovely baby sweater?

The hand-dyed brown below is so subtle, yet rich with the nuances of brown.

I have enjoyed knitting leaf-motif hats and cowls, but this is an entire sweater of leaves!

This corner was so inviting. Light to knit by, a comfortable easy chair, a hand-knit blanket, and plenty of inspiration.

I definitely want to go back next time I'm driving through Hillsborough.

My mom purchased a baby fair isle pattern called Preppy Hats by Heather Walpole, that can be either pink bows for a girl, or whales for either gender. The pattern is also for sale on Ravelry.

We purchased Ella Rae bamboo silk to knit these hats. I'm going to do the whale versions, one in pewter and plum, and the other in mocha and navy. She's going to knit the pink bow version.

I also purchased my first Debbie Bliss yarn, Fez, which is 85% Extrafine Merino Wool and 15% Camel, in gray. The heathered purple is Ultra Alpaca from Berroco, 50% Alpaca and 50% Wool.

Please visit The Hillsborough Yarn Shop's website to find out more about Anne's lovely shop at www.hillsboroughyarn.com

Happy Knitting!