I took up knitting during one of the hardest times of my life. It was 2009. I was the mother of a 1- and 3-year-old. Both my husband and I were laid off from our jobs. We had to move in with my parents, not only just to make ends meet, but also because my son suffered from lead poisoning from the house we were living in at that time. Oh yeah, and to top it all off, I was in nursing school. Stress level was at max level.
I remember going to the store one day to do my routine shopping when I got the overwhelming urge to turn down the arts and crafts aisle and pick up the first thing that I saw to start a hobby. I needed an outlet to de-stress. The first thing I came across was a “Learn to Knit” kit. I threw it in my cart along with a random economy size acrylic skein of yarn and then checked out. I don’t even remember finishing my shopping. Just went straight home.
I had no idea what I was doing and the follow along book that came in the package was useless. I didn’t even know what I was looking at. Frustrated, I turn on YouTube and look up “How to Knit” videos. I learned how to cast on and how to work the knit and purl stitch, basic stuff, but it was enough to start. I was hooked. I made like 10 scarfs right away. I couldn’t stop.
Fast forward to 2018. I’ve been working as a night shift nurse (still do as of 2022) and I knit to help unwind and decompress. I was searching internet videos to get ideas for new knitting projects when I became intrigued with the yarn the woman was using in the video. It was beautiful. It was hand dyed yarn. There was a link attached in the info section of the video on where you could purchase the yarn. I clicked the link. I was not prepared for what I saw. “Is that the actual price of the yarn? One skein? People buy this at that price?” I was baffled by this. I could not wrap my mind around it. Needles to say, I gave in and bought 1 SKEIN. Just 1. A few days later I laid hands on the most beautiful, softest yarn I’d ever touched. Instantly, I understood the appeal. Once again, I was hooked.
I’ve only purchased acrylic yarn a few times since then. It just sits in my stash, unused. I really should donate it. Hand dyed yarn is unique, and no two skeins are the same. They really are works of art when you think about it. The natural fiber feels soft against your skin and it breaths, so that makes it easier to wear those knitted and crocheted garments. The yarn glides over your needles and hooks with ease and it’s much softer and kinder to your fingers when working with it.
I understand that not everyone can afford to buy this type of yarn on a regular basis. I get it. But, I believe as knitters and crocheters that we deserve better than just the basic acrylic yarn off of the shelf. We should treat ourselves every once and a while when we can. Believe it or not, I still have that very 1st skein of hand dyed yarn that I bought. It almost serves as a symbol to a pivotal point in my life and the spark in my overall obsession with hand dyed yarn- the start of World of Inspiration Yarns really.
So, tell me, how and when did you become interested in hand dyed yarn? Do you remember the very 1st skein you bought? What did you make with it? We’re all fiber lovers here. Let’s share our stories.
Until next time my friends.
Carla A Jackson
Owner/World of Inspiration Yarns
1 commentaire
Reading your story, it is amazing on how similar it is to mine. My children were about 1 and 4, I was working though. I always loved to craft, but I needed something that wouldn’t take up so much space, (little did I know the rabbit hole I was getting into), and I could put away easily when I wasn’t able to work on it. I also bought the “How to Knit” kit (probably the same one) and I was also hooked. Youtube had just started and I didn’t know anything about it, so any tv show I could watch on knitting, I recorded it, it wasn’t until I found Youtube that I also found out about hand dyed yarns and yes I also had sticker shock. But after receiving my first skein, I too was hooked on it as well as natural fiber yarns. I had a whole wall of acrylic yarns and I have since given all of it away. And now that I have found your beautifully hand dyed yarns, I now have even more yarn to knit with, just deciding what to knit is sometimes is the problem. Thank you for sharing your journey into knitting and dying.