We Interview Lilypond Yarns

As we recently had a fresh delivery of gorgeous locally-hand-dyed Lilypond Yarns in, we though we’d ask Fiona and Abby a few questions about their yarn, their inspirations and their brand.

Firstly how long have you been dyeing your own yarn for and what got you started?

Fiona and I have been friends for many years and both love craft. I spotted a yarn dyeing workshop at one of our local yarn shops and asked her if she would be interested in attending with me. She said yes and that is really where it all started, it was like a lightbulb moment for both of us as we both loved it so much! We started dyeing yarn simply for ourselves until our stashes started becoming unmanageable! It was at this point that we decided to try and sell some of it simply to de-stash. Fiona had experience of running an Etsy shop so we set one up for this purpose. We were surprised at the response and wondered if there may be a business opportunity there hence…Lilypond Yarns was born!

What’s behind the name “Lilypond Yarns?”

Lilypond Yarns is so named as one of us lives in Lilypond Lane! It’s a lovely name and actually will be the future address of the business as we are having a dye studio built on the premises.

We know you’re local ladies, but tell us a little bit about where you live. Does it inspire any of your colourways?

We both live on the outskirts of Exeter and own dogs which means lots of walks in the surrounding countryside. We are also inspired by the Devon coastline and Fiona spends quite a bit of time on the North Cornish coast. All these lovely views inspire a lot of our colours.

What other inspirations do you have for your shades?

We are inspired by the changing seasons and tend to dye new batches of yarn to welcome in the new season. Sometimes we have no plans when dyeing so music and our moods play a part in what we produce.

How do you choose your lovely yarn bases, and what are your personal favourites to knit with?

This was down to experience really, we have tried various different yarn bases. Our suppliers have such a wide range it was very difficult to choose what we considered to be the nicest and most saleable. We have ended up with a mix of bases we prefer to knit with ourselves as we don’t like to sell anything without trying it out first. Sometimes we will try new yarn bases because there is a pattern on Ravelry we want to try or any other pattern of interest to us. We love knitting with high twist yarn because the stitch definition shows off hand dyed yarn beautifully. We also love our DK superwash merino as it’s a pleasure to knit with and so soft to wear.

How do you think up the names for them?

That is easy, Abby is bonkers! Plus a lot of them come from the objects/situations/views which inspired us to dye the yarn in the beginning.

What’s your favourite thing to knit, and what would be your dream project/colourway combination?

Fiona loves to knit sweaters and shawls whereas Abby prefers smaller projects like hats, one skein shawls and socks. Fiona’s dream project would be a cabled jumper dress held with a beautiful suri silk alpaca or mohair and it would be in a blue or dark red combination. Abby is a lover of neutrals. We are planning to knit the same thing for our next projects – the Weekender sweater by Andrea Mowry, as a little knit along through the Autumn.

What are your hopes for the future of your Lilypond Yarns?

As mentioned earlier we are having a dye studio built. We have been expanding our business over the last few months and are still expanding. The dream is to concentrate on Lilypond Yarns as full time jobs and a enjoy a wonderful crafty life!

Well, thank you for answering all our questions and we hope your yarny dreams come true! The skeins have certainly been a hit in the shop.

We’re currently stocking a number of shades in their Merino/Silk blend which has a beautiful glow to it. If you’d like to buy some, just pop into the shop or give us a call on 01626 836203.

Exclusive interview with Iris Schreier of ArtYarns

Spin a Yarn talks to...

Our long-awaited delivery of ArtYarns skeins from the US has now arrived! Opening the box is always like opening a treasure chest full of silky and soft yarn, hand painted in jewel tones, sparkling with sequins and murano glass beads.

Art Yarns Group Shot

Who are ArtYarns?

The company is the brainchild of designer and author Iris Schreier, who started the company in 2002.
We were lucky enough to be able to ask Iris some questions recently – and her answers are fascinating.

Spin A Yarn: Where did the inspiration to start ArtYarns come from?
Iris: I was working on my first book Exquisite Little Knits, and I couldn’t find certain yarns that I wanted to knit with, so I created them myself. Examples: a lightweight silk that would be perfect for scarf designs without being too heavy knitted up—this became Regal Silk; a hand-dyed cashmere that was carefully dyed in sophisticated colors—this became Artyarns Cashmere 5; A beaded yarn that would not have any synthetic in it—this became Beaded Silk Light. Stores because interested in these yarns I developed, and Artyarns was born.

Exquisite Little Knits by Iris Schreier

Exquisite Little Knits by Iris Schreier

Spin A Yarn: What is your favourite source of inspiration for the beautiful hand-painted colourways?
Iris: I mostly approach color ways as a designer—I think I am inspired to design certain pieces and develop colors that will work with my designs.  Our latest collection of Cosmic Colors inspired by the randomness of the constellations, helped me develop one of my favorite new pieces the Swirl Tee, which needed a fun, bright, multicolored yarn that would not pool and interfere with the pattern.

ArtYarns Shades

Spin A Yarn: Our favourite ArtYarn blends are Beaded Silk Sequins Light and Beaded Mohair & Sequins, do you have any favourite patterns which you think showcase these yarns particularly well?
Iris: Both these yarns are embellished and knit up like lovely jewelry.  We have put huge collections of patterns free on the yarn label, mostly 1-skein projects.  Look at the Beaded Silk & Sequins Light Collection of 10 patterns, free on the Beaded Silk & Sequins Light yarn label—I love the Silk Bouquet Scarf.  Also refer to the Beaded Mohair & Sequins Collection, free on the Beaded Mohair & Sequins yarn label—this contains 6 lovely patterns, including the Raspberry Stitch Mini Shawl designed by a very talented designer in South Korea.

Beaded Silk and Sequins Light Patterns

Spin A Yarn: How long does it take to produce a batch of hand-painted yarn?
Iris: We have a group of dyers working all day every work day, and we can produce several hundred skeins per week.  Some colors are more complicated than others and take longer.  We have a video of how we actually do the dyeing of certain multis – please click here to watch the delicate process by which the skeins are hand-painted: Shade 501 Hand-Dyeing Process.

ArtYarns SSL Shade 501

And here’s what the finished yarn looks like!

Spin A Yarn: We’re always impressed by your dedication to sharing your work and helpful hints on social media – what do you most enjoy about relating to other ‘yarn addicts’ online?
Iris: I love testing yarn colors by posting them and getting reactions, and also the encouragement of my peers when I show designs in progress.  It helps me focus on those projects that will be most appealing, at the same time including our social media fans in the process of our development, what we produce and what we design. Nothing is more appealing than seeing others’ photos of what they have created using my yarns and designs.  Therefore, I constantly run knitalongs, where we knit as a group.  You can find out about these on my Ravelry Knitalongs group here: ArtYarns Knitalongs

ArtYarns Knit-a-longs on Ravelry

Join ArtYarns Knit-a-longs on Ravelry

You can reach Iris through Facebook, Ravelry or Instagram. She also has a Craftsy class in Modular Knitting, click here for a the link to sign up and receive $20 off coupon

Thank you for taking the time to talk to us, Iris!

You can find her yarns on our website here: ArtYarns available at Spin A Yarn, or pop into the shop and ask Joyce to show you the ‘treasure chest’ of skeins! We can help you find suitable patterns and provide you with the beautiful free patterns which come with the yarn when you buy it.