Here's a poor photo of the sample knit I just finished. Better photo to come.
As with many other industries, the fiber world has seen the growth of "independent" producers in the last decade. These are entrepreneurs who spin and/or dye their own yarn for sale, as compared to big corporate fiber companies. It's a little fuzzy (ha) as to how big you can be before you're no longer an indie. But generally, these are in-home DIY'ers who sell on-line via their own websites and etsy.com, at fiber shows and to a few shops.
Like many knitters, I've traveled the path from originally buying acrylic yarn at big-box stores, moving to nicer wools at yarn shops, and now collecting mostly handspuns and hand-dyed from artisans. Of course the prices have traveled the same upward path. But what befits a handmade article more than handmade yarn? And once you've used it it's hard to go back.
I haven't taken the final steps to spinning and dying my own yarn and raising the sheep as some knitters have, and hopefully I won't, as the last thing I need is more craft equipment or animals. I think I'll stop at supporting those who do.
I knit this Dandy Neckerchief as a favor is to show off yarn for a dyer's booth at upcoming fiber shows. (Plus I get paid back in yarn.) The dyer has the inpronouncable name of Ialiuxh and her company is called Lollipop Cabin. The yarn is called "Phluffiee," described as follows:
Only available once a year, this organic yarn from Canadian sheep is spun by a small North American mill then hand-dyed by Lollipop Cabin, one skein at a time in a wee little cabin with rain water from the Pacific Northwest Cascades, using environmentally friendly dyes suitable for a grey water system.
How indie/artisan/DIY is that?
And today's challenge: how would you pronounce "Ialiuxh?" edited to add: the first letter is an i, not an L.
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