Radical Yarns for Radical Projects
I live in a stone cottage in the middle of 100 acre wood without running water, television, or radio. I spend most of my time teaching, homesteading, or messing around with fiber. Both of my daughters like fiber as well, but the older one has recently decided that boys are more compelling than yarn. Silly girl.
My first spinning wheel belongs to my mother, who made me a pair of legwarmers in 1983 (homegrown fleece, thick homespun and dyed with kool-aid, knitted with traditional Sauk-Suiattle tribal designs) when everyone else was getting nylon ones from Kmart. I currently spin on my dreamy Schacht Matchless and my teeny tiny Majacraft Little Gem. I heart fiber and adore working with color and texture.
I have been making things with fiber and selling them as long as I can remember. I had a clothing company for quite a long time, with both women and children's lines which I sold at events, markets, and wholesale. One major issue for me as a clothing designer and manufacturer was the competition from imported goods.
As someone who is always on a budget, making sure that my goods are accessible and affordable to a wide range of customers is important. When I picked up spinning again as an adult, it took me a while to figure out how anyone might make more than fifty cents an hour as a handspinner. After getting the efficiency worked out, I found that I was still facing some major hurdles with competition from imports and bumping price points to allow for wholesale accounts. I've made some tough decisions, like choosing not to focus on wholesale, but I feel that it has allowed me to manage my business in a way that works for me ideologically.
Sometimes people ask me why my yarn is radical. This yarn is radical because most knitters won't ever get to work with US made handspun; my process may be done entirely without electricity or running water; and my business plan is not focused solely on profit, but places a great importance on environmental impact, sustainability, fair wages, reduction of waste, and affordability of product. I get to do what I love for a living. I get to feel good about what I do for a living. What could be better?
I have 10 lifetimes worth of things on my must do list, and designing things for other people to use, wear, or craft with is super rewarding. I love that I get to make all different types of yarn which is turned into AMAZING items by knitters, crocheters, and weavers. Amazing items I would or could never create. I feel pretty honored that I get to play a little role in some of those creations.
Info on fiber: I focus on US wool and try to purchase from local producers whenever possible. When I do import fiber, I generally try to purchase from the UK as I believe they have better regulations around the treatment of animals than in some other parts of the world. If you are interested in learning more about my sourcing, please feel free to contact me. Here are a few descriptions of the types of wool typically found in my shop:
Targhee-bred in the US for open grazing in the west, with a focus on fine wool. Strong foundation in Rambouillet (French Merino), 23 Microns. Bouncy and lofty with a matte finish, produced entirely in the US.
Polwarth-genetics include 75% Lincoln and 25% Merino, is more durable (less pilling) than Merino but still very much a next to the skin soft wool at 22 microns. Produced on two family farms in the Falkland Islands and processed in the UK.
Falkland-another awesome breed from the Falkland Islands. The neat thing about the islands is that, due to the harsh climate, insects and disease from them is not an issue so wool from that region very rarely contains any chemicals and is typically organic. No known sheep diseases in this region, so horrible practices like mulesing (used on most sheep in Australia) or dipping are not practiced. About 25 micron, bred from Merino, Polwarth, and Corriedale originally. Next to the skin soft, great durability.
BFL Blue Face Leicester-produced in England, this fiber is a British luster longwool. Fleece is curly, fine, rather lustrous wool which is one of the softest of the UK. 25 micron count, next to the skin soft with a lovely drape and a silken luster.
