I don’t know how long it has been ‘tradition’ to serve Red Beans on Monday. It makes sense, though, that the Red Beans krewe parades on Monday, Lundi Gras, the day before Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday).

I hope you enjoy the photos. So many creative and artistic ways shown here to use dried beans, peas and lentils. Of course, you can figure out for yourself that New Orlean’s own Camellia Brand is a sponsor.

Maybe next year come visit around this time and see the parade for yourself. It is even better in person!

Colinton yarn sample card for the new Color Finesse line

One of the delights of the nature of my business is that relationships so often  turn into friendships. Brandyn is the owner of Colinton Angoras, for whom I’ve done some patterns as yarn support. We had a chance to talk on the phone last week before she returned to her home in Australia. (I do not envy her that long trip, although it is still a place I hope to have the opportunity to visit sometime.)

On the phone call she mentioned the new Color Finesse line she introduced at the TNNA show in Phoenix last month. I was not able to attend that show, but I do plan to be at the TNNA show next June in Columbus. Anyway, I wanted to show you this neat yarn sample card she designed to introduce the dyed colors of Colinton’s distinctive, silky smooth mohair yarns. (before this, Colinton only offered the natural white color, sometimes with kits to dye your own).

I can see why this new Color Finesse line was such a hit. Not only is this an exciting expansion into the world of color for Colinton (up until now they basically targeted the dye base market), the  sample card in itself is like a little work of are in itself. What an artistic, impactful arrangement in a limited space that clearly displays each color in each of the 3 yarn weights custom-milled by Colinton.

Most times I don’t think people realize just how costly and labor intensive it can be to prepare yarn sample cards (even the simple ones), and this sample card clearly takes some talent and love to assemble so neatly. Clever design. It’s a keeper in my book. Who knows, Brandyn might be starting a trend with other yarn companies picking up this idea to ”paint” a sample card with their yarn line.

What other clever, artistically creative sample cards have you seen recently?

p.s. The knitting in the background of the sample card photo is A Touch of Beaded Class that I made in Colinton’s fingering weight yarn.

For example, I especially like this recent article that included the quotation “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

I must admit that I too often want to take the easy way out and just let luck find me. This reminds me that we make our own luck, so to speak.

I promise myself to take a more proactive part toward that end. After all, if I don’t envision what “luck” will look like, I might miss that it has happened!

Hope your week is going well and that you get lucky, too.

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

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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!

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.

With articles like Moody Blues, handspun pima cotton plied with silk, I plan to continue to explore the creative structure of plied handspun yarn along with a dose of serendipity.

Spinning a 2-ply laceweight yarn for a scarf unfolds a story about turning fiber into yarn, and then into a knitted lace scarf.

Hand-painted silk roving

We might play with a bit a dyeing, too, like in Cotton Roving – braiding, dyeing, spinning and knitting and follow the process through “what will it become”.

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

I also hope to bring in guest experts to help, or help lead you to them such as when Deb Robson explains scouring fleece.

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!

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.

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 22^nd HeartStrings newsletter, you can read it in the online archive.

I just launched the KnitHeartStrings.com, a new membership site that I have envisioned for quite a while and am finally taking the leap. The focus of KnitHeartStrings is to take learning the art of knitting to new heights. Beginners to advanced are all welcome.

If you have been avoiding learning to knit lace because you think it is too hard, I am going to tempt you with darling little projects that will help you get over the hump.

Even if you already know how to knit lace, I think you will find the projects fun (and who knows, you might even pick up a tip or trick along the way). Or use the projects to help teach and encourage someone else.

I will treat KnitHeartStrings members with a little project each month (for free!). I am starting with a series I call Bits of Lace. Because all the projects are lace edgings done on just a few stitches, they are a practical way to explore the structure and techniques of knitted lace. Each project will take just a small amount of materials and time. I hope this will be perfect for the busy lives we all have!

The new KnitHeartStrings site is still pretty barebones. But since there were already several hundreds of knitters on my HeartStrings newsletter list already chomping at the bit to get started, I didn’t see any reason to hold off rolling out the first pattern of the 2012 series for Bits of Lace now. You can read about it here.

So grab this month’s free pattern now from the Free Content page of the KnitHeartStrings.com website. Not a member yet? Register here to join today to get the Free membership level.

I have lots of other features and content planned to add to the site.  Hope you will join in now to start taking advantage of it all. See you there!

I got to thinking about some people who may not have ready access to the supplies. So I decided on a whim to offer a Limited Edition supplies kit to make the beaded balls in the Mardi Gras colors of purple, green and gold. Some orders have already come in, so I have been scurrying around today catching up on my promise to do these kits.

I made some pretty labels for the clear draw string bags. Wound the purple and green sock yarn from Lornas’ Laces (in the color Funky Stripe). Weighed and packaged the metallic gold beads (the good Japanese beads in the Miyuki brand that is on the top of my list of recommendations).  Weighed the fluffy non-allergenic stuffing. Pant – pant. And now I have a batch of kits ready to send out.

Mardi Gras Bead Ball Kits

If you don’t otherwise have a good source to get the supplies (e.g. your local stores or even stash-diving), then consider the Mardi Gras Bead Ball Kits as a way to conveniently get the yarn, beads and stuffing. Kits are available in 2 sizes: the single ball kit (i.e. to make one ball) OR the multi-pack (to make 3 balls, which is a 50% savings over buying a 3rd single ball kit plus a savings on shipping).

There’s been lots more exciting stuff going on at my HeartStrings  studio, so I’ll be back to tell you about that in a day or two. Also, I have a meatless recipe lined up to share with you in a few days. Oh, where does the time go? See you soon. Take care.