February 24 18th 2006:midnightskyfibers.com

1 when did you start crafting? I’ve been crafting ever since I was a small child, I learned to knit when I was about 5 or 6- so I’ve been knitting for about fourteen years now! When I was a kid I did a lot of lanyard, embroidery, and friendship bracelets (the ones that used embroidery floss that you knot). Of course I was also knitting and crocheting too.

2 why do you like yarn so much? I am absolutely obsessed with anything that involves fiber, the way it changes as you card it from locks into batts, blending different fibers and materials together and spinning it into a unique yarn, the way the yarn looks as it’s in a skein, and the way the yarn flows from your hands as you work with it. The variations in handspun and handpainted yarn can be so fluid or so eclectic that you’ve really missing out if you’ve never had the chance to work with them, there’s just nothing quite like the feel of a smooth slightly variegated handspun yarn flowing through your hands whether its fingering or bulky weight. Yarns really appeal to my artistic side because they are something that can be so simple or complex. You can use a solid or tweed yarn that’s 50 wpi (wraps per inch, it measures how thick the yarn is) to make a finely knit lace shawl, or a novelty yarn with coils and Angelina- a really sparkly fiber- to make a scarf on big needles.

3 do you knit or crochet? O yes. I’ve known how to knit and crochet for about 14 years, and have been off and on since then. I tend to knit much more than I crochet, though. When I had just jumped back into knitting in high school I made a lot of scarves, but after I had enough scarves that I could wear a different one everyday for three months (no joke!) I sort of banned myself from making just plain scarves. Now I knit a lot of crazy things. Lots of lace especially, I really enjoy the traditional lace patterns. Also socks, Fair Isle, and cables have been recent obsessions. I don’t usually use a pattern unless I’m doing a lace shawl, in which case I will still probably alter it in some way- I guess I like to make things more challenging for myself!

4 when did you start selling your yarn online? I’ve been selling online for quite some time, I started out on eBay. It was only recently that I really started wholesaling and really taking it to the level of a job instead of a hobby- it’s a lot of work, but I enjoy it and wouldn’t change my decision to make fiber arts a business! Eventually one of these days when I’m not stuck writing lots of papers for school I’ll sit down and actually code a site again, since I got tired of my old one. You can always find me at the url http://www.midnightskyfibers.com though. Currently it’s at Etsy, which is an upstart designed to help small artists.

5 what do you have planned for 2006? Lots of yarn! I have an electric spinning wheel (one of my three), so spinning is a bit faster now, and I can spin finer yarns now- I really like lace weight handspun! For ’06 I will also -be working more on the zine I publish with Rachel-Marie called “Spindie” – it focuses on both of our businesses and has lots of cool crafty tips, patterns, and ideas! - Expanding more into handpainted yarns and kits. I’ve offered a limited supply in the past, but right now I’m really known for my yarn- a focus I want to keep but expand on. -Continue with my goals of creating a vegetarian and environmentally friendly business. I think businesses should follow the ethics of their owners and do what is best for the world globally. I offer vegetarian and environmentally friendly yarns, fibers, and kits because I don’t feel that I need to use harsh dyes and chemicals to create a high quality product. I can also do custom orders for vegans who have a hard time finding yarns dyed without harsh chemicals or animals safe/vegetarian/and non toxic dyes (all my items are!). Hey- I live in the Pacific Northwest. Something in the water makes us environmentally conscious! -You can see my blog updates at http://livejournal.com/~mnsfibers where you can also sign up for the mailing list I use to notify people of new products and general news. I also have new patterns or articles on a semi-regular basis.

You can find midnightskyfibers.com here.midnightskyfibers.com Item to check out .MeMe wool and cotton handspun yarn