Jackie E-S is the owner of HeartStrings FiberArts, a showcase for her growing roster of original pattern designs. As a certified master knitter and teacher, Jackie continues to share her love of knitting and knowledge through design and publication of skill-building pattern instructions, and conducting workshops, programs and demonstrations. Her interest in the fiber arts extends beyond knitting and spinning to include weaving, dyeing and all needle arts. She also enjoys contract bridge and music.
Connecting with people around the world is such fun. And when that connection can help people in other parts of the world, even if I might never be able to travel so far to see them, so much the better.
And such is my pleasure to introduce you to Paolo Dalle Piane, a knitter living in Tuscany, Italy. Recently, Paolo contacted me to get permission to use my pattern “Knitted Bunny from a Square” for the purpose of supporting a local charity group Fondazione San Vincenzo. The idea is that knitted items from the pattern would be sold during Christmas markets and the earned money donated to disadvantaged families. But since the charity ladies do not speak any English, Paolo would translate the pattern in Italian.
I am happy to announce that the Italian translation of Knitted Bunny from a Square is now available, Coniglietto da un Quadrato di Maglia, thanks to Paolo. Please visit Paolo’s blog site for more information about Paolo and charity support for Fondazione San Vincenzo.
Paolo's Knitted Bunny from a Square, courtesy of Paolo Dalle Piane
This Italian version marks the 4th translation of the original Knitted Bunny English pattern at HeartStringsFiberArts.com. The other language versions currently available, in addition to English, are Spanish, Dutch and Swedish. If you are interested in volunteering to do an official translation into another language, let me know!
The National Bison Range is a wildlife refuge in northwest Montana. It is home to a sight-worthy herd of buffalo, as well as other fauna and flora. Here are some of the photos from a trip a while back. I hope you enjoy the slide show.
Here is a photo journey of a Navajo Rug that John purchased and I repaired for him a while back. I am finally getting these posted to my blog!
Storm Pattern with distinctive backwards
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Churro is the traditional wool used in authentic Navajo woven rugs. Thus, I chose Churro as my fiber for the repair. This, along with quality repair technique, is vital for retaining the rug’s value.
Notice the Storm Pattern with distinctive backwards “E” in center. We still have not tracked down the meaning of the distinctive backwards “E” in center. This is an unusual feature for Navajo rugs of this style. Anybody have any ideas?
This rug is now a wall hanging in his new “museum”. Next time I visit him, I will take pictures so you can see the rug in its new home.
Looking out the back door of John’s new patio home. I am so glad we have an Aspen right here in the back yard. I am really liking the neighborhood and Greeley, Colorado.
I love the outdoors, so I am claiming this cedar glider as my favorite knitting spot on nice days when I visit John in his new patio home. There’s even room for you to join me.
Can’t you just see us sipping our coffee? (or I could make tea if you prefer)
Besides liking the outdoors, I have always loved swings, rocking chairs, the gentle rocking of a boat while fishing … well you get the idea. Even as a little gray-haired lady now, I can’t pass up a kids playground with swings without wanting to hop on. I know … very silly, but I guess I am still a kid at heart.
Aaah … day dreams. Oh well, gotta get back to work in my studio. The computer is like a slave driver these days, lol. But seriously, there WILL be time for relaxing. Remember to Take Time to Smell the Roses.
Now let’s hear from you .. What is your favorite place to knit? (it can be in your dreams or reality!)
It’s so nice to have an excuse to work with my own hand-spun yarn. I really enjoyed making this Blackberry crescent shawl even though I was on a deadline.
Here is a version of one of my newest released patterns called Loganberry. I dubbed this hand-spun merino-silk version with the name Blackberry because of its color. Make sure to click the photo to get a better view of the texture and subtly varied colors.
my "Blackberry" version of Loganberry Crescent Lace Shawl
The yarn is hand-spun merino/silk plied with hand-dyed silk hankies. The yarn structure is a 2-ply (S) of:
merino/silk blend spun Z
hand-dyed silk hankies spun Z
Blackberry Handspun Yarn
Actually, I’m not back to actively spinning yet. (but hopefully this will start getting that back into my life priorities). I don’t have a date on the tag for when I spun this yarn, but it was probably around 1998! It was time for it to become something else, don’t you think?
Blackberry Crescent Shawl in progress
The merino/silk fiber was from Lambspun in Colorado (they are still in business). Unfortunately I did not make a record of the exact name from Lambspun on my tag, so I am not sure if there actually was one. The hand-dyed silk hankies came from Woodland Woolworks, which closed not too long ago. I really liked that place for the range of spinning tools and fibers they carried. Good thing that I still have a good stash of some of my favorites from them.
The Loganberry pattern was launched at TNNA. I knit the original Loganberry in a new yarn that Mountain Colors just came out with (a luscious cashmere/silk blend called Louisa). I had so much fun knitting up the sample model in the Loganberry color of their yarn that I wanted to do one for myself. However, there was not enough time to get more yarn dyed and mailed to me in time to knit before the show, so that was my excuse to check my handspun stash. I always have some sample models at TNNA that are made in handspun (there are some spinning vendors and shop buyers there), so I figured that having the sample at the Mountain Colors booth and another sample at my own HeartStrings booth would cover even more bases.
Although I had not planned to make this additional model until just a few days before the show, I’m glad I had an excuse to enjoy knitting this handspun. The shawl moved along really quickly (the Hiya Hiya needles I was using helped a lot, I think) and I had the knitted shawl completed and blocked in plenty of time before the show. It looked nice on display, too! Others thought so, too. In fact, Nancy George of Knit Stop in Indianapolis talked me into selling it and it now is on display in her shop. If you are in the area, be sure to check it out!
Related Images:
Behind the scenes with Jackie E-S and life at the HeartStrings FiberArts studio.
