I learned to spin in the early 1990s while living in Minnesota. I have been teaching knitting and sewing my entire life, with a Home Economics degree from Iowa State University providing a good foundation. I taught myself spinning for a few years, and then as spinning became more popular I took many workshops from famous teachers in spinning special fibers, different techniques, and dye workshops.
Now living outside Spokane Washington my spinning has grown into a business I call Garden Party Fibers, this reflects my favorite place to spin, out in my gardens overlooking the mountains of north Idaho. I use wool, alpaca, and mohair from local sheep growers.
A typical day finds me home washing wool, immersing it into roasters of colorful dyes. For most yarns, I use only a picker for processing before spinning on my Louet wheel. This minimum processing helps preserve the beauty of the fiber and keeps the colors distinct. Each skein is about 3 hours of work and most are put into 105-yard skeins.
These yarns can be found at many yarn shops, local NW art festivals, and on weekends I set up my booth at the Kootenai County farmers market in Coeur d’Alene Idaho. I have designed many unique garment patterns for you to knit or crochet with these rustic yarns. My yarns have inspired many to take up their needles and knit again. Knitters can’t wait to knit with these unique rustic yarns and spinners find themselves experimenting with some rustic yarns of their own.