Enchanted Knits: Knits fit for a Fairy Tale This amazing magazine covers some of the quintessential fiber fairy tales, some we know well and others you might not have heard of. A designer discuss why we love trees in stories and reuses their motifs in our knitting. Judith Mackenzie writes a retelling of “The Princess […]

Nestled on a hill top allowing them to see them to see the whole valley of Chewelah, Mantis Farms brings to mind a different time in American, when the west was not a manufacturing powerhouse but a series of cottage industries that connected the community together. Ann of Mantis Farms paints a stunning picture of […]

I know that many people find NPR All Things Considered to be just about cultural fluff, but for those of us who love the fluff of fiber their resent article and interview with Scottish knitters and spinners was some awesome fluff. In fact you can see that fluff being spun into lovely Shetland lace weight […]

There seem to be an outstanding number of words that define the world of spinning fiber. Each one was developed to concisely inform about the steps and stages the fibers have been though. Some terms have evolved to have developed into general terms while others are still very specific to the steps that go into […]

The Adventures of Travis and Sara! Ever wonder about what our glorious leaders do on their off weekends? Why they go to yarn parties! This last weekend was the Northwest Needle Market- it is one of the casual regional events where needle arts distributors, manufacturers and their representatives network with the yarn shops of the […]

Ever wonder how to make those crazy interweaving patterns of color projects with Noro Yarns? When you look at a skein of Noro you see amazing colors –and an overwhelming fear of working with them? Here is a solution- An issue of Noro Knitting all about Color! The best thing about Noro is the color, […]

The debate between Steel or Aluminum heddles and Texsolv is an ongoing one. For the most part it is personal preference combined with a little physics and science. A quick primer for those new to the weaving world. Texsolv is a machine made Polyester heddle that uses a tie-up system. This means that you literally tie your […]

Interlude. Kromski has three Saxony wheels of differing sizes with musical names. Their smallest is the Prelude the musical lead in, the Interlude for the short dramatic piece of instrumental music and their large classic spinning wheel the Symphony. All three wheels are the type of wheel that harkens a different era with medieval ladies in waiting […]

I would like to start by thanking Karen at Fibers First Inc. for allowing us to invade her shop and share a better understanding of the process to get commercial roving and yarn from domestic producers. Some of the fibers that we deal with everyday are processed from Fibers First! Karen greeted us at the […]

Barns Sale, Ebay, Swap Meet, Craig’s List, Spin-in, Thrift Store- Spinners work hard to find wheels wherever we go. An old wheel found at a great price creates some of the best stories, even when they end with “it was totally unusable-“ but it is way better when we can end it with- “…and they […]

Micron Bradford System USDA Fiber Grades Blood System Picking fibers by Numbers A word of warning – there is more to a fiber than the numbers that define it, there is no measurement for crimp, elasticity, luster or durability which should be considered. Touch is an inherently subjective sense, what one person experiences will never […]

  So today I’ll be demoing Nature’s Paintbox which contains Dye-Lishus Cotton® with Aquarelle Plant Extract® liquid dyes in a kit. So the cool thing about Dye-Lishus Cotton® is that it has been pre-mordanted to accept dyes- you just need hot water soap the yarn and dyes. The dyes just need to be added to […]