Today’s interview (the third in the series) is with Bobbi of Kittygrrlz. She creates fun and exciting handspun yarn using fibers handdyed or carded by other with other fiber artists, a beautiful example of collaboration. You can read more about her fiber-y life on her blog.

How did you get started with knitting?
I was vending (with jewelry) at the DIY Trunk Show in Chicago, in November of 2004. As I like to say, this show changed my life! Their local SnB group was there giving free knitting lessons. Since I had a Chicagoan helping me out, and it was pretty quiet in the morning, I went up and got my free lesson. They started me off with some needles and a skein of basic yarn, and, honestly, I never thought I would get it. I was all thumbs. But, I took it home, promptly bought some PURPLE yarn, and just started knitting . . . I actually still have that first piece – which most resembles a table-runner, I think.

How did you get started spinning?
I came across the YARN WENCH site and just loved her handspun yarn. I totally splurged and bought one of her skeins and I LOVED it. So, I started knitting with hand spun yarn, mostly hers. By the Trunk Show the following year – 2005 – I was there selling mostly hand knits and wearing a sweater I had knit! Then, Lynn (the Yarn Wench) started dyeing fiber and I just so loved her colors – they are truly amazing and inspiring – and I thought, well, if I could spin, I could get the fiber, spin the yarn, AND knit it. What I didn’t quite expect is how much the spinning would take over! I try to continue to do both but admit that spinning has really become my first love. So, I am one of those who came from the knitting side of it TO the spinning. I have thought about dyeing, but quite honestly don’t think I want to invest the time into it when there are so many great dyers already out there. I’d much rather use that time to spin – and knit!
As far as choosing fiber – I am most attracted by color. Then the type of fiber. I get almost all of my wool from the Yarn Wench, but also buy carded batts from several etsy sellers. I venture out sometimes and try new dyers, if the color or fiber strikes me, but especially now that I have to watch my fiber budget, have been sticking to my favorites. I do feel that spinning fiber dyed by other artists help keep my items “handmade” throughout the process. I also like supporting other independent artists and etsy sellers. At times I wish I could support more of them!

How did your business begin?
Well, I have had my own website for a long time but had only sold a couple of jewelry items from it. And, I had done a couple craft shows. But, in 2005, I heard about Etsy from a fellow librarian. She had a shop, which led me to the site and so I thought I would sign up. At first, I didn’t make full use of it – I just listed my items and that was it. (And oh how I cringe at those first listings with the bad pictures! it’s amazing I sold anything at all!)
Once I started spinning (in December of 2006) I really started putting more effort into both my own website AND my etsy shop. At the beginning of this year, I also separated out my hand knits into their own shop – kittygrrlzknits.etsy.com – so I could better promote the yarns vs. finished items. That first year with yarn – 2007 – I really focused on promoting on Etsy – I was in the forums and did showcases and just tried to establish a presence there. Towards the end of the year, though, and into this year, I started doing outside advertising – places like Ravelry and Knitty and on various blogs. I’ve also managed to snag a spot in one of the Etsy Co-op ads and just managed to get another one recently.

Did you set out from the beginning of it to be self-employed?
I started out selling jewelry in hopes it would give me some extra income – a “part-time” job that would help me feed my creative side. I never thought of it as just a way to “support my hobby” – I wanted it to be an actual business. So, I did a lot of the official things like registered my business name, applied for the tax id numbers, etc. (I’d already had the domain name – just had to put more effort into the website). To be honest, though, the jewelry thing didn’t last long – and I don’t think it<
/span> would have worked out. I just didn’t have what it took to make it a sustainable business. I threw a lot of money at it in an attempt, but when I started knitting . . . and especially when I started spinning . . . I thought, now THIS IS something I could do full-time.

What led to your self-employment? Did you quit a dayjob to do this full-time?
At the beginning of this year, things really started to pick up and I started to seriously consider if I could make it a full-time gig. Then, right around that time, I found out the project I was working on would be “over” by July 1, thus my job would be ending. This really cleared the path for the option to spin and knit full-time. Over those months, I debated it endlessly. I did apply to a couple jobs I felt I was qualified for, but I didn’t apply for everything that came along. As time went on, it just seemed all signs were pointing to me doing this full-time, and who was I to argue with fate, right? There is a part of this that I want to express but am not sure how to word it. I’d always secretly wanted to do something creative full-time, but my obsessively practical side always won out. Which is weird given some of the other “leaps” I’ve made in my life. But, I always feared the uncertainty and loved the stability of my job. I’m also one who didn’t HATE the job I had – I actually liked it quite a bit – so wasn’t trying to escape a bad environment or anything like that. So, I hoped maybe some day I could do something like this, but just wasn’t ready until everything aligned and made it obvious that NOW was the time!

How did you make that difficult decision?
After I found my job was ending, I looked for related jobs to my experience, applied for a few, but in the meantime I was having some of my best sales months EVER! It really seemed like now was the time, everything kept pointing to Kitty Grrlz full-time and NOT finding another library job. I didn’t jump in totally unprepared, though. I knew I had some money saved. I knew I had options if things didn’t work out. Back-up plans abounded! But, I also felt this was the time to make the leap! While I DID make the conscious decision to go full-time, I also have to be honest and say it also sort of came about on its own. What else was I going to do? Job ending, Etsy sales up? I think the main thing, though, is that if I didn’t think I could make a go of spinning and knitting full-time, I probably would have stepped up the job search a bit.

Now that you are full-time, what’s a normal working day like?
Ha, I think the question should be, what would you LIKE it to be like, and what is it ACTUALLY like?
I really want to get on a normal schedule – similar to the one I had when I worked. I’d like to get up in the morning and do my Post Office run. Have my yogurt. Check my email/site/blog. Then, spin. Take a lunch break. Spin some more. Etc. . . . In reality, I’ve been sleeping much later than I should, and have been spinning into the wee hours of the morning! But, even with the schedule not being quite what I want, I have been working ALOT. My boyfriend warned me that I’d probably be working even MORE without the full-time job than with, and he was oh-so-right! I just finished a 3-day show which basically had me out of the house at 6am and not home until 7pm or later. I’ve got spinning to do, knitting for upcoming shows to do, pictures to take, items to list, etc. Last week I was basically working from about 8am to past midnight every day. I LOVE it, though!!

How is this different than before? Is it easier or harder to be creative in your full-time fiber artist schedule?
Since I am trying to keep a similar schedule as to when I was working, it isn’t that much different – except for the timing, I guess. I am staying up much later! As for the creative part of it – I actually think it is the same if not a little easier to be creative since (in theory) I DO have more time to work on fibery pursuits. I have been cramming for shows the past two weeks, but now have 3 weeks before my next show – I am looking forward to being able to just spin and knit what I want – I have a huge list of what I want to do – ideas for new yarns, and things I want to try. So, creatively, i think it is better . . . I think the main difference can be summed up like this – When I had the full-time job, when I thought of something I’d want to spin, knit, or try – I’d have to wait until i got home and rarely I had time that day and it sometimes would be weeks or months before I got to it – NOW, when I think of something, I can just spin it if I want, or at least get the fiber out and ready to go. Last week, before my show, I was so tired of spinning bamboo. So, I decided I would try corespinning – and I DID! If I’d had the day job, I probably never would have gotten to it!

Can you explain the process from fiber to finished yarn? Do you plan it out ahead of time?
Well, this is sort of hard to answer. Usually, I start with a fiber and often times the fiber helps tell me what it wants to become – an art yarn, or something simpler? Or, maybe a Navajo 3ply? So, I start with the fiber which is very much related to color. Then, I prep it. Sometimes, while prepping, I will change my mind about how I’m going to spin it – if I think it’s better suited for a different type of yarn
I’ll change my plan. On occasion, I may start with an idea of a project or type of yarn and then find a fiber to spin it – but I almost always start with the fiber. And, I almost always choose that fiber by color. For my FunctionArt yarns, the fiber is the first part and the second part are the yarns to spin in – which I take a lot of time in selecting. I look not only for color but also for texture and how I think they will work together with the fiber and each other. I just . . . think I “wing it” most of the time and just spin what inspires me at the moment. Or colors that I love.

How do you name your yarns?
First, I have different “types” of yarns – FunctionArt art yarns, Batt-tacular yarns spun from carded batts, Beautiful bamboo which is of course bamboo, etc. THEN each one has a colorway name. Sometimes these names come from the name of the fiber colorway (Lynn does name her colors, too, and often times they are so perfect I don’t change them) and other times I name them things I think of – either inspired by the color or something that struck me while spinning it. I love the names, though, and while sometimes it is hard to come up with just the right one, will continue to name all of my yarns.

What do you wish you’d planned for before you went full-time?
Well, I think I had thought of a lot of things and was prepared, but looking back I’m not sure it was wise to take a vacation right at the beginning. We had planned it before any job decisions had been made, and I figured it may be the last chance for a vacation for awhile, but it really threw me off my schedule and routine. (It was a great vacation, though!)

What has surprised and delighted you about being a fiber artist?
Hmm . . . that I’m actually doing this??? There are times I just randomly think, “Oh my god, I don’t have a job” . . . but, of course, I DO have a job, it’s just different! Then there are the moments when my practical side screams, “What are you doing!?!?” But, I just love being able to spin all day!!

Anything else you want to add?
In reading Folktale’s interview last week, I was struck by the fact that I, too, was such a writer when I was young! I wrote ALL the time, even up through college and even a bit once I was out. It really tapered off, though, once I started with the knitting and spinning . . . so i just love the connection of “spinning yarns” !

Every yarn is a collaboration between animal, farmer, dyer, spinner. Each yarn I spin is an unspoken agreement use the raw, pure fiber to create an artistic expression, to endeavor to honor the original fiber and the others who have worked with it.
This sense of collaboration and community is why I choose to buy most of my supplies from local fiber farmers and handpaint the fiber myself. Sometimes, though, I like to create something in collaboration with even more artists, to work with someone else’s painted fiber.
Last week I purchased some lovely fiber from a few Etsy sellers. The small fiber farm, Fleecemakers, raise Romney sheep and sell the roving dyed and blended in beautiful mixes. I ordered Ocean Wave and Tropical colorways (stay tuned to the shop or my Twitter updates to see the yarns this fiber become!)
I’ve been a fan of Jayne’s work for a while, but when I saw the Fabulosity fiber, I couldn’t resist any longer. I snatched it up and created some Fabulous! yarn (that’s not bragging, that’s the yarn name!)

My favorite part of selling handspun yarn is knowing that everything I spin becomes a collaboration with yet another artist – the knitter or crocheter! The fiber that I admired and squished, that flowed through my fingers and twisted into yarn before my eyes; it will flow through a knitters hands and become something warm, useful and squishy.

Have you collaborated with me (or another fiber artist)? Let me know about it in the comments!

Today’s interview (the second in our series) is with Abby of Folktale Fibers. She creates beautiful handspun yarn from cruelty-free and vegan fibers. You can read more about her fiber-y life on her blog, but be sure to check out her beautiful shop.

How did you get started with fiber art?

Honestly, I think it’s in my blood. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been obsessed with textiles and the process of making things. My earliest memories are of finger crocheting on the school bus on the way to field trips (this was before kindergarten) and sewing buttons onto fabric scraps my mom gave me while she sewed clothes on her sewing machine. I had a fabric and yarn stash by the time I was three or four years old! I didn’t discover the art of spinning until about 3 years ago, when I suddenly realized that I could spin my own yarn. I already knew the basic process, since I had been making cordage for years, but it had never occurred to me that yarn was made in the same way. I bought a spindle and some fiber from Earth Guild, and the rest is history!

Which came first: the dyeing or the spinning?

The spinning. All my first handspun yarns were undyed, and then I used them later as practice when I started learning to dye. I dyed mostly with kool-aid and food-safe dyes at first, and later moved on to natural dyes, acid dyes, and most recently, fiber reactive dyes. I’ve become a much better dyer than when I first started, and I think my color sense has developed a lot more too.

How did the business side of Folktale Fibers start?

I used to sell handsewn clothing and hand-carved/customized model horses when I was a teenager, on ebay and on my own website, and I think I’ve had a dream of having a successful online indie business for a long time. I started selling handsewn cloth pads on etsy before I learned to spin, so once I started spinning more yarn than I could use, I began listing it in my shop. And now I have a full-fledged fiber business!

How’d you come up with the name?

A lot of my inspiration is drawn from fairytales and folklore, old traditions and the natural world. Not to mention, spinning itself is a craft with a ton of tradition and many fables and myths connected to it (Rumpelstiltskin, the Norns – three sisters who spun, wove, and cut the fates of humans, and The Seven Swans to name a few). Wikipedia has some information about mythology & spinning/weaving here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Weaving_(mythology) . It took me a while to come up with my business name, but I think it’s a good reflection of where my yarns come from.

What was the path from hobbyist to full-time fiber artist like?

I really just wanted some spending money, and to share my crafts with others, but I eventually realized that I could do this full-time if I really wanted to. So I guess it morphed from a hobby into a business. If I had never started it as a hobby, though, I would never have had the confidence to attempt a self-employed crafting job full time.

I’ve never really had a “real” job, so I think I’m a bit of an oddity in that aspect. When I moved from the woods back to the city, I decided to open an official business to pay my rent & bills and hopefully save a bit to buy land in the future.

What do you mean ‘when I moved from the woods’? I’m picturing a Walden-esque lifestyle in the woods that required no income

Yep, that’s pretty accurate!
I was in advanced classes in high school, and in montessori school before that, and by the end of high school I think I was just burned out on school. I knew what I wanted to learn (mostly crafts, botany/herbal medicine and homesteading skills), and it wasn’t stuff I could learn in school without taking a ton of classes that I didn’t care about, so I ended up traveling the country for a few years with my current partner. We went to various skillshare gatherings, made new friends that taught us stuff, and visited old friends. We mostly hitchhiked our way around, with a few stretches of walking, trainhopping, and a craigslist ride or two. We didn’t really need money because we slept in the woods at night while traveling (under a tarp if it was raining) and all our food was scavenged from the wild or dumpstered. It’s pretty crazy how many fresh fruits and veggies get tossed out everyday. I did some work-trade here and there, and had a brief stint picking organic blueberries at an awesome little farm, but for the most part we just had no need of money. We still live pretty frugally, I think it’s just ingrained in us at this point.

After traveling for a few years, we eventually settled down on some land owned by our friends – 30 acres in the mountain of North Carolina that back up against a huge tract of national forest. We lived in various homemade shelters on the land, like a bark hut built from saplings and poplar bark. There were other folks who lived there, so there was a small community. We learned all sorts of primitive skills and crafts while we were there. We lived completely off the grid, no electricity or water. We cooked over wood fires and hauled our own water from the many beautiful mountain springs. Our friends had a composting toilet set up that produced compost for the garden. Our food came from the land (a small garden and lots of wild foods) and was supplemented by organic produce from local health food stores – we worked out a deal where they would let us ha
ve all the food they were going to throw out for free, and we would share it with the community. We lived there for about 2 years, but we decided to leave so that we could save up money to buy land and possibly go to school for fiber arts/herbal medicine (me) and ethnobotany (my partner). I eventually would like to build a tiny cabin in the woods and have a small herd of fiber goats and maybe a few sheep.

That is so fascinating!
What’s a typical working day like?

I usually wake up and start my day off slow by making a cup of tea or two and checking my email and etsy shop. If I have packages to ship, I pack them up the night before so I can walk to the post office in the morning while it’s still cool out and not too crowded. The rest of the day is spent multi-tasking – I usually have two or three things going on at once, like a pot of dye simmering on the stove while I spin or card. If I have things to list on etsy, I take pictures mid-day while the light is the best. I usually quit around 5 pm to start cooking dinner before my partner gets home (he works full-time). I cook all our meals from scratch, since we don’t eat processed foods and have a bit of a strict diet, so cooking usually takes a while! Then at night I usually check my email once more, maybe sew or felt some yarn embellishments, and make myself a to-do list for the next day. I also try to take a day off each week to clean the house and relax.

Is it easier or harder to be “creative” in your full-time fiber artist schedule (as opposed to creating as a hobby)?

I thought it would be hard to keep going at such a rate, and every once in a while I hit a bit of a slump, but I’m surprised at how much creative energy I have. I think it might be a bit easier for me to be creative now than when I spun and dyed less, because now I’m always thinking about it. Just the act of creating a new yarn or colorway sets off ideas for more.

Describe the creative process of designing a new yarn.

A lot of the time, I have an idea before I start dyeing. I try to write ideas down as they occur to me, otherwise I tend to forget them! But sometimes, especially with vegan fibers, I just dye them in large batches and then draw my ideas from the collection of fibers I have at the time. If I’m in a creative slump, it helps to have a big stash of dyed fiber to dig through. I can also just sit down with a notebook and a pen and come up with idea after idea for yarns and colorways.

What do you wish you’d planned for before you went full-time?

I wish I’d found someone to help me with taxes. I tried reading all the information I could find online, but it was a lot to take in and not always helpful. That was hands-down the hardest business-related thing I’ve had to figure out! I also wish I’d figured out an accounting system beforehand, since I’m just sort of making it up as I go.

What has surprised and delighted you about being a fiber artist?

That there is always something new to learn or discover when it comes to fiber, even if you thought you had it figured out!

Anything else you want to add?

I realized something a bit funny (to me, anyway) the other day. When I was a kid, I grew up without a TV and was an avid reader. I always wanted to be a writer when I grew up, and I wrote all the time. And what do I do for a living now? I spin yarns. (Get it?)

Yes! I actually encounter a lot confusing related to that metaphor, because my town has the National Storytelling Museum and Festival….telling people I “spin yarns” results in people thinking I’m a Professional Storyteller!

Thanks again to Abby for sharing her fascinating story! If you have any other questions for her or suggestions for upcoming interviews, please leave a comment.

Edited to add: and again this morning (7.17.08), I’m on the front page!
It’s this Treasury, featuring the Independence yarn.

So, the front page of Etsy is kind of a big deal. The admin at Etsy select Treasuries to feature on the front page and Treasuries are made by Etsy users. Only the prettiest pictures get in Treasuries (in theory) and only the prettiest Treasuries make the front page.
And my Sunshine yarn did it!
Yay!

Taken by little brother T, at the Johnson City Farmer’s Market…purple bell peppers?

It reminded me of this yarn:Irises

So now I need it to inspire a new yarn!

This week’s picture was taken at the Johnson City Farmer’s Market: ripening Cherokee Tomatoes, from a local farm. Just as the rain subsided, I was smitten with the deep red and receding green of this heirloom variety.

I captured the purpley red on mill-ends wool (rescued wool from what would be thrown out by a commercial spinning mill) and handspun it fluffy, thick and thin. I then wrapped the squishy wool in hemp yarn, handyed the shade of green tomatoes.
The two textures and colors play with each other, like the ripening of a tomato, creating a contrast for your eyes and hands. The knitted (or crocheted) fabric will have a slight tweedy effect with the green just popping up now and then to add some life to the party!

This week has been full of multi-media fiber-happiness:

• A sweet little profile of my friend, Maple of North Star Alpacas
• A podcast with the authors of Shear Spirit (my new favorite book)
• A beautiful video of Martha Vineyard Fiber Farm:

PS. If you’re near Abingdon this Sunday, come visit me at A Likely Yarn.

Cherokee Tomatoes – also known as black or purple tomatoes, fully ripe their skin becomes a blackish purple. (I bought two – very mild in taste, not tomatoe-y)

Inspired by these peaches, the seasons’ first, I handdyed some local fiber 3 shades of peach.

The three shades in this 2 ply yarn create a self-striping yarn that starts with darker peach at one end and moves towards the lightest, peachiest color at the other end of the skein. Knitted (or crocheted), this skein will create one long color repeat that moves from darkest to lightest along the length of the project.

I was/am very tempted to keep this yarn for myself and knit a scarf out of it! It took all my moral fortitude to stick with the Project and list the yarn in the shop!

PS. This is a super busy week with out-of-town family (and pets) staying in my guest room/studio/office and dyeing lessons in my kitchen and knitting night at Jill’s. I might not be around too much!