Laurs lives and creates in sunny southern California.Her etsy shop,
selling hand-dyed yarn and fiber, opened in 2008. All fibers are dyed with
lots of care in her home studio.Every step of the dye process is
meticulously done resulting in quality fibers that are a joy to spin.
Visit beemiceelf.com <http://beemiceelf.com>to find her on fb, instagram, and etsy. She also blogs about her dye process and shares tips, dye
recipes, and tutorials.
#EyeOnIndieDyer
Kaleidoscope DyeWorks
Ali is the owner and one woman show that is Kaleidoscope DyeWorks. After years of dying fibres and fabrics for fun, and with the encouragement of friends and family, she opened her Etsy shop in February of 2015. Bringing only the finest quality of Canadian yarns and fibres to the world market is both the goal and the passion behind Kaleidoscope. Ensuring that each skein is dyed to exacting and professional standards often means 18 hour days, but it is truly a labour of love. When she's not dying yarn from her home on the prairies of Northern Alberta, Ali can be found spinning, knitting, crocheting, and spending time with family.
Turtle Purl
I operate Turtlepurl out of my home in rural New Brunswick, Canada (Close to the famous Bay of Fundy). I started knitting while I was learning to cope with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, as I was in the military at the time. Knitting was a huge part of my transition from military life, and as I began to delve into different aspects of fiber arts, I started dyeing. I've always had a knack for colour and colour combos, so I took to it quickly and before I knew it, I was swapping with other fiber artists, and then opened my own store. I've been dyeing yarn and fiber since 2007 and I now work full-time with Turtlepurl and have staff to help!
We don't have a brick and mortar shop, though I do open the studio once a week, on Saturdays, to the public. We do wholesale our yarns to a number of stores throughout Canada and the US.
Bits & Hobs
I am Charlotte Hobson, a work at home mummy of 3; I lovingly handcraft custom yarn and fibre from my Victorian home in the heart of Yorkshire, a handful of miles from the Peak District National Park. With a passion for
colour and using luxury blends, I can honestly say I love what I do and my aim is for that to show from my home to yours.
Knitsomniac
Jennifer Thomassian has been involved in some form of textile art since the age of 8 when she took over her mother's sewing machine and started begging for her own. From a long line of artists and DIYer's she's tried almost everything. She studied Theatre Arts and costume design in college and worked with a theatre company for a short time. When her daughter was born in 1995 she taught herself to knit and seemingly overnight all she could think about was yarn and knitting. She has suffered from insomnia
more often than not and counting sheep only lead to more thoughts of knitting so she created Knitsomniac Designs as a tongue in cheek reference to the constant thoughts of wool. You can find her at
Knitsomniac.BigCartel.com and on Instagram.
Fox and Feather Yarn Co.
After spending years as a traditional artist, Monica Wilson decided to jump into a new medium of creativity, and her addiction to knitting began. She soon became intrigued by the realization that every skein of yarn resembled a unique palette, and every garment turned into a wearable painting. Armed with her lifelong passion for nature, Monica started dyeing her own yarn and soon realized she had a plethora of inspiration at her fingertips, which she could use to produce striking images in an imaginative way that captured her spirit. She chose a name that would represent her inspiration perfectly while staying true to the craft of fiber arts, and so Fox and Feather Yarn Co was born.
With a desire for creating yarns that creates an exceptional experience for customers, Fox and Feather Yarn Co aims to bring all the experiences of nature to you. From Monica’s in home dye studio, to each hand twisted skein, to your front door, every step in the process is done with you in mind. Without you, Fox and Feather Yarn Co would cease to exist.
StimpyLab
Stimpylab was founded by Lynn in the Summer of 2010, when she began dyeing
yarn as a creative outlet to her not always creatively-stimulating nine to five job as an intern at an architecture firm. Obsessed with knitting, she became interested in creating brightly colored yarn that couldn't be found in her Local Yarn Store. After graduating college in Philadelphia, she moved on a whim to Los Angeles and re-opened Stimpylab in the Fall of 2012. Stimpylab continues to be run entirely by Lynn - making it not exactly a
small business, more of a teeny-tiny micro business. When Lynn is not dyeing
yarn, she works at a small architectural firm in LA.
Caitlin ffrench
We were soooo stoked that Caitlin decided to join us this year for our maiden voyage to Stitches West! Caitlin will actually be at Stitches and we will announce the date & time of her "Meet & Greet" as soon as we announce our booth#! Keep an eye out!
Caitlin ffrench is a textile artist living on the west coast of Canada, and is a natural dyer- often spending time in the forest or in forgotten city spaces looking for dyestuff. She also teaches lectures and workshops on natural dyeing and wildcrafting natural dyes from your landbase. You can find her at thesesecrets.com and she is ffrench on Instagram.
And the YARN started rolling in!
So you know that we are gearing up for our first trip to Stitches West in Feb. 2016...and you know who the players are so far because we listed them all on our special Fibre Collective webpage..BUT it just got REALLY real y'all! The first box of yarn from one of our participating indie dyers arrived at The Altered Stitch today!!! In honor of this momentous occasion, I thought it was appropriate to post the first "Eye On Indie Dyer" bio so that you can start to get to know these amazing artists better. Who showed up first???? WHOOOOOO-R-U???
