Tag Archives: isager

Show and tell: a sweater, a bag, and stockings.

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I’ve got a bit of show and tell to share today: three finished projects from two knitters whose enthusiasm for their finished knits is infectious. Let’s begin!

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Ruth came in last week modeling her Fan sweater, a design by Marianne Isager from her book Japanese Inspired Knits. Ruth used two Isager yarns held together: the fingering weight Highland and the lace weight Alpaca 1, which together make a dk gauge and a unique texture. Ruth was in Anne’s class on the Fan and was the first to complete her sweater; I look forward to seeing all the other Fans as they’re completed!

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Cynthia has been felting up a storm, and came in recently to show off the fruits of her labor. Here’s a felted bag with a cable motif made with good old Plymouth Galway, a sturdy, classic, worsted weight wool.

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She also brought in a box of her incredible felted stockings, also made with Galway. I have no doubt that Cynthia hung them with pride today; what a delight to decorate with something hand made.

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Thanks to Ruth and Cynthia for the beautiful show and tell, and to all the knitters and crocheters who bring their works in progress and works completed to share with us at the shop. We’re so grateful to be surrounded by such skilled and creative stitchers!

Amimono: the Bird/Little Bird Trunk Show.

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Another gorgeous Trunk Show has arrived at the shop, this time featuring garments from Helga Isager’s Amimono Book 4, the Bird/Little Bird Collection.

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We have three garments from the Bird Collection and two from the Little Bird Collection, ie: three sweaters for grown ups and two for little ones.

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It’s always a treat to see the Isager yarns in finished pieces, and to get a better sense of the lightweight but sturdy fabric they create. Come by the shop to see and touch these garments for yourself!

Hat Ladies Trunk Show.

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First: sorry for the website interruption! We’re happy to be up and running again, ready for new blog posts and class listings.

Next: the latest Trunk Show has arrived, featuring garments from Annette Danielsen’s Hat Ladies collection.

As usual, the Isager yarns shine in person. It’s one thing to see an exquisite finished knit in a beautifully designed booklet, and another to hold said knit in your hand and get a first-person sense of the texture.

Come by the shop to see these whimsical hats, scarves, and cowls in person, and to plan your next project. See you there!

Amimono: the Bird/Little Bird Collection.

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Yesterday a box from Isager arrived, bearing not only the usual few bags of Isager yarns that needed restocking, but also the newest pattern collection from Danish designer Helga Isager.

This is Helga Isager’s fourth Amimono booklet, comprised of two pattern collections: the Bird Collection has garments and accessories for women, and the Little Bird Collection has garments for children.

All of the above are made in Isager yarns, naturally. Often, two different Isager yarns are held together to create a different gauge, texture, or color.

 

Look forward to a trunk show featuring garments from Amimono: the Bird/Little Bird Collection! It’s scheduled to arrive in mid-December, and we’ll be sure to let you know on the blog and on Facebook as soon as it arrives. In the meantime, come by the shop to see the book and plan your next project!

Show and tell.

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Katherine came into the shop a few weeks ago with this beautiful bit of show and tell: a fair isle hat made with her fingering weight leftovers in Isager and String Theory yarns. This is her first attempt at stranded colorwork, a pattern called Edith the Hat. I’m impressed, not only with the color knitting technique, but also with this good use of leftovers. Let not a single precious yard of Alpaca 2 go to waste!

Another knitter brought a recently-completed sweater to show off, made with the last skeins of Berroco Jasper that were left in our sale trunk. There wasn’t enough in one self-striping colorway to make a whole sweater, so she carefully placed two agreeable colorways in different parts of one sweater to a delightful colorblock effect. Resourceful, no?

Victoria treated us to some woven show and tell this past week. Take a look at this incredible scarf, made in Louisa Harding Grace Silk & Wool and Lana Grossa Chiara. We see far more knitting and crocheting than weaving at the shop, so this was particularly exciting. Woven fabric and knitted fabric are so different from one another, and it was great to see how familiar yarns behaved in this unfamiliar-to-me technique. I can’t wait to see the next piece off her loom!

Thanks to all who bring their completed works to the shop to share with us! I look forward to bringing more of it to the blog soon.

All You Knit is Love Trunk Show.

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Another Isager Trunk Show has arrived, a few weeks earlier than expected.

We have four tiny garments on display, selections from Susie Haumann’s collection of knits for babies from 0-18 months, All You Knit is Love. Each one is made with Isager yarns, from Tvinni to Alpaca 1 and 2, sometimes held singly, sometimes doubly, for a bigger gauge.

Even if you’re not in a tiny-sweater-knitting mood, the All You Knit is Love Trunk Show is a must-see (and must-touch!) for anyone interested in working with Isager yarns. It’s always hard to tell what will happen to the colors and textures of two yarns knit together. Will the colors blend together, or will one strand stand out from another? If you hold Alpaca 1 together with Highland, do you feel the fuzzy alpaca or the sturdy wool in the finished fabric? Seeing garments made in these yarns, especially those that combine yarns, can give you a better sense of how these yarns work together after they’ve been knit up, washed, and blocked.

Come by soon to see these sweet little knits for yourself!

An abundance of show and tell: part two.

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As promised, here’s another batch of show and tell!

Gail crocheted this beautiful baby dress in Isager Bomuld, a smooth, fingering weight cotton.

Amber made a baby dress, too–this delicate one, knit in Classic Elite Silky Alpaca Lace.

Margie brought in two beaded scarves to show off, made generously as gifts for two friends. The one on the left is made in Colinette Jitterbug, and the one on the right is made in Malabrigo Sock.

Thanks to everyone for bringing their finished pieces into the shop for show and tell! I’m always amazed by the skillful creations of our knitters and crocheters, and touched to see Hillsborough Yarn Shop yarns in completed garments. Come by the shop anytime to share what you’re working on!

An abundance of show and tell: part one.

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There’s been so much incredible showing and telling going on at the shop in the past few weeks, enough that it can’t all fit into one blog post. Here’s the first of two installments.

Mary has been cranking out hats in the Swans Island Organic Merino Worsted.

It’s been great to see how these colorways look in a finished garment after months of admiring them in the skein. I was also glad to see that these hats were blocked, allowing the yarn to blossom a bit, and creating a more cohesive fabric. The Swans Island yarn is such cuddly stuff!

Mara came in during the Triangle Yarn Crawl with not one, but two finished pieces to share. Here, she models a sweater made in the sadly discontinued Mission Falls 1824 Wool. The pattern is Tubey, a cleverly-constructed pullover in aran weight yarn–and a free pattern, to boot.

Mara also shared these pretty mitts, a gift for her mother. The pattern is Leafy Fingerless Gloves, available as a free download on Ravelry.

Michelle was knitting at the shop the other day when she finished her Stasis Pullover, made in the much-admired Isager Alpaca 2. I happened to be wearing my recently-completed Stasis, and a photo-op was born. What a difference the yarn makes, in spite of the identical patterning. Michelle’s Stasis came out soft and cuddly in Alpaca 2, and mine came out sturdy and slightly more fitted in Jamieson & Smith 2-ply Jumper Weight. Our two sweaters are the same, but very different, with each of us getting exactly what we wanted out of them. I can’t wait to see Anne’s Stasis, in Schulana Lambswool!

Thanks, everyone, for the amazing show and tell, and keep your eye on the blog for part two!

All You Knit is Love.

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Another new pattern booklet featuring Isager yarns has arrived–Susie Haumann’s All You Knit is Love has landed on the teacart at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop.

All You Knit is Love is filled with simple, classic designs for babies ages 0-18 months.

Some are made with Isager yarns held singly, and some have you hold two strands together to achieve a bigger gauge.

You can look forward to a Trunk Show featuring finished garments from Haumann’s collection in November. Until then, come by the shop to see the Amimono 3 and Hanne Falkenberg Trunk Shows as well as our growing collection of Isager pattern books. See you at the shop!

Amimono 3 Trunk Show.

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One of the most amazing things about being at TNNA in June was seeing all the sample garments that each yarn company and designer displayed in their booths. Pictures in pattern books can be beautiful and inspiring, but to touch a finished piece, to see the color in person, to try it on and get a sense of how the shape and size feels and looks on your own body is always better. With this in mind, Anne has scheduled some Trunk Shows for the fall, the first of which arrived today.

This Trunk Show features five garments from Helga Isager’s Amimono 3, a collection of sweaters and accessories made in Isager yarns. Our Isager distributors have lent us these five garments until October 1st, so if you want to see these pieces in person (and you should!), plan to visit the shop before the end of the month.

As soon as the Trunk Show arrived at the shop yesterday, I tried on these sweaters to see how they felt and fit, and it was an experience I highly recommend. For me, it changed my position on these designs from “admiring” to “coveting.”

Anne spent her time with these sweaters inspecting the seams and wondering aloud what finishing techniques were used–another good reason to see finished garments in person. The sweater below is named “Lemon,” and it’s one that Anne is currently making for herself in Isager Tvinni, so to encounter a finished “Lemon” was something special, indeed.

The yarns soften so much with knitting, washing, and wearing, and it shows in these samples. The garments are lightweight, yet sturdy; a winning combination.

Come by the shop to see them for yourself, and if you find you must make one, we’ll help you select the materials you need to do so. See you at the shop!