Story time, friends.
Have you ever wondered how I ended up dyeing yarn for a living? It's a fun story.
I was busy working away as a music teacher, doing the work I thought I was meant to do forever when suddenly my friend asked me if I wanted to learn to dye yarn. I had been dabbling in dyeing yarn, but I also had a thriving music studio and two young girls when the call came. A career change was nowhere on my radar. Even though I had barely any free time, I knew in my bones that I wanted to learn.
So I jumped.
I had dabbled in moderately successful attempts at yarn dyeing over the course of my knitting and spinning journey, but it still felt overwhelming, and I couldn't wait to learn from a pro! Before I knew it I was hooked. Seriously hooked. It's not that I was amazing or even able to create exactly what I was picturing, but every single time I headed to the dye pots I had a vision. There was always a dialog running through my mind giving me inspiration and steering my process. Sometimes it was a piece of artwork, but more often I was driven by a memory or a feeling. My main goal, though, was yarn that felt inspired and still behaved the way I expected.
It didn't take long for me to realize that I loved dyeing yarn. It was magic! I couldn't wait to develop my own recipes from my own imagination. Before I knew what was happening I had friends asking for skeins, and a couple of yarn shops interested in wholesale. I don't know if I believe in fate, but I do believe in intuition and hard work. I doubled up on my work hours sneaking in dye time before my students would arrive for their afternoon lessons. Every free moment I could get I was in the dye studio finding my way.
On Monday, March 6th 2017 I launched my first webshop update, and the rest is history. Hundreds and hundreds of hours of hard work and determination have led me to this place I love. In March of 2020 Sew Happy Jane became my full time job, and I could not be more thankful to be doing work that feeds my soul and pushes me to be creative, to dream, to break the rules in search of magic, and to show up as my authentic self.
You can read more about what inspires me on the Blog.
Happy Making, Friends.
XX, Heather Jane
