Knitting has rarely been as hot among Icelanders as now, as co-authors of a knew knitwear recipe book Prjónaperlur – prjónad frá grasrótinni (“Knitwear Pearls – knitting from the grassroots”), Erla Sigurlaug Sigurdardóttir and Halldóra Skarphédinsdóttir, have discovered.
Girls knitting at The Reykjavík City Museum – Árbaejarsafn. Photo by Páll Kjartansson.
“There is such growth in knitting in Iceland and we were curious about finding out what people were knitting. So we contacted knitters who we knew weren’t following conventional recipes but rather knitting and crocheting from their own heads,” Sigurdardóttir told Morgunbladid.
After Sigurdardóttir lost her job as a teacher early this year, she visited Skarphédinsdóttir, who is her relative, in her home in Stockholm. Skarphédinsdóttir is an enthusiastic knitter and one of the authors of the knitwear recipe book Prjóniprjón.
Skarphédinsdóttir taught her knitwear tricks to Sigurdardóttir and then the idea for the recipe collection was born. Their book contains around 50 recipes from 18 knitters from all around Iceland. Each of the knitwear authors also tell their stories in the book.
“The recipes are versatile and both suitable for beginners and advanced knitters and each recipe is a real knitwear pearl,” Sigurdardóttir said.
Prjónaperlur will hit the domestic market at the end of this month.
