The Mirasol Project

Magical Sulka Shades

2012-01-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

The beautiful thing about some of the Mirasol shades is that they are spun with several different colours, which means that every time I knit with them I see another colour shining through. This changes again if you knit the shade with another shade. So for example, theses two shades (sea Green 223 and Steel Blue 233) are being knitted together in a stripe, and they take on another magical colour! It's addictive!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2012-01-04T02:32:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all the Mirasol knitters old and new!

If you haven't tried Mirasol Yarns before, I hope you can pop along to your local yarn store and feel the fabulous fibres, they are truly gorgeous to knit with.

Ushya & Sulka Book 27

2011-12-07T06:57:00.000-08:00

For those that are asking, here is an image of Ushya & Sulka Book 27 by Jane Ellison.

It is perfect for making last minute Christmas gifts from as it only takes one or two hanks of Ushya or Sulka, which are chunky yarns so will quickly knit up.

Or for those beginners there is still enough days left to make one gift for a loved one.

Ushya and Sulka

2011-11-24T03:30:00.000-08:00

Hello, it's Jane Ellison and I design for the Mirasol Collection.

The Mirasol Yarn Collection has some of the finest and most luxurious yarns in the world! (I am of course totally biased, but I can't help it they are sooooo gorgeous to knit with.)

It is difficult when you see a new yarn to know what it is like to knit with, as I find many yarns feel different when knitting. Sometimes a yarn hangs differently to how you expect.

I love the Sulka and Ushya and once people start knitting with it they too become addicted. So I designed the Ushya and Sulka Book 27 with the majority of projects only taking one or two hanks....so that I could share with knitters how addicted the lovely yarns are!

In the book I only had a limited amount of pages to include images but I knitted so many more, for example in the book the Hapa Cowl is knitted in Sulka but I also knitted one in Ushya using 10mm needles.

I have favourite shades, but I realise everyone has different favourites, so at one of my knitting gatherings I asked a 20 year old friend there what her favourite shades were, this is what she chose in Ushya....

Images

2011-11-07T13:07:00.000-08:00

Firstly, thank you everyone how has contacted me to let me know the images are not working. They seem to work on some computers and not others. I am trying to solve this as quickly as I can. Thank you for your patience.

It is so exciting to finally get images from the school, it has taken a while but now we have them I need to work it out how to share them with everyone and not a few of you!

I'm hoping this one works, it is some of the drawings from the children. Aren't they amazing?!

The Children's Daily Lives

2011-09-14T04:46:00.000-07:00

It is extremely important to all those involved with the Mirasol Project that any education programmes introduced are relevant to the area and respectful of the indigenous culture.

Aside from the formal education, here are some pictures of what else the children do in their days:

Every Monday morning they start with putting up their flag:

They tidy the gardens around the school and cut the fresh herbs:

Every Grade has a portion of land that is it's own to look after and grow plants in:

It's a fun way to learn!

Hello From the Mirasol School!

2011-08-11T03:07:00.000-07:00

We received some lovely words and pictures from the children and teachers at the Mirasol School.

I hope the pictures are not too low res for you not to see, but this is what they sent us, it's exciting to meet them!

Here are the words that were sent, with the actual English translation they sent underneath, I've not changed anything. It's heart warming to hear their words of joy!

Recibimos con entusiasmo al invierno aunque muy frígido y consigo traiga heladas y vientos fuertes, estamos aquí presentes para afrontarlo abrigaditos y bien cuidaditos en Mirasol, claro además de la alimentación que siempre está sabrosa.

We received the winter time, very cold and with strong winds, but we are here warm enough and well taken care of at Mirasol and of course, with the food which is always very good.

Soy Roberto estoy esperando por uds. con los brazos abiertos.

I am Roberto and I am always waiting for your with my arms open.

Hello, My name is Kevin, quiero verlos pronto. Chau. I want to see you soon. Bye.

Quechua Queries!

2011-08-05T02:32:00.000-07:00

We have received some lovely pictures and words form the children of the Mirasol School, which we will share with you soon.

However firstly, the children are so excited because they have a Quechua (the native Andean language) speaking teacher, who helps to make sure the traditional language is kept alive, which is very important to the Mirasol Project.

The children feel very motivated when they hear her talking to them in their own language.

Letters from the Mirasol School

2011-06-14T05:00:00.000-07:00

Here is a letter from Majorie Chunga Aroni, who is at Mirasol School:

Hello,

I am glad I can write this small letter to you.

Let me tell you that here in Mallkini it is very cold, but I am happy with my schoolmates at my Mirasol School and with my animals and pets at home.

I love you very much with all my heart.

Love from Marjorie

Mirasol Project News

2011-06-09T03:26:00.001-07:00

The one thing I loved about the Mirasol Project, when I visited, was the quiet and the slow pace of life.

There were not any mobile signals, computers, broadband or any internet connection, electricity was on a generator that was turned on and off, no television or radio,the nearest telephone was at a little village that took half an hour to drive too, the roads were dirty roads that turned into no roads and we just eventually drove through fields.

All these things made the experience unique and will be something I will never forget.

Now I am back, sitting at my computer, with the lights on, drinking a cup of coffee, reading emails sent seconds ago, I forget how amazing all our instant communication is and how much we take for granted.

The important changes we hear from the Mirasol Project is that the main road has been paved from Azangaro to Munani (34kms) so now there is only 6km unpaved to get to Mirasol.

They are also very exciting that they have electricity!

While some significant donations from Mr Michael W.Michell, family and friends has meant the school can offer 6 scholarships for 2011.

This generous donation and the electricity has also meant the they can buy a new refrigerator, an electric sewing machine and a microwave.

However they tell me that the most important change that will help greatly is a Nissan Pick up truck.

The Mirasol Song

2011-05-17T05:14:00.000-07:00

Some of the children from the Mirasol School wrote a song to sing at a presentation in Arequipa.

Here are the beautiful words:

I must get to my Boarding House

My School waits for me there

Dear School of my childhood

Boarding House of my present

I am Mirasolian from the Andes

Walking many places around

I go with my friend, the wind

I go with my friend, the cold

I walk with my parents

And also with my little brothers and sisters

I must get to Mallkini

Where my Boarding House is

Where my School waits for me.

Wach'i

2011-05-04T03:08:00.000-07:00

Wach'i is a 85% pima cotton and 15% silk yarn.

Pima cotton is considered to be one of the superior blends of cotton. It is named after the Pima Native Americans who first cultivated the plant in the US, but it's origins date back to it's cultivation in Peru. (of course, and obviously I am very biased, but all the greatest fibres originate from Peru!)

Silk needs little introduction as I'm sure everyone knows how deliciously soft and luxurious it is.

So the mix of these two fibres makes Wach'i a very special yarn indeed.

There are two books to support this yarn, The little book of Wach'i garments for women and girls Book 12 and Lachiwa and Wach'i Book 20

Beautiful Mirasol Yarns

2011-04-28T02:54:00.000-07:00

In the last few months The Mirasol Yarn Collection, which is sold on a fair trade basis and so a percentage of sales goes to the Mirasol Project, has grown in size.

I feel the yarns are made with such love and skill that it is so easy to overlook all their little qualities. Though once you touch them and feel their softness it is so easy to fall for them!

The new yarns for Autumn/Fall/Winter have been Ushya and Maylla. Which I will explain about soon.

While for Spring/Summer we introduced Sawya with a book of 8 designs of colourful knits to play with!

Sawya is made from 60% pima cotton (the finest cotton there is!), 25% alpaca, (one of the best fibres there is!) and 15% silk (another brilliant fibre!)

Individually each of these yarns are beautifully soft while together they can only create a luxury yarn.

2011-04-18T03:44:00.000-07:00

Firstly, we must apologise for the lack of blog postings! This is because so much has happened in the last few months....so where do we begin??

The changes at the school have been way beyond anyone of us could have dreamt. It has been amazing. You can see the progression of the physical building and the up to date images on the website (click here!)

It is so heart warming to see the amount of children that are growing and learning at the school. A lot more than the 12 children we originally thought we would get funding for.

So a big thank you to everyone who is supporting the Project.

More up dates to come!

Mirasol Project Developments

2010-09-02T09:10:00.001-07:00

A lot has happened to the Mirasol Project in the last few months.

The building has walls and a roof and as you can see from the new images the school really is in the middle of the Peruvian highlands!

Mirasol Book 6

2009-11-06T02:09:00.000-08:00

This season saw the introduction of two new beautiful yarns in the Mirasol Collection supported by 2 new books.

The first one is The Mirasol Collection Book 6 by Jane Ellison. This book is full of accessories. There are 19 basic patterns that can create over 25 different accessories, and probably even more!

The accessories use all the Mirasol Fall/Winter yarns, Akapana, K'acha, Qina, Miski, Sulka, Tupa and Hacho.

T'ika

2009-04-28T09:38:00.001-07:00

The Mirasol T’ika yarn is made from the finest Peruvian cotton, which is the pima cotton. Pima cotton is one of the finest cottons due to the fact it is an ‘extra long staple’ this gives it strength and a luxurious soft quality, a silky quality.

The Pima cotton also absorbs the dye to give beautifully rich colours.

The length on the 50g ball is 83m/91yds and it is a double knitting weight.

Suggested tension/gauge is 28 rows to 22 stitches on a 4mm (US 6) needle.

The Quechuan name means Humming-bird.

The new shades for Spring Summer are Turquoise 513, Deep Pink 514, Navy Blue 515, Crimson 516, Chocolate 517 & Emerald 518.

Samp’a

2009-04-14T10:07:00.000-07:00

For this season we added 8 new shades to the Samp’a range without discontinuing any of the current shades.

Samp’a is a 100% Organic Cotton that is spun in Holland. All the shades are naturally dyed.

It has 110m/120yds to 50g. Suggested tension/gauge is 28 rows to 22 stitches on a 4mm (US 6) needle.

The new shades are Charcoal 609, Nettle 610, Grass 611, Marigold 612, Walnut 613, Lychee 614, Lavender 615 & Blueberries 616.

Samp’a in Quechuan means light, soft, delicate, humble. I think this describes the yarn beautifully, as even though as a cotton it has strength, the way it is grown and dyed makes it a very delicate yarn.

Latest pictures from the Mirasol Centre

2009-04-09T10:07:00.000-07:00

We've just received the latest images from the centre that were taken around Christmas.

Here they are:

The children in costumes for a presentation.

The parents of the children doing a traditional dance for a special event.

A selection of the drawings made by the children.

Some of the mothers waiting for the Christmas celebration.

The Kindergarten children posing for the photograph.

Celebrating Christmas time with drinking chocolate & Panettone.

The Nativity represented by the children & parents.

Hap'i

2009-04-07T09:59:00.000-07:00

The second new yarn for Mirasol this Spring Summer was Hap’i

Hap’i is made from 100% Tanguis Cotton and is like a slub, where the yarn goes thick and thin. The cotton takes the dyes so well that they are strong and deep.It has 120m/132 yds per 100g and in Quechuan Hap’i means interesting.

Suggested tension/gauge is 24 rows to 16 stitches on a 5mm (US 8) needle.

Nuna

2009-03-25T10:32:00.000-07:00

New for the Spring Summer Mirasol introduced 2 new yarns, Nuna and Hap’i. While to the existing shades, T’ika and Samp’a we added 6 new shades.

I thought I would introduce each shade and today it’s Nuna!

Nuna is made in Peru from 40% merino wool and 40% silk with 20% bamboo. The merino wool gives the yarn elasticity, (which means it is a very forgiving yarn to knit with, if your stitches are a little uneven, wool eases them into uniformity!) the silk takes the dye and gives the yarn that lovely deep shade as well as a beautiful shine, the bamboo in Nuna isn’t dyed and gives the yarn it’s individuality.

It also has 175m/191yds per 50g, an amazing length! Suggested tension/gauge is 36 rows to 24 stitches on a 3.25mm (US 5) needle.

All the yarns in the Mirasol Collection have Quechuan names, this is the local dialect of the area where the Mirasol Centre is.

Nuna in Quechuan means soul; spirit; conscience.

A beautiful name for a beautiful yarn.

The Centre....

2009-02-23T10:02:00.000-08:00

As we were putting the books from the Mirasol Collection onto the blog, it made me look at the pictures of the centre again.

It is so amazing that in September 2007, it looked like this:

8 months later in May 2008 we were looking at pictures like this:

It is due to the support the Mirasol Yarn Collection has received from everyone: distributors, reps, retailers and knitters.

THANKS TO EVERYONE!

The Mirasol Collection Book 5

2009-02-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

We have uploaded all images from the new Mirasol Collection Book 5 onto flicker.
Please click on this LINK! to view them.

Website Updates

2009-02-13T05:08:00.000-08:00

The Mirasol webiste has now been updated with this season's new book and yarns.

For Spring there is Mirasol Book 5, here are Jane Ellison's thoughts behind the book:

'The collection of designs for this book was inspired by all seasons and as always the Andean culture wasn’t far from my thoughts, so hopefully there are garments in here that are great for wearing in Summer, Spring, Autumn and Winter.
I am a creative person, I love knitting and the way even if you use the same pattern, each knitter creates an individual garment. It also excites me that even the smallest change, like a different colour, can once again create something new and bespoke for you.I like sharing knitting stories and techniques with other knitters. There is something lovely about sitting down with other knitters just chatting and watching different knitting styles. With this in mind for this book I have included my thoughts on my design in each pattern to share with you.'

There are two brand new yarns Hap'i and Nuna. While there are new shades for T'ika and Samp'a.

We'll put all the images from Book 5 into Flickr just as soon as we can! In the meantime you can view the images on the yarn pages on the Mirasol website.

Edited: We've now added the images, view them HERE!

Mirasol Book Four

2009-01-16T10:08:00.000-08:00

(Jane Ellison again, hello…again!)

In October I had the joy of designing for my first children’s book for the Mirasol Collection. With the Grand Opening of the Mirasol Centre still in my mind and seeing all the pictures of the children and their parents, as well as other guests, celebrated the opening with balloons, cakes and special gifts, I thought that a party would make the perfect photo shoot!

The bright colours of the yarns I used evoke those that are central to Andean culture and give the garments the fun feel that any children wearing them will have. For me, it has been a real treat to design for children. I love the idea of creating a knitted garment for the younger members of the family. They themselves are just as individual as the little persons they are being made for; knitted with love.

As always, my patterns are simple and easy to knit, so are perfect for those who are beginners, perhaps members of the younger generation, who may chose to knit their very first garment from this collection!

Mirasol Book Three

2009-01-15T11:54:00.000-08:00

(The next blog update from Jane Ellison, hello!)

Mirasol Book 3 was out in August 2008, a year from the first book was out, and it was overwhelming to see the response to the Mirasol Project from knitters and I was so excited to see how far the building had progressed. I never thought that by the third book I would be seeing photographs of a finished building. It is unbelievable! It is also great that we can see the difference we are all making, just by doing a something we love.

This book was for women, however for this season I also included men and children. The designs use the yarns, Miski, Sulka, Hacho, Qina, Tupa and Chirapa.

Mirasol to me is about family and traditional crafts that will hopefully be passed down through future generations. It was lovely to see the pictures the children at the Mirasol House had been drawing. I have visited the area only once, but in that brief visit it felt as if I experienced every season under the sun! There was strong sunshine, freezing cold sleet, clouds and rain. One of the pictures showed everything I remembered, as well as everything I hope to see again. There was sun, clouds, rain, hills, llama and the house.

By Book 3 the Mirasol House had it’s Grand Opening, which you can see pictures of to the right, as well as in the slide show.

Mirasol Book Two

2009-01-14T09:29:00.000-08:00

Hello , it’s Jane Ellison again. This blog update is for Mirasol Book 2. This is a Spring Summer Book that was out in February 2008. It has 30 knitted patterns for women. They use the beautifully soft T’ika. This is made from 100% Pima Cotton and I was lucky to be able to choose the colours for this quality, I thought it was the perfect yarn for bright jewel-like colours. The book also has a yarn that I was very excited about because it is 100% organic cotton and the dyes are all natural. I love the gentleness of this yarn.
The garments are inspired by the summer and spring so include short sleeved cardigans and shawls to wear on hot days, though I have also designed long sleeved cardigans, jumpers, bags in fact hopefully a garment for everyone’s summer. My last British summer was definitely not a summer for short sleeved cardigans!

The history of Peru has always been an interest, for my final Art qualification at school I studied Central American art and their history. To be involved in this project all these years later was perfect as I love this culture and art especially. Part of Peru’s history was the Spanish landing in the 16th century. The many tales of a rich and luxurious kingdom intrigued the Spaniards. So for this photo shoot we went to Spain. We researched the area to find the best place, a remote area that was surrounded by olive and almond trees as far as the eye could see. Every once in a while the landscape was interrupted with ruins of abandoned farmhouses. Like the Mallkini area, it was beautifully remote and peaceful. It is a place to reflect and enjoy the wonders of nature.
So while we photographed in the sun, the latest pictures we had from Peru of the Mirasol House was from November 2007. It showed a cold snow covered landscape. This photograph shows how the house looked then.

Mirasol Book One

2009-01-09T10:16:00.000-08:00

Hello, My name is Jane Ellison. I design for the Mirasol Yarn Collection and I thought that I would give a brief history of the Mirasol Yarn Collection.

This is Mirasol Book 1 and was, as the name suggestions the first book to be released to start the Mirasol Yarn Collection. (it is now out of print)
I was lucky enough to be able to travel to Peru for this first book to see the area for myself. The picture on the back of the book shows where the Mirasol House was going to be built. It is on the right, and just under the line of trees you can see the bricks.

Then there were only 4 yarns, the gorgeous Miski, 100% llama, Sulka 60% Merino wool, 20% alpaca and 20% silk (I can't say anything to do this yarn justice it has to be seen!), Hacho a beautifully hand dyed 100% merino wool and Cotanani, a 60% cotton and 40% merino wool mix.
I was and still am so excited about the Mirasol Project. It seemed like serendipity!

I'll explain more in the next blog. Here in the meantime is another picture of the Mirasol House when I saw it, just dug out foundations!

A Child's thoughts

2008-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

In The Mirasol Collection Book 3 and Book 4 we have included a poem from Mirasol's brother Alex. (The project is named after a little girl called Mirasol) and just recently we received more words and thoughts from the children at the centre.
Here is just one;

“I come from my house to the Mirasol Boarding House. I feel good here. I learn many things and study and do my homework.
The teachers are very nice. I stay overnight at Mirasol. I eat food with vitamins and proteins in order to grow strong and healthy and be able to be the first.
This is why I love Mirasol Boarding House. I never dreamed of living in a house that seems God’s house, because I learn many things I didn’t know before.
This encourages me to go on with my studies. I appreciate this with all my heart. I also thank the persons who made this possible.
I send them a big hug and wish them all happiness.
Thank you!”

Mirasol questions

2008-12-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

I have had a few knitters email me directly asking questions about the yarn or the centre.
Some of them are great questions that I felt should be shared with everyone.
Here is the first of them;

Are staff or parents watching over children?

There is a qualified member of staff watching the children, and the parents of the children are also involved in the centre from helping with chores to the general day-to-day running of the house.

What a year!

2008-11-27T11:34:00.000-08:00

While here at the website, we have been busy updating the blog with images I can't believe how quickly the centre in Peru has been built; as this March saw the Grand Opening.
This is thanks to every single person who brought a ball of Mirasol yarn and to those that went to the centre to help out with the building.
The images uploaded to flickr show the building growing over the past 18 months, as well as all the images from the 4 books in the collection.
I hope you enjoy looking at them!

Welcome

2008-07-30T09:35:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Mirasol Project blog page!
This will be updated with information about the Mirasol Project and hopefully with images and information of everyone's thoughts and experience with the Mirasol Project.
There will be images of the past year in the building of the boarding house soon.