Chances are many of Rosi Hartmann’s knitted creatures have made their way into the hearts and homes of people in the Cariboo Chilcotin.
Hartmann creates mostly farm or forest animals and some of them are displayed at the Station House Gallery gift shop, each animal sporting lots of tiny details.
One rabbit mama had a purse filled with carrots and a baby rabbit in her pocket.
Another had rabbits on her slippers and a knitted dress, with another rabbit knitted on it.
A bear is wearing a dress decorated with bees, and yellow and black striped socks to match.
“I did just make a river otter for someone that requested it,” she said, noting it is not uncommon for her to make 100 animals in a year.
Originally from Munich, Germany, Hartmann and her husband Clause emigrated to Canada in 1993 to an acreage at Miocene on Twin Lakes, near Rose Lake.
“We loved it immediately,” she said of the area.” It was similar to our home with alps, lake and rivers, but in Germany there were too many people.”
Today their two adult children - Patricia and Philip - live in Williams Lake.
All school children learn to knit in Germany and from then Hartmann loved knitting, especially socks, mitts and toques.
One day a friend of hers saw some little knitted animals on an internet site and suggested they were something Hartmann should make.
“That was seven years ago. From there it went haywire,” she recalled. “I broke my wrist one time and it is easier for me to knit the animals than anything else.”
Describing knitting as a hobby she finds relaxing and something to do while watching television in the evening, she said her days are busy.
They have chickens, goats, a dog, and a garden if the goats don’t get to it first.
In the past they raised cows, sheep and pigs, and they harvested hay.
“We have access to Crown land and we see lots of moose, some wolves and coyotes out here,” she said.
Hartmann used to write about the 150 Mile School and the Miocene Community Club for the Williams Lake Tribune.
She was inspired to do pursue the challenge because it improved her English, she recalled.
“Taking to people and writing articles really helped,” she said.
In Germany she worked as a personal secretary for the German Space Operations Centre.
Not sure how many of her rabbits and lambs will be in Easter baskets this coming weekend as gifts, Hartmann said she will mark the season at home with her family.
“We are Christian and we love to celebrate. On Friday we don’t eat meat - so we will have fish and green stuff.”
She will bake a traditional German round bread, which she will decorate with coloured eggs, and on Sunday they will have a small lamb roast.
“Even though our kids are older it’s still nice to have something for them in an Easter basket.”
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