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.
Planning an event with HeartStrings patterns? Let me help you talk it up on my social media networks, fan groups, and newsletter.
As mentioned in my post a couple of weeks ago You Talk, I Listen, much of my Designing Day is filled with activities that are not strictly knitting design. A growing focus of mine has been to offer “hang outs” for fans of HeartStrings on some of the popular social media sites.
I’m still learning how to most effectively use these sites and their tools, but one thing is clear … I am happy to help any of you, my cherished HeartStrings dealers and fans, to promote your event or special announcements. It’s something that will be beneficial to us both, and takes hardly any effort, and won’t cost you a thing.
Let me know, and I’ll get the word out via my newsletter (nearly 10,000 active subscribers with an open and click rate that is phenomenally high), Facebook network (1700+ fans and growing), via Twitter, etc. You can also post your own HeartStrings-related announcements on the HeartStrings FiberArts Facebook page and in the Jackie E-S / HeartStrings Fan Group on Ravelry, too.
Why not take benefit of this now? Are you ready to get the buzz going? Looking forward to hearing from you and what you have planned.
Jackie Erickson-Schweitzer HeartStrings FiberArts
Knitting Patterns for Wearable Art in Timeless Styles
Happy Valentine’s Day! On this day, it seems apropos to celebrate Twisted Tuesday with this collage of graduated red skeins of yarn I finally finished spinning not too long ago.
Shades of red in hand spun Romney wool
The batts from which I spun this yarn had been dyed by Rhonda Selser (of Ewe Mom’s, DeRidder, LA) from wool she sheered and carded from her own Romney sheep. What was so intriguing to me was they way in which she had dyed the pound of batts. It was hard to resist the lovely shades of red, too.
I did not see Rhonda dye the batts, but she explained that she had laid the stack of batts atop the dye solution in a large cooler. Then very slowly let the batts sink so that the bottom layers resulted in the darkest shades (having been in the dye bath longer and therefore having a chance to grab more of the dye particles) and the top layers the lightest.
I didn’t think about getting photos years ago when I first began spinning the batch of batts. Then I set things aside and didn’t get back to spinning for several years. But this project had always been on my mind and has been one of the first that I got out when sorting through my spinning stash recently. These pictures don’t give true color because I grabbed them indoors under poor lighting, but you can see some of the batts and little “nests” of fiber that I stripped from the batts and pre-drafted.
The sequence I used for spinning was to start with the lightest batt and proceed to darkest. I spun a fine singles on my double treadle Majacraft. After 2 bobbins where filled, I plied those together. Then filled up 2 more bobbins, and plied, etc. You’ll notice one skein which is much smaller than the others. That is where I was having trouble with my wheel (the drive band gave out). Not being able to readily get a replacement in, I experimented with some make-shift solutions. That is a whole ‘nother story, lol. But I did finally manage to get things going again.
Now, having completed the spinning, I am just enjoying the pretty skeins. Eventually, I guess I will decide what they will become in their next life. Meantime, it doesn’t feel like they want to be hurried, and the eye candy is plenty enough satisfaction to me to claim this as a ‘completed project’ for now.
Hand-spun skeins of Romney wool in a series of red shades
Hope you are enjoying some pretty red things for your Valentine’s Day, too!
In the past couple of years I’ve occasionally posted something about spinning or other topics related to turning fibers into thread or yarn. I really want to focus on this more, so I got it in my head to set aside Tuesday’s to share some kind of spinning article or other fiber-related fun.
Want to come along and play with me? To give you an idea of what I have in mind, here’s a brief review of a sampling of past articles like those I have in mind.
Stages of dyeing and spinning cotton to result in a casually rustic lace scar
Exploring sources of fiber and making custom fiber preparations is part of what makes the hands-on experience so satisfying, and I plan to share it with you in articles such as Spinning Jacob Wool – one fleece, many colors.
Singles and 2-ply yarns spun from sorted Jacob wool
Another aspect of spinning and fiber-play is the “toys of our trade”. I have plenty of stories to share there. I can even help give you justification for your obsession such as this article on Deco-organizing a spindle collection.
"Deco-organizing" my spindle collection
I hope you’ll join me over the next several weeks. Tell your friends. The more the merrier. And that will encourage me to do even more. If you are interested in something particular, do leave comments and I will put it on the agenda. Spinn-i-o!
Although this week’s Meatless Monday recipe is one to which I usually add a bit of meat flavoring, I do give substitution for totally meatless. So I hope you will enjoy it either way.
Brussels Sprouts have always reminded me of little cabbages. One of the dishes my Grandma Erickson made that I loved so much was sweet and sour cabbage. I’ve never felt like I approached how well she made that dish (but then, I guess things always taste better when someone else cooks, lol). I even asked her many times if there was a secret, but she said no and just sloughed it off that I was making mine just as well. I do miss her (and that delicious sweet and sour cabbage she would make).
Anyway, my local Sam’s had gotten in some fantastic-looking fresh Brussels Sprouts recently. My taste buds turned to concocting a sweet and sour rendition using them. And thinking about the healthy benefits of Brussels sprouts, I am feeling good that something so tasty is good for us, too.
Healthy Brussels Sprouts: High in Antioxidant
Here’s what I did for an (almost) Meatless Monday dish (but you could substitute some vegetable oil and a bit of smoke flavor in place of the prosciutto ham or bacon for totally meatless) …
Ingredients
2 pounds fresh Brussels sprouts, washed and sliced in half
I like to cut the Brussels Sprouts in half so they take on all the delicious sweet and sour flavors later on during the cooking
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons rendered out rind from prosciutto ham, bacon or similar
salt to taste
black pepper to taste
1 tablespoon dried onion
lemon juice + apple cider vinegar to make 1/3 cup
rounded tablespoon of sugar
rounded tablespoon of whole caraway seeds
Instructions
Use large saucepan/top-of-stove Dutch-oven style pot with tight-fighting lid.
Add water and salt to pot and bring water to boil.
Starting to cook the Brussels sprouts
Add Brussels sprouts, black pepper and dried onions. Stir then cover.
Cook about 10 minutes over medium heat or until just barely to degree of desired doneness. (do not overcook into a mush!)
In a bowl, mix together the lemon juice/apple cider vinegar, sugar and caraway seeds until sugar is dissolved. Pour into the pot.
Cover pot and let simmer about 5 minutes to let the flavors meld.
Eat up!
Well, not the whole pot all at one time. This recipe does make a lot, so you are likely to have more than enough for a single meal. That is fine. Re-heat left-overs in microwave to enjoy another day. This dish holds up very well to that.
Thank you to all who helped (almost 750!) with the recent survey about whether the layout of the January 22nd HeartStrings newsletter looked ok or whether it went wonky when received on your end. The fun stuff has been the drawing for the Mardi Gras Bead Ball kit. And also reading all your comments. And I AM reading every one of them. You talk. I listen.
You might be amazed at how much of my Designing Day is filled with activities that are not strictly knitting design. In fact, sometimes it could be days, or even weeks, between times when I get to pick up knitting needles. It goes along with the saying … “There is more to the business of designing than just design“.
For example, the recent journey I undertook to improve the process for producing my HeartStrings newsletters and email announcements has taken on a life of its own. If you recall, I wrote last week about The new look of news from HeartStrings. The response has been overwhelmingly favorable. Of course, I am elated it is being received so well.
But upon getting replies to me that included the original newsletter, I saw that some things might be going wonky and not displaying as intended on the receiving end. For example, some text shifted or spacing was lost. It doesn’t devalue the newsletter itself, but I really want to make it as easy to read and aesthetically pleasing as possible for readers’ enjoyment.
I couldn’t discern why the newsletter layout went wonky for some people and not others. So I decided to ask for help via a short survey. Those who pitched in to help me make the newsletter even better also got a chance to win a Mardi Gras Bead Ball kit.
As stated in the survey, the drawing for the kit was yesterday. Congratulations to Janet in Virginia. When I heard back from Janet with her mailing address, she wrote: “To say I’m shocked is not really enough. I never win anything. Thank you so much for this gift!“. I already have the kit packaged and ready to mail to Janet today. She should have it in her hands before the weekend if USPS cooperates.
Mardi Gras Beaded Bead Ball
So that was the fun side of things. Now back to work. There were 742 people who answered some or all of the survey’s 6 quick questions. Of those 742, there were 504 who took the time to write something in the comment field. Either to re-confirm that the newsletter looked great to them (and what they particularly liked), or to explain more fully about what looked wonky on their end, or in some cases to just offer other comments related to the newsletter, or even un-related to the newsletter. That is fine. I really appreciate the time that people take to share and make comments, whether via this survey or writing to me directly.
So I have a lot of data to sift through. And I AM reading every one of those comments. If you offered a suggestion, please know that I am paying attention and will be doing what I can over time to make the newsletter and your association with HeartStrings FiberArts as enjoyable as possible for you.
According to the survey, the new layout for the newsletter looked as intended for 89% of the readers, for 10% it went wonky in some way, and 1% read the plain text version of the newsletter (i.e. unformatted). Unfortunately, with all the multitude of electronic devices and computer software, it’s impossible to test for absolutely every combination. By understanding more about that 10%, though, it will give me more to go on. I don’t fool myself that I can please everyone, but I certainly want to please as many as I can.
If you talk, I promise I will listen.
p.s. If you missed receiving the January 22nd HeartStrings newsletter, you can read it in the online archive.
Related Images:
Behind the scenes with Jackie E-S and life at the HeartStrings FiberArts studio.
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