Tag Archives: isager

Show and tell: Noro, Isager, String Theory.

Posted by on

We’ve seen some really special finished projects around the shop lately. How about some show and tell?

Shaunesy brought in her completed Diamond Motif shawl made in Noro Silk Garden. She took Katherine’s class on the shawl, the first in a series of classes Katherine has been teaching on projects from Knit Noro Accessories. If you like the look of Shaunesy’s shawl, come by the shop to see the book and all our colorful Noro yarns.

Natalie’s Volt took our breath away. The yarn is Isager Spinni, and the pattern is from Grace Anna Farrow’s fantastic book, The Fine Line.

Each shawl in The Fine Line makes great use of Isager’s singular color palette, and many of them, like Volt, use chevrons as a central motif. This book is definitely worth looking at if you’re a shawl-maker, and I know so many of you are. Find it with the other Isager books in the Fingering Weight section.

Catherine also brought some chevron-related show-and-tell: a completed North Arrow scarf. I was particularly touched by this as North Arrow is my own design–it is truly an amazing thing to see ones own instructions brought to life by another knitter. Catherine used String Theory Caper Sock for her scarf, and the colors are as gorgeous as the yarn is soft. If you haven’t worked with this yarn yet, do yourself a favor and make up an excuse to do so.

Thanks to all the fantastic knitters and crocheters who come and go at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop, wowing Anne and I and whoever else happens to be present with your skillfully-stitched creations. We are so thankful for the inspiration you bring, and so very impressed by all your work! See you at the shop.

Big, big boxes from Isager.

Posted by on

This summer, we’ve marked the passing weeks in Isager orders. The more frequently we call them to reorder missing colors in Alpaca 2 for the stole, or in Highland for the Fan, the more teasing we get from the other end of the line. Recently our Isager distributor asked Anne, “What do you do with all that yarn? Are you eating it?” Our desire for Isager is a hunger, indeed. Happily, last week brought another shipment.

Hot off the presses: Hat Ladies, by Danish designer Annette Danielsen, uses many Isager yarns to create hats and other small accessories. An excellent way to get your hands on Isager yarns without investing in a sweater’s worth of yarn, or to make use of the Isager odds and ends you may have already collected.

Danielsen, like Marianne Isager herself, often uses two strands of yarn held together to create different gauges, textures, and color combinations. Many patterns in Danielsen’s Hat Ladies call for the lace weight Alpaca 1 to be held together with another fingering weight Isager yarn–either Highland, or Tvinni, both of which we have in more colors than ever before.

Also hot off the presses: No. 11, No. 12, No. 13…, an answer to last year’s No. 1, No. 2, No. 3… Both of these books collect knit and crochet patterns by a group of like-minded Danish designers, all of whom use Isager yarns.

 Find these two new booklets on the teacart, surrounded by the latest books, and ask us where to find whichever Isager yarn you’re seeking. With all these new patterns and new colors in stock, it’s a good time to be plotting an Isager project.

An Isager shipment. Part 2.

Posted by on

Alpaca 2 wasn’t the only yarn in the latest Isager shipment. We also stocked up on Alpaca 1, a lace weight yarn made of 100% alpaca which is spun in Peru. We now have 20 colors available, the most we’ve carried so far.

We also expanded our selection of Isager Highland, a fingering weight yarn made of 100% lambswool and spun in Scotland. Highland and Alpaca 1 are used together in Marianne Isager’s Fan sweater from Japanese Inspired Knits, making a soft and lightweight fabric. Anne is teaching an upcoming class on the Fan, and though that class is full, we do keep the book in stock if you’d like to try it yourself. Or perhaps you’ll try using Highland and Alpaca 1 held together in some other project–it’s such fun pairing these colors up, and imagining what they’ll look like as one.

Come by the shop to admire these and other Isager yarns, and consider them for your next project. As Anne and many other knitters can attest, you’ll quickly become an Isager addict.

An Isager shipment. Part 1.

Posted by on

As I’ve written here before, Theresa Gaffey’s Stole from the book Wearwithall has been a popular project at the shop lately. Gaffey’s design is beautiful in its simplicity, allowing knitters to relax and let the exquisite yarn do the talking.

The yarn is Isager Alpaca 2, a fingering weight blend of merino wool and alpaca. Only two weeks into our inventory sale, we were completely sold out of Wearwithall and very nearly sold out of Alpaca 2. I’m happy to announce that both are now back in stock. To all who were interested in making the Stole your next project: come and get it!

You can find Wearwithall and Isager Alpaca 2 in the Fingering Weight section of the shop in the second room. See you there!

The Stole.

Posted by on

I mentioned a few posts ago that the Stole, with a capital “S,” might be a good way to take advantage of our Annual Inventory Sale. Nine skeins of Isager Alpaca 2 have a way of adding up, and the month-long 15% discount on everything in the shop will help take the edge off. The Stole has become a bit of a hit here at the Hillsborough Yarn Shop since we first got the new book Wearwithall. As in, we had to restock nearly every color of Alpaca 2, and we may need to do it again soon. I thought the Stole deserved more than a mention; here is its very own post.

Having seen several beautiful Stoles-in-progress, Anne recently cast on for one of her own, using seven colors of Alpaca 2 whose first life was as a colorwork pullover. After two years on the needles with only a few inches done, Anne decided it was time to rip out the colorwork and give the yarn a second chance as a Stole.

As you can see by all the progress she’s made in only a handful of weeks, she made the right choice. Sometimes it seems painful to rip out a work in progress that you realize you’ll never finish, but this is one of the major joys of knitting: yarn can be reused. Your efforts are not wasted when you rip something out; a pile of ripped-out yarn is a sign that lessons have been learned and a new project can begin.

It’s been such a pleasure to watch knitters break from the colors shown in the pattern to create their own combinations–this one cool in blues and greens, that one warm in neutrals, another autumnal with a pop of chartreuse. The Isager color palette is welcoming in this way, the colors play well together in all kinds of variations.

Come by the shop to quench your thirst for Alpaca 2, and to see Anne’s Stole-in-progress. This is a project that needs to be touched to be understood; photos don’t do it justice. See you at the shop!

Annual Inventory Sale!

Posted by on

As many of you know, July is our annual inventory sale month. From the 1st to the 31st, everything in the shop is discounted by 15%, with the exception of classes and yarns that have already been discounted. If you’ve had your eye on a special skein, or have been planning a big project or two, now is the time to take the leap! Maybe you, like me, are excited to join in the HYS Stasis Sweater Knit-Along, and are seeking a sweater’s worth of fingering weight yarn for this colorwork-yoked pullover. I picked the classic Jamieson’s 2 ply Jumper Yarn, and can hardly wait to get started.

Or maybe you’ve been contemplating the Stole from Wearwithall, made in nine scrumptious colors of Isager Alpaca 2 yarn. Since the book was published, Anne and I have seen so many beautiful color combinations put together. Every knitter makes the Stole their own. Lucky for you, Stole-contemplator, we’ve just gotten every available color of Isager Alpaca 2 in stock, and you can have the color combination of your choice at 15% off during July.

Or maybe for you, it’s a few indulgent skeins of Malabrigo Finito, the softest merino we’ve encountered thusfar. Or maybe you’re a kind and generous soul, and will use this sale month to stock up on gift-making supplies for next holiday season. Maybe you’ve been holding out on a set of Addi Click interchangeable circular needles, or a copy of the enormous Principles of Knitting, or a new knitting bag from Namaste. Whatever it is you’ve been wanting, come by the shop anytime during the month of July to get 15% off your purchase!

Just a reminder–all sales are final on sale items; there can be no exchanges, no returns, nor will we special order. Discount applies only to in-store purchases. Thanks!

A fashion show, a thousand things to see.

Posted by on

Anne and Rosi and I had another long, excitement-and-yarn-filled day here at The National NeedleArts Association Trade Show in Columbus. We got up early for some interesting classes, then hustled over to the fashion show, scoring front row seats, thanks to Rosi.

Then it was time to start walking the showroom floor, where hundreds of vendors had set up displays of their yarn, patterns, books, and accessories. I saw so many things that I’d heard of, but never seen in person, and even more that I’d never heard of at all. There were an overwhelming number of new things to see, but we made sure to visit some familiar faces, as well, to order a few new things from old friends.

After seven hours spent strolling up and down the first five or so aisles of vendors (out of at least a dozen aisles), we dragged ourselves away and back to the room to sort through the business cards and sample skeins we’d acquired throughout the day. There is so much to think about as we decide what to bring into the shop, what would please our knitters and crocheters the most, and how to fill in little gaps in our inventory. We’re having so much fun deciding! And tomorrow, we do it all again, which means that now I must rest up for another big day.

Wearwithall.

Posted by on

A new book, recommended by a friend, has arrived at the shop.

Wearwithall is a collection of patterns by the people at The Yarnery, a yarn shop in Saint Paul, MN. The book has a nice range of projects, including hats, socks, sweaters for babies and children as well as adults, and an eye-catching striped stole.

This stole, designed by Theresa Gaffey, is made from the exquisite Isager Alpaca 2 yarn, a fingering weight blend of wool and alpaca. It’s construction is simple, letting the brightest colors from the muted Isager palette do the talking.

Take a closer look at Wearwithall next time you’re in the shop. Be sure to visit the Alpaca 2 as well, and as you do, just imagine curling up in a cozy Alpaca 2 stole. Hard to resist, no?

Hello, Plant Fiber.

Posted by on

Last week, we welcomed a brand new Isager yarn to the Hillsborough Yarn Shop. Say hello to Isager Plant Fiber.

Plant Fiber is composed entirely of plant fibers, as you might have guessed: 70% ramie, 15% bamboo, and 15% hemp. It comes in 165-yard, 50 gram balls, has a nice shiny quality, and is available in 12 colors. As is typical for Isager yarns, the color palette is quite subdued, with a few standout colorways that pop out when combined with the others. These colors beg to be paired up.

We haven’t yet worked up a Plant Fiber swatch or sample, but I’ll be sure to post here when we do. I’m so curious to see how it knits up! Marianne Isager has designed two summer tops that use Plant Fiber, the patterns for which are tucked in with the yarn on the teacart.

Take a look, and consider Isager Plant Fiber for your warm-weather knitting projects.