ABOUT
What's with the blue skin?
What does blue skin have to do with yarn?
Or with anything else, for that matter?
Check out this poem:
Masks
by Shel Silverstein
She had blue skin,
And so did he.
He kept it hid
And so did she.
They searched for blue
Their whole life through,
Then passed right by--
And never knew.
I spent years hiding my blue skin, believing I was the only one like me. When I finally realized we all have our own shades of "blue skin," I began the long process of taking off my masks and letting my blue show. I love watching others take off their own masks, and I honor them by collecting their stories. My Story Bags
are a fun way of honoring stories and journeys, along with my yarns.
My yarns are both a part of my blue skin and a result of it. I used to live in black and white; now I'm excited to splash out in color. Many of my colorways are connected to stories and words, either ones I have found along my way or ones I have created in response to them. With my colors I bear tribute to the brave souls baring their blue, including you!
My mom taught me to crochet and knit as a young girl. I continued to crochet into adulthood, but at some point I left knitting behind and began to believe it was too much work to pick it up again. After a few years of mothering and very little yarn creating of any sort, I picked up crocheting again and discovered the world of designer and hand-dyed yarns. I was hooked. I had no idea such beautiful colors and textures existed!
I was soon crocheting in every spare moment and adding dozens of patterns to my Ravelry library, all the while looking yearningly at all the beautiful knitting patterns I couldn't use because knitting was out of my league. One day it dawned on me that I could learn to knit again. And so, after finishing up a long list of crocheted Christmas projects, I picked up a pair of knitting needles and began. I've never stopped.
I soon realized, however, that I loved the yarn itself just as much, if not more, than making things with it. I spent way too much time admiring hand dyers' creations and wondering if I could fit them into my small (already maxed out) yarn budget. And then it dawned on me that I could dye my own yarn. So I did. And fell in love.
Making project bags was a natural extension of dyeing yarn, because when you use yarn, you need beautiful ways to transport it!
The world is full of hand dyers and makers. All of them have amazing colorways to offer. But I've learned that for every story, there is a heart who needs to hear it. Perhaps my handful of colors are the same. They are, to me, simply the combination of my love of yarn and my passion for words and stories.
I offer my colors just as you offer yours. Let's not hide. We don't want to miss this.
Debi Martin
