Meet the Maker: Savvy Skeins

Allison Telfer, the dyer behind Savvy Skeins, is a mom of 5 who got into fibre arts as a creative outlet about 15 years ago.

Being a stay-at-home mom with 5 children can be frustrating and tiring at times, so I needed something just for me.

She started out knitting and spinning, and even spent a while raising Angora rabbits for their wool. Then 8 years ago, her family moved from Oregon to Texas in search of adventure, and Ali began to experiment with hand dyeing roving and yarn.  It soon took on a life of its own.

My business started out as something I could do as a creative outlet, and it quickly became more than that. As soon as I began dyeing yarn, people started coming out of nowhere wanting to buy it. 

Now Ali dyes yarn full time while raising her 3 youngest children.

Ali gets a lot of inspiration from the colours in nature and is currently dyeing a series of yarns called Finding Beauty in Birds. However, she’s also fascinated by the way filmmakers create colour palettes in the movies they make.

It’s amazing to see how the different color combinations used in different movie scenes create different feelings and emotions. I would love to do that with my yarn colors.

When asked what she loves most about the fibre arts community, Ali had two answers. The first is the community itself. “The fiber arts community is tight knit (no pun intended), and once you have a yarnie friend, they become a friend for life”

The other thing she loves is the creative collaboration between a dyer and the person who works with the yarn. “I love how you can take one person’s vision for colors and create a one-of-a-kind useable product.” 

Ali is currently focusing on running her Finding Beauty in Birds yarn club and making plans for more additions to the series, including flowers, outer space, and fine art. She loves evoking an emotional response with her colour combinations and has lots of ideas about how to keep doing it in the future.

I want to see my customers connect with the colors they choose.  

We’re so happy to have Ali in the Darn Yarn Family, and we can’t wait to see what she comes up with next! You can check out our Savvy Skeins collection here.