We were lucky to catch up with Yvonne Ellsworth recently and have shared our conversation below.

Yvonne, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

The most meaningful project for me was studying abroad in Italy to learn silk jacquard weaving back in 2004. My grandparents health was declining and they were moving into care. So, it was a big life change, but they still offered to support this amazing trip. My grandmother taught me to crochet, knit and weave as a child. She was passionate about the fiber arts it meant a lot to her that I follow in her footsteps. While there I learned techniques that have influenced my design work to this day. I got to experience different cultures as I traveled through France and Italy. It really broadened my world view and my view as an artist. So, both that connection to my grandmother and opening my eyes to the world made it deeply meaningful.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My grandmother taught me to crochet when I was 7. She also bought me a small plastic toy loom and showed me how to weave bookmarks. She was a big influence on my love of all things fiber arts. When I was 15 we moved closer to her and she would take me with her to her guild meetings. There I met other fiber artists who did spinning, weaving, and dyeing. They encouraged me in everything that I did. When I was preparing to go to University of Oregon they encouraged me to take weaving classes with Barbara Pickett. I was a business major, but I followed their guidance and took weaving classes too. I found that I loved taking business classes in entrepreneurship. So, decided to double major in Art and Business with a focus in fiber arts and entrepreneurship.

After college, I wasn’t sure of my path, but I saw there were people just starting to dye yarn and sell it online. I decided to start dyeing yarn too and started a company called LavenderSheep. There was a new website just started called Etsy, so I joined and started selling handpainted yarn. I also found a new local yarn shop called Knot Another Hat in Hood River, Oregon and I started selling yarn there and teaching classes. I enjoyed it a great deal and started gathering a following.

Then in 2010 I had my first child and I didn’t have the ability to dye yarn in the same way, but I had a lot of time on my hands. So, I started a fiber festival called the Columbia Gorge Fiber Festival, which I ran for 3 years. By then I had 2 kids and life was busy, so I sold it to Knot Another Hat. They ran it for 5 successful years after that.

Then in 2019, my husband’s job moved to the Seattle area. I think we had the last box just unpacked when everything shut down for the pandemic. Yarn sales slowed and I found myself with time on my hands once again when I saw a call for submissions from Handwoven magazine. I had an idea for it, so I submitted it and it was accepted. Since then I have become a regular contributor to Handwoven Magazine, Little Looms Magazine, and Weft Magazine.

Today I continue to dye yarn for LavenderSheep. I enjoy experimenting with many different bases of yarn. I still have my basic superwash bulky and superwash sparkle yarn, but I’m moving towards non-superwash yarns. I love the story behind the Shaniko Wools all American wool and I have a connection to Jeanne Carver, so I’m slowly transitioning to her yarn bases. I also love good blends and dye yarns like Yakkity Yak Fingering that have merino, yak, and silk. I also dye a couple weights of a merino, silk, and sea silk yarn that’s very popular. Sea silk is a rayon made from seaweed, the same way tencel is made.

Today, I am continuing to design for magazines and plan on releasing a few patterns individually. I also teach locally at Clear Creek Farm and have given a few guild presentations on weaving and color theory.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

I think the most rewarding aspect of being an artist or a creative is how flexible my life is to change. I do often have deadlines, but it’s up to me how I work to meet those deadlines.

It also gives me the opportunity to change my schedule. My kids are in middle school and high school, so they are old enough to entertain themselves during breaks. However, my job gives me the flexibility to take the day off and go hiking with them. I also can teach them some of my skills and put them to work helping with smaller tasks. A traditional workplace wouldn’t be that flexible.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

I feel like everything about being an Artist Entrepreneur is about pivoting. Sometimes things change unexpectedly and I have to be willing to go in a different direction. Also, sometimes great opportunities come along and being able to pivot and try something new leads to even better opportunities after that. I think an important thing is to take a step back every so often and look at the bigger picture. Where do I want to go? Is there space to try something new? Is something I have done for awhile still the best thing or should I drop it? I think this leaves room for new opportunities.

A good example of pivoting was when the pandemic shut everything down. No one knew how long it was going to last. All of a sudden I went from having hours of solo work time as an artist to now having my kids and husband at home all the time. I was mostly dyeing yarn at the time which also slowed way down. We had just moved from Oregon to Washington and I didn’t have any friends. It was hard to make new ones with social distancing and masking now being the new normal. I saw a call for submissions from Handwoven Magazine. My college studies were mostly in weaving and the past couple of years I had started teaching Rigid Heddle Weaving classes. So, I thought I could come up with something. I sent in my design idea and it was accepted! Weaving for that deadline meant that once my kids were done with online school I could then head to my studio for work. It gave me that creative time that I so desperately needed. Eventually, yarn sales picked up again, but I found dyeing yarn and designing woven pieces balance well together to meet my creative needs.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lavendersheep.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lavendersheepyarn/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lavendersheep/

Image Credits

Yvonne Ellsworth