A Verb for Keeping Warm's Process of Making Naturally-Dyed Farm Yarns

from A Verb for Keeping Warm Fall 2018 Lookbook

AVFKW FARM YARNS

American-made wool isn’t just a trend – it’s our way of life.

**Tending sheep at Sally Fox's farm**
Kristine Vejar / A Verb for Keeping Warm

Using wool from farms we know and trust, we share in a collective journey. We come to understand another facet of the textile-making process - what it is like to raise sheep and alpaca, and to grow cotton. We develop a greater understanding of how our clothing impacts the Earth.

We’ve selected shepherds who raise premium wool. We work with mills who are attentive and dedicated to creating long-lasting yarn. Their work, and various areas of expertise, are a true exchange of what the land has to offer, what we have to give back to the land, and the creation of yarn.

It truly takes a village. Mother Earth is our mayor.

**Natural colors of wool grown by Sally Fox's organic Merino sheep.**
Kristine Vejar / A Verb for Keeping Warm

**Wool baled and ready to ship to the mill!**
Kristine Vejar / A Verb for Keeping Warm

about our SHEPHERDS, MILLS, & FARM YARNS

Sally Fox raises our organic Merino wool. Located only 90 miles from Verb, Sally’s farm is devoted to textiles. She grows organic cotton in soft, muted natural shades of brown, green, and creamy white. The culmination of the thick roots of the organic cotton reaching deep into the ground, and the grazing of the sheep, means that Sally’s land is creating a healthy environment. Sally’s wool is featured in Flock, Pioneer, and Dawn (as is her cotton!).

A large flock of Rambouillet sheep transverse the high desert between California and Nevada. They belong to Lani Estill, who is also committed to raising high quality wool and caring for the Earth. Lani’s pristine wool is bright white and has a healthy crimp and bounce, making it a joy to dye and knit. Lani’s wool is featured in Gather.

**Wool being milled into yarn at Green Mountain Spinnery.**
Kristine Vejar / A Verb for Keeping Warm

**Yarn being spun at Green Mountain Spinnery.**
Kristine Vejar / A Verb for Keeping Warm

Down a narrow road made of bright red Earth, in the high desert of Arizona, Rob and Donna Jorissen live alongside a family of alpaca whose fleece match the creamy, rosy neutrals of the surrounding hills. Here, they built their home and mill, complete with a grey water system for catching and reusing rainwater. Rob has collected vintage mill equipment from around the United States to make small batches of handcrafted yarn. Rob and Donna mill Gather - which also features their alpaca’s fleece.

Green Mountain Spinnery, located in Vermont, is a 30+ year old, worker-owned cooperative with the certification to mill our yarn organically. The yarn they mill is lofty, nubbly, and most importantly, cozy! We love a natural skein of yarn; a touch of lanolin, a moment of tender grass intertwined in the ply, and upon immediate contact, the feeling of warmth. Green Mountain makes this kind of yarn. They mill Flock, Pioneer, and Dawn.

Flock is a lightweight yarn made from California wool. Made of a single strand, it’s nubby texture evokes handspun yarn. The colorways Granite, Sunflower Seed, and anything ending in Marble, feature wisps of grey and brown wool, winding around a white core, creating a marbled effect.

Gather is the newest addition to our farm yarn collection - a blend of California grown, climate-beneficial Rambouillet wool, and Arizona-raised alpaca grown and blended by the mill. This blend of fiber creates a yarn which is warm, versatile, and soft available in a range of natural colors.

Pioneer, our first line of California wool yarn, always feels like home. Made of Sally Fox’s organic Merino wool, this two-ply, Dk-weight yarn is easy to knit and to wear making it an A Verb for Keeping Warm classic. Originally created in 2013, we are now on our 6th edition.

All of us love wool, but some of us find it too hot to wear regularly so by popular demand, we created Dawn, our first yarn made of wool and cotton. This blend provides the loft and elasticity of wool, with the breathability of cotton.

notes from the AVFKW DYE STUDIO

colors seen in nature, made by nature...

**A Verb for Keeping Warm's new Fall 2018 Naturally-Dyed Palette**
A Verb for Keeping Warm

To ensure long-lasting color, we only work with a select group of plants (and one insect). This results in a limited spectrum of color. We see this limitation as an exciting challenge. We mill yarn from naturally-colored wool, fleece, and cotton, and overdye it, to broaden our palette. By doing so, the results are layered colors filled with nuance, and shift with changes in natural light. Tones of colors emerge ranging from radiant warmth to cool, calm and tranquil as seen here...

**Natural dyes are alive...and convey our contemporary natural history.**
A Verb for Keeping Warm

Natural dyes are alive...and convey our contemporary natural history. Every year, the landscape shifts. Some years there is more sun, sometimes lesswater. This impacts the types of pigment plants produce. The foundation of our reds,roses, and oranges is the plant Rubia tinctorum also known as madder. This year our madder shifted from a clear, fire-engine red to a rustier red with more orange tones.We tried altering our combinations of dyes, raising and lowering pH, but to no avail, we were unable to make a handful of our most popular colorways. We began experimenting with our new madder, and a whole new world of color opened before our eyes. What started as a journey rooted in disappointment, evolved into one of excitement. We now have a whole new selection of madder-based warm tones: Red Pear, Fleur, Agate, and Bonfire. Our natural-dyed colorways are an emulation of the sun, wind, soil, and water.

Growing Local Dyes with Lora

It has been our dream for our dye to be grown locally and organically on a larger scale. In 2018, this dream became a reality. We worked with farmer Lora Kinkade, in collaboration with New Family Organic Farm, to raise a large crop of marigolds. Walking through the fields, Eden comes to mind. A rich bounty of fruits and vegetables, Lora makes farming look easy but as anyone knows who has tried to grow even a single carrot…it takes diligence, perseverance, and a natural instinct. The farm appreciates marigolds because they attract bees and butterflies. We love marigolds because of the happy, rich gold color they impart.

**Making AVFKW's colorway Gilded**
Natural dyes are alive...and convey our contemporary natural history.

our RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS take the delicate petals of a plant, whose petals are the color of sunshine, and transfer this vibrancy onto a skein of yarn. The strands will look as if they have been gilded with gold. Take this yarn and knit it into one of the patterns found in this booklet.

**Making AVFKW's colorway Gilded**
A Verb for Keeping Warm

Our new 2018 colorway, Gilded, is an imprint of the Californian sun, and represents our friendship with our farmer, Lora, and New Family Farm. Add this color to your collection and bring a warm ray of California sun with you all year long.