07 MarAnyone can see … (not)

A recent comment on one of the designer forums made me wince. It’s so easy to take things for granted and this was a reminder …

The discussion was about writing descriptions for patterns. There had been some other posts on the forum alluding to whether there was a need to mention what the item was in the description. So, ok, that I could attribute to matter of writing style. But then there was this particular comment posted by one of the designers that imho came across as insensitive. It started off like this … “So far, I have only designed mitts but my thought is, anyone can see they are mitts, … “.
Ummm … anyone can see? What about those who are blind or severely visually impaired? Yes, there are knitters who are blind. And I am always pleased when I hear they are using my patterns and find them easy to follow. In fact, it’s on my list of to-do’s to post a recent project one of these knitters has given me permission to share with you. I think it is time to give that to-do a higher priority. Maybe it will hint to some of the other folks designing knitting patterns out there to keep in mind that not every knitter can see.

26 NovThanking You

Thanking You

Dear business friends,

Here at HeartStrings, I have a lot for which to be thankful. One of the things I am very grateful for is your support and representation of HeartStrings knitting patterns to your customers.

Wishing you a fruitful and prosperous holiday season,

Jackie E-S

HeartStrings FiberArts

19 NovChristmas Stocking Holiday Card

I seem to be on a trip down memory lane more often these days. Is it something about advancing age, or what, lol? My latest is on reflections of a holiday greeting card I made 18 years ago as a gift to knitting friends.

Christmas Card Stocking Pattern

Christmas Card Stocking Pattern


The card is actually a pattern for the Christmas stocking in the photo. Although I was doing some computer publishing at that time (for the text and charted page layouts), this pre-dates my digital camera days and so it was made in the style of a photo glued to the front page.

The terminology and writing style pre-dates the official launch of the Jackie E-S / HeartStrings pattern line, but patterns like this are timeless. “Christmas Stocking” pattern as originally published in this holiday card style is now available as a world exclusive at Patternfish.

In this pattern, you’ll be humored by the reference to “round” needles rather than circular. To me, calling needles “round” (to differentiate from straight needles) made sense at that time because the needles were for making things in the round. However, I recall giving a presentation to my local knitting guild not too long after this, and when I referred to “round needles”, a knitter rather sarcastically challenged me that all knitting needles were round. Not to interrupt the flow of the presentation for the other participants, I quickly conceded to her statement, but that was before the days of square needles being manufactured, lol.

Another sort of humorous reflection is the omission of a suggested needle size. Only gauge is given. Seems that my group of knitting friends felt that should be all the information that was necessary, and that pattern writers should not be suggesting a needle size. I didn’t agree with that point of view once I started officially publishing HeartStrings patterns, so you will always see a suggested needle size to use as a starting point in achieving the planned gauge.

Anyway, my knitting friends enjoyed their gift card/pattern, and that is what makes life go ’round. I hope you’ve enjoyed the story, and that it might have even awakened some good memories of your own, too!

30 OctHalloween Sockies to Bring a Smile

In observance of Halloween, a tradition that dates back to Celtic rituals thousands of years ago, we envision ghosts and goblins, skeletons, and spidery concoctions. Instead of scary scenes, I purport to friendly stuff that brings smiles.

happyspider6's spider-web-sockies

happyspider6's spider-web-sockies


With that in mind, aren’t these just the sexiest Spider-and-Web Socks with those red pumps?

Thank you happyspider6 for giving me permission to share. Beautiful knitting and a great photo shoot!

Happy Hallowe’en to everyone. Keep the ghost and goblins smilin’.

25 OctWool Therapy yarn hug

I love to see what other people do with my HeartStrings patterns and to hear the stories behind their making. I was particularly touched by this one …

This was Kelly’s first Faroese shawl and I am delighted she picked one of my HeartStrings patterns to knit – the All-Over Faroese Lace Shawl. She actually had started making it for herself in yarn dyed using the Gradiance technique she has developed for The Unique Sheep. Just as she was finishing the shawl, her mother-in-law was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She wrote on her Ravelry project page for Wool Therapy that she felt the shawl was meant to be her mother-in-law’s all along. The colors were perfect for her and she will now have a warm yarn “hug” to wear as she faces treatments to cure her cancer.

In talking to Kelly since then to get permission to feature her story and pictures, I expressed my sorrow in a family member being diagnosed with cancer and let her know what a wonderful hug she had made for her mother-in-law (even though she did not know it at the time). She said that luckily the tumor is small, so hopefully her treatment will not be too harsh and she will recover quickly. Let’s all wish and pray that is the case.

Isn’t the story heart-warming and the color transitions in the shawl are just stunning?! If you like this effect in yarn specially dyed for color transitions, you will want to check out the Gradiance Collection colorways offered at The Unique Sheep.

23 OctA fashion twist with Kreinik Metallic

At the TNNA Show last June, Kreinik’s Creative Director Dena Lenham introduced me to their new Metallic Fashion Twist Thread. It’s a strong thread that is primarily intended for use in embroidery sewing machines. This unique thread is made of 100% polyester with a liminate of silver. The softness of the thread (so many metallics can be slightly scratchy), the great sparkle, plus anti-mocrobial properties (thereby resistant to fungus) immediately caught my interest. I told Dena, that yes, I thought I could definitely do something with this in the knitting realm.

The colors shown here are Camel (left) and Fuchsia (right) – there are a range of 10 other nice colors offered as well. The thread comes with a handy mesh ‘tamer’ to keep the thread from unwinding by itself when not in use. These aare the 1000 meter cones, and they also have larger 300 meter cones available. With such great yardage, most knitting projects using this thread as a carry-along will likely need only a single smaller cone.
Kreinik Matallic Fashion Twist Thread

Fast forward to today when I tried my new Flip digital camcorder for the first time. I picked up the Glitz and Beads sock that I am working on using some Kreinik Metaillic fashion twist thread and just dove into showing and talking about it.

This video was entirely off the cuff (sock that is, lol) and I definitely need to work on better focus. I was trying to do this all by myself, so wrapping my arms around the camera at the same time as seeing what I was shooting, plus trying to talk, was maybe too involved for a first try, lol. I think it turned out pretty well for a first try, though. Being entirely un-rehearsed, I hadn’t even really thought of what I was going to say. I just started into it, and things went from there. I bet that’s apparent from how many times you’ll hear me say ‘nice’ in this video. Did you count them?

18 OctInstant Face Paint

Yay! We finally have gotten some cooler and less humid weather here in the New Orleans area. Yesterday we went downtown to Lafayette Square to enjoy the music and food at the 4th annual Crescent City Blues and BBQ Festival, and especially to see slide guitarist extrodinaire Sonny Landreth whom we always enjoy. I also especially enjoyed two new-to-me music artists: Luther Kent and Brother Tyrone. By that time, the sun was going down and getting colder. Not having worn more than T-shirts, we missed Buddy Guy who was performing in the last time slot of the evening.

instant-face-paint.jpg And here’s my big purchase at the artists’ market at the festival — a hand-painted leather mask. I call it “instant face paint”. The leather is so soft and supple; hardly noticeable in the wearing, and the colors so brilliant that I instantly thought of face paint (except without the mess, lol). What fun!

06 OctElectricity – Where art thou?

Shipments for the new pattern release were really zipping along until the power went out yesterday! Double darn-it; it really reminds me/us of just how dependent we are on those little electrons! Sorry for delays to the shops. Things are back on course and the orders are on their way now.

05 Oct3 new HeartStrings patterns for Tilli Tomas Symphony

My new patterns showcasing Symphony Kid Lace with Beads & Glitter will be arriving in stores this week! This has been a very satisfying set of projects to design with this lovely yarn, and Tracy at Tilli Tomas is such a delight to work with.


new HeartStrings knitting designs in the new Tilli Tomas Symphony Kid Lace yarn

Lace and Cables Scarf (left) uses just one skein. This is a nicely reversible scarf in a beautiful organically flowing design. An easy trellis lace stitch combines with interwoven lattice of textured knit-purl spot cables that appear to be floating. Of course, if you want to plurge on more yarn, you can easily upsize to a stole.

Lace Starlight Stole uses just 2 skeins. It is knitted in an interesting and lovely dropped stitch lace pattern. The radiating strands of yarn remind us of rays of starlight. If you are familiar with hairpin lace, you might have thought this stole was crocheted. But actually it is knitted!

Put on the Glitz Shrug is the 3-skein project (right). This lusciously flowing shrug in delicate cabled lace speaks for itself. It is knitted cuff to cuff with no seams to sew.

So what is your favorite?

26 SepRe-energized and productive

I took off for a good part of the summer — Mainly it was to escape the excrutiating high temperatures and > 90% humidity, so our trips took us to the Colorado rockies in July (mildly cool and only 16% humidity – yay!) and to Vancouver, WA in August (fortunately just missed the heat wave; ‘hi’ to Ann and Bob of Elann – thanks so much for the wonderful dinner and company). Along the way, there was plenty of time to ’smell the roses’ . I think we all owe it to ourselves to sometimes just escape and do something totally for ourselves. I am now feeling more energized and productive than I have in quite some time. We shall see how long this lasts before reality sets in, lol.


new HeartStrings knitting designs in the new Tilli Tomas Symphony Kid Lace yarn
I am really pumped up about the new Tilli Tomas Symphony Kid Lace yarn. This yarn is a very soft brushed kid mohair plied with a soft glittery metallic thread and tiny glass seed beads.Tracy Robinson (owner and creative director of Tilli Tomas) asked me to design one-, two-, three-skein projects for this yarn. It’s been great fun to create designs that showcase this yarn.

Watch for these new HeartStrings patterns to be released soon: Lace and Cables Scarf, Lace Starlight Stole, and Put on the Glitz Shrug.