Handdyed Fibers, Handspun Yarn & Handwovens

My Story

ABOUT ME

If you’ve landed here, then the tidbits on the home page weren’t enough to satisfy your curiosity about who the heck this free ranging fiber artist is, so cool, happy to share a bit more.

I took up spinning seriously in November of 2013. Prior to that, I dabbled in sewing clothes, made lots of traditional quilts, and made more serious forays into art quilting and surface design. A gifted weaving loom (yes, I know I’m lucky) shifted my focus to weaving and essentially the slippery slope into making my own yarn. Already comfortable with dyeing a la surface design techniques, getting a couple of dye pots was a more creative and economical way for me to have a variety of colors of wool. Once I added in a blending board, then a drum carder, and fibers such as alpaca, mohair locks, silk, firestar and even feathers (yes, feathers), I found my passion.

Dyeing and blending fibers, and spinning my own yarn is painting on and with fiber, to me. I’ve been told I have a natural sense with color, which I take as quite a compliment. I get a charge out of selling my spinning fibers and yarn to those that I know will put their own creative twist on it.

While I’m based in Texas, my “day job” via the internet allows me to move about the country, including being fortunate to spend summers on the coast of Maine. Developing my fiber studio and business to be portable has presented lots of challenges and lots of rewards. From time to time those things will come up in my blog posts.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my site and dig a little deeper. If you don’t find the information about me and my products you are looking for on the site, fill out a contact form inquiry and I’ll get back to you asap.

ABOUT MY WORK

I source fiber from a variety of vendors looking for the best quality in specific breeds and fiber types.  I use acid dyes for protein fibers and MX dyes for cellulose fibers.  Dye pots go clear to ensure all dye is exhausted and I rinse all fibers at least twice out of the dye pot.  All skeins are fulled by me.  Wovens are wetted or washed (depending on desired finish).  All items hang to dry – preferably outside in the glorious sunlight of wherever I am.

All work is done by me personally and is often one or two of a kind.  Certain colorways I may come close to repeating, but I find beauty in the serendipity of the dye pot that makes each braid, each combination on the blending board, each skein of yarn or handwoven garment a unique artisanal product.

In doing each step personally, I find braids and rolags end up being within a range of 3.5 to 4 oz, though some are lighter or heavier.  My practice is not robotic but organic, and the inconsistency makes it handmade, mine, and something you will not find anywhere else.