Meet the Maker: KraeO Handmade

Sometimes you don't have to look far to find amazing indie-dyed treasures. Case in point: Chicago-based KraeO Handmade. Dyers like Kristin make me so thankful to live in one of the USA's best "yarn havens." Be sure to scoop up some of these amazing skeins in-store and online through December 20. The perfect New Year's cast-on awaits! Get to know a little more about Kristin from KraeO Handmade below:

Meet the Maker: KraeO Handmade

How did you get into dyeing? Tell us your story, and where you're located!

I'm local! I live in Chicago. My background is in painting and I started knitting while I was in Grad School at SAIC. I started selling my knits to small boutiques around the country and got burnt out. I started dyeing yarn as a reprieve from knitting all the time and I just took to it. Given my painting background it was a natural transition.

What is your favorite part of the process?

My Favorite part is knitting a swatch of a new colorway. Watching the colorway come to life.

Where do you get your inspiration for colors?

I'm always on the hunt for color combinations. I have a very old book on color design that is basically pages of color swatches. I go through it often and put together colors that we might not put together naturally.

How do you come up with names for the colors?

My husband. I always hand him a skein of a new colorway and make him sit with it on his desk for the day. By the end of the day he has to come up with a name ha!

Which color best reflects your personality and why?

Definitely Bleeding Heart. It's a bright neon pink. While I don't dress in bright colors I have a pretty fire-y personality.

Tell us about a WIP or a project in your queue that you're really excited about! Which of your yarns would you recommend for this (or these) project(s)?

I JUST started knitting the neck for the EUN sweater by Ane Fiscum Sunde. It's a really cute raglan with a lot of chunky 2x2 ribbing. I'm using my Mama Bear DK base held with some suri alpaca in Pistachio.

Of what you are sending us, what are your favorite colors or color combinations?

I'm a huge fan of knitting with bright bold colors. With that being said, I don't often wear them. So... for knitting I love using Bleeding Heart with Paloma. It's a massive pink bomb. BUT if I'm knitting for my own personal wardrobe, which is much more conservative, I love Coffee, Black with Rose Gold.

What is your best knitting or crocheting tip?

I have found recently that I'm a monogamous knitter. For years I would have all these projects going at the same time and I couldn't figure out why didnt have more finished projects. So if you find yourself not being able to take anything over the finish line, commit yourself to one project at a time. Also, a needle binder has changed my life!

What are two interesting things about you that aren’t fiber related?

I have a 10 year old hairless cat that plays fetch and I have an unreasonable amount of tropical plants.

If you didn’t dye yarn, what would be your dream job?

A Constitutional attorney. I LOVE the law

What is the best advice you've ever received?

What other people think of me is none of my business.

Share with us one great thing you're either listening to or watching right now (audiobook/podcast/show/etc) - we love recommendations for what to check out while we're knitting!

I'm always catching up on the podcast Behind the Bastards. It my all time fave!