Who is @the_YarnWhisperer?
Hey all .. Kitey here!
My journey as @the_YarnWhisperer was born in Summer 2018, when I decided to fully embrace my #stashenabler tendencies and set up my instagram so my friends didn't have to cope with so much yarn spam!
As a keen crocheter (since 2014) and a knitter since 2020 - pandemic survival skills unlocked! - i spent inordinate amounts of time, both on t'internet and IRL yarn shops coveting all the squish - in particular the hand dyed hanks and skeins!
Some of my happiest early memories involved going to the wool sales in Goulburn, Australia and jumping on the wool bales - Dad was a Wool Buyer for a French Company and the smell of lanolin still takes me back there - and following the buyers as they classed the wool with deft clicks of fleece in their fingers. It was mesmerising, and something that clearly stuck with me.
I wish I had an ACTUAL photo of me from back in the 70s - I'm actually searching through old photos - so far, I came across this absolute gem - My Dad in the paper, talking about the Sales xx
I first hit the dye baths at University (in the late 80s and early 90s) as I studied for my Bachelor of Education, in Sydney, and my love of colour has continued ever since. My first experiments were with natural colours, using herbs, vegetables and eucalyptus leaves. I want to revisit natural dyes soon too, but for now im totally in love with acid dyes.
I dye in small batches and the techniques I use produce variations between hanks with tones and colours of across batches being similar - the true beuauty of indie dyeing is the UNIQUENESS of EVERY SKEIN!
I launched with 7 colourways but now dye over 100, each with unique recipes, and am adding new colourways inspired by Travel, food, the Universe and all manner of other stuff all the time.
My creative side had been looking for a new home, and Yarn Whisperer is that home. Come on in and make yourself comfortable. I'll get the kettle on!
Kitey x