Tag Archives: isager

Eat & Knit, by Marianne Isager & Camillo’s Kitchen.

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When we’re not talking about yarn, Anne and I often chat about food as we work – we both love to cook and share intriguing recipes. Thus, we find Marianne Isager’s new book especially enticing – let’s take a look inside Eat & Knit!

Eat & Knit is a collaboration between knitwear designer Marianne Isager and Camillo’s Kitchen, a pop-up restaurant in Tversted, Denmark.

The knitting patterns and recipes in this collection are all organized around a particular ingredient – cauliflower, beet, lemon, and so on. It’s fun to see the fruits and vegetables reflected in the knitwear!

We keep a variety of Isager yarns in stock here at the shop, though not every single one – ask us and we’ll help connect you with the yarn you’re looking for or a good substitute.

Eat & Knit is $21.95; order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

Sale Spotlight: Isager Alpaca 3.

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Everything in our shop is 15% off during July, our Annual Inventory Sale! All month, I’ll be shining a spotlight on the yarns we have in stock – today, let’s look at Isager Alpaca 3!

Isager Alpaca 3:

  • bulky weight
  • chainette construction
  • 50% alpaca, 50% wool
  • 137 yards/50 grams
  • $10 each

This yarn has tremendous elasticity, making it a pleasure to work with and surely a pleasure to wear. The label doesn’t have any recommendation for needle size or gauge, so Anne got out a pair of US 10 needles and started swatching. She did a little garter stitch, a little stockinette, a few other texture patterns, and still wanted to keep knitting – a good sign! After blocking, the gauge in stockinette measures about 4 stitches per inch, though a range of 3.5 – 4.5 stitches per inch is also appropriate for this yarn.

What to knit with Isager Alpaca 3? Here are some ideas!

Order online for local pickup or shipping via USPS Priority Mail!

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

Amirisu, Issue 20.

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A new issue of Amirisu is here!

Amirisu is a knitting magazine based in Japan, each issue filled with articles, interviews, and patterns from designers all over the world.

This is Amirisu’s 20th issue since starting the magazine in 2012, an accomplishment that founders Tokuko and Meri discuss in an interview.

This issue features designs by Paula Pereira, Alice Caetano, Justyna Lorkowska, and more.

I spotted a couple of familiar names in a feature on linen blends for summer – Shibui Twig and Isager Merilin, both of which are available here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

Another Isager yarn shows up in this issue – Tvinni, a light fingering weight wool from Denmark.

Issue 20 of Amirisu is $24 – order online and we’ll ship it to you or you can come by to pick it up!

Hello, Isager Alpaca 3.

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This week we welcomed a brand new yarn from Isager – meet Alpaca 3!

Alpaca 3 is a bulky weight blend of alpaca and wool, soft and lofty due to its chainette construction. This yarn has tremendous elasticity, making it a pleasure to work with and surely a pleasure to wear.

Alpaca 3 is one in a series of alpaca yarns from Danish yarn company Isager. We also carry the lace weight Alpaca 1 and fingering weight Alpaca 2.

The label doesn’t have any recommendation for needle size or gauge, so Anne got out a pair of US 10 needles and started swatching. She did a little garter stitch, a little stockinette, a few other texture patterns, and still wanted to keep knitting – a good sign!

A photograph can’t do this yarn justice; you must come in and touch. See you at the shop!

Back in stock: Isager Japansk Bomuld.

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Last week brought a big box from Isager, filled to the brim with Japansk Bomuld.

Japansk Bomuld is a lustrous lace weight cotton tape, with 344 yards per 50 gram ball. It was one of Isager’s new yarns last Spring, and remains one of the most unique plant fiber yarns in our shop. The knit fabric is crunchy and cool to the touch, ideal for spring and summer tops and accessories.

I’m making a Churchmouse “Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf” as a shop sample, so I’ve spent some time with this unusual yarn. I cast on with this eye-catching chartreuse and planned to select the other two colors as I go. I was inspired by a bit of show and tell from last summer, Carribeth’s own “Airplane Scarf.”

While lower contrast combinations also appeal, I decided to go for a high contrast color combination like Carribeth’s, and I’m liking the results so far.

Though the Isager Japansk Bomuld palette is small, there are plenty of intriguing color trios available – here are a few to consider.

 

Look for more pattern inspiration on our Lace weight Pinterest board, and come by the shop to see Japansk Bomuld itself!

Stitches, by Helga Isager.

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Helga Isager’s new book is here! Let’s look inside Stitches.

Stitches is primarily a collection of garments, with a few accessories sprinkled in. Her focus in this book is on embroidery and embellishment, pointing out that both knitting needles and sewing needles make stitches.

As in her most recent book, K (Knit), Isager includes a full-size photo of the swatch for each project, so you can see in detail what it should look like as it grows, and even measure it against the photo.

Look for the book on our teacart, and find Isager yarns in the lace, fingering, and DK weight sections here at the shop!

Back in stock, show and tell: Isager Alpaca 2.

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Among all the lovely Isager yarns, Alpaca 2 has been a favorite here at our shop, so we make sure to keep every available color in stock.

Isager Alpaca 2 is a light fingering weight blend of merino wool and alpaca, with 275 yards on each 50 gram skein. Our seasoned “Stole” sample has hung on the wall for years now, yet it regularly catches the eye of knitters seeking a soothing, repetitive project, one that’s easy to execute, but with graceful results.

We’ve seen all manner of “Stole” variations, and whether they’re knit in the pattern’s recommended nine shades or a kaleidoscope of unique combinations, slimmed down into scarves or expanded into blankets, everything seems to work. Unpacking this shipment, I lapsed into a familiar game, picking colors for the “Stole.”

There are many other things to knit with Alpaca 2, of course; here are a couple of ideas from knitters we know, a bit of show and tell.

Here is Carribeth’s “Spectrum,” another soothing knit in stockinette. She paired Alpaca 2 with a matching shade of Alpaca 1 to create the slightly transparent stripes, an elegant effect that photos don’t do justice.

Winnie knit this “Feathers” shawl with Alpaca 2, and has already come back for more of the same to knit another.

This is a lovely example of Alpaca 2 in a lace pattern, a very good match of yarn and pattern, indeed.

Thanks to Carribeth, Winnie, and countless others who start their projects here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop – we love to see what you’re working on!

Twelve Knitted Sweaters from Tversted.

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Today, let’s take a look at Marianne Isager’s latest book, Twelve Knitted Sweaters from Tversted.

Twelve Knitted Sweaters from Tversted features a sweater for each month of the year, a premise well-suited for this moment as we begin 2019.

As usual, these designs are knit with Isager’s own yarns, most of which are available here at our shop – Anne has been passionate about the Isager yarn and designs for years, and makes sure we have plenty of each on hand.

These yarns vary in gauge and in fiber content, but share a harmonious color palette, and Isager often combines them in her designs for unique fabric.

Look for this lovely book on our tea cart at the shop, with the latest books and magazines. We hope you find inspiration here!

Show and tell: Isager.

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Time for another round of show and tell! Today I’m here to share some finished projects that started life as yarn on our shelves, and they all have one thing in common: they’re all knit with yarn from the Danish company Isager.

Above is Loretta’s “Girasole,” an intricate circular shawl designed by Jared Flood. She used two Isager yarns held together for this piece, both lace weight – Alpaca 1 and Spinni. The combination is perfectly balanced, with drape from the Peruvian alpaca yarn and structure from the Danish wool.

Hazel picked up Susie Haumann’s All You Knit is Love here at the shop and has been busy knitting from it, making dresses for her granddaughter.

She knit this “Smilla’s Dress” with Isager Highland, a light fingering weight wool sourced in Peru. The heathered color gives depth to the fabric of this piece, with its eyelets, cables, and panels of reverse stockinette.

Hazel went on to knit a second “Smilla’s Dress” in a different yarn – more on that in the next show-and-tell post!

Carribeth knit this Churchmouse “Alexandra’s Airplane Scarf” with Isager Japanesk Bomuld, a lace weight cotton tape. Knit up loosely like this, it’s somehow crisp and soft at once, a contradictory but delightful fabric for summer.

We love seeing what folks make with our yarns – thank you so much for sharing your projects with us. Look for more show and tell here soon!

K (Knit), by Helga Isager.

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Helga Isager’s newest book is here!

K (Knit) aims to encourage new knitters to grow their skills, and features elegantly simple designs in Isager yarns, mostly sweaters with a few accessories.

Each one is named for a stitch that’s prominent in the pattern; a cabled pullover is named “C6 (Cable 6),” for example, and a stockinette raglan is named “YO (Yarn over)” for the shaping at the yoke.

Each pattern is accompanied by instructions for a swatch, allowing you to practice techniques used in the pattern as you check your gauge.

Isager also includes a full-size photo of the completed swatch, so you can see in detail what your swatch should look like as it grows, and even measure it against the photo.

Look for the book on our teacart, and find Isager yarns in the lace, fingering, and DK weight sections here at the shop!