Creating your own yarns...

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Permalink Reply by Yarn Goddess on March 20, 2009 at 2:17pm

I don't dye my own yarn because if I take up one more hobby, Hubster will shoot me. Besides, I have so much yarn in the house that I don't need to add any more. My preference for yarns is fingering weight, merino and/or a blend (bamboo, Tencel, exotics), or exotics without merino added. Since I rarely knit a sweater, I don't use cotton, but I've knitted with it in the past and like the stitch definition it provides.

Of course, I have my favorites; Woolly Boully is at the top of that list. I tend to hoard the yarns which I know are OOAK, so I've gotten into the habit of buying two of those I really love - one to knit with and one to put in the stash. I particularly like kettle-dyed yarns, and I also like self-striping. The other yarn type I love is where the dyer sprinkles little bits of color all over the hank, giving the finished yarn a speckled appearance.

I've chosen to sell nothing but indies because I'm trying to get their names known in the fiber community. There are so many artists out there who make exquisite yarn but have no outlet for selling it other than Etsy or their own stores; having a shop where they can display their work seemed like a good idea to me. I also carry anything having to do with fiber work (and am getting wet and dry felting items made of wood, among other goodies), so I'm sort of a one-stop shop. I also have a lady in England who is making her own DPN's out of wood. I also try to carry only the very finest work and am proud to say that one of my artists, KaratStix, has made it big.

I guess the upshot of all this is that if it's of high quality and has an interesting colorway, I'll buy it. I love all colors, and there are some combinations that knit up into socks that are just awesome!

Thank you for joining the group, Jody. :)

Permalink Reply by Jody Moody on March 21, 2009 at 7:10am

As a former art teacher (budget cuts...eeek) My students would love to watch me create all sorts of crazy experiments with my yarns. It gave them a view into the fiber arts that they would possibly have never seen. We had 'tie-dye' parties they would bring their shirts and I would bring my fiber!

Your shop sounds like a place where I would definately hang out!!!
jody