The basket of fluff:
Turned into a carded batt through drum carder:
The finished yarn:
From fluff to string.
About The Twisted Purl
A day with the Spinning Wheel
Very First Ply Magazine Issue
Super excited to see the very first issue of Ply Magazine in my mailbox today. It’s my birthday and this was the perfect gift! Here’s the front:
Plus the cutest goat ever on the back cover:
If you are a spinner and haven’t subscribe yet? What on earth are you waiting for??? Go now!
Dear Local Yarn Shop Please Help
Dear Local Yarn Shop this is my plea to you,
I need your help to spread the word about our GoFundMe Campaign to raise funds to buy a Vintage Camper for use as a Mobile Yarn Studio.
My name is Cyndi Minister, the owner of The Twisted Purl (www.HandmadeYarn.com). I’m an indie fiber artist and make handspun yarn among other handmade fiber creations. I’ve recently had national news coverage for winning my state’s Battle of the Brands competition.
Sample of The Twisted Purl Handmade Yarn
I’m just a small town crafty gal with a really big dream I’m trying to turn into a reality. I’d love to have a mobile yarn studio to travel to local yarn shops, like yours, and do more shows and festivals nationwide. I’ve launched a GoFundMe campaign to secure the funds to do just that, but could really use your help.
My hope is working together with your Local Yarn Shop could be mutually beneficial. You can help spread the word about my Indie Fiber Artist dream and I can help spread the word about your business.
The plan to help fund this crazy dream is to give you a Flyer and ask if you could print it and put it in your yarn shop. Encourage your patrons to donate to help fund The Twisted Purl mobile yarn studio (“Portable Purl”).
For every donation from your store’s customers, I will do a social media shout out through my Twitter account and mention your store. I’d also like to mention your store’s participation through my Facebook Page This will get more attention drawn to your store too.
If your store gets the very most donations, you win the very first trunk show with the Portable Purl.
I’ll bring my mobile studio directly to your store, set up, and give you back a percentage of my sales for the day.
On a side note: During any of my yarn store trunk shows I plan on putting a basket on the table, anyone who visits can pick out fibers from my stash of their choice into the basket. When the show is concluded I will turn that basket into a yarn and name it after your store. You would get this yarn back to sell in your store.
One of my main goals in owning a Travel Shop/Studio is being able to bring more local and national awareness to the local yarn shop through trunk shows on location while sharing my love and passion of fiber arts with the nation. I want to share the entire creative process of choosing fibers, carding, and spinning with anyone who wants to see also giving them the opportunity to get their hands on my handmade yarn. I just love using all this high-tech savvy stuff to promote my primitive hand craft. With this mobile option, I hope to reach a lot more people and bring more awareness to Indie Fiber Artists and Local Yarn Shops.
This is an all or nothing campaign. If I do not reach the goal of $5,000 by the end of the campaign, any money that has been donated will be returned to the contributor.
I’ve released a Press Release nationwide and hope they will cover what local yarn stores are doing to help fund this dream as well.
If you would like to be involved, you totally rock!!! Please let me know so I can share with my social media circles.
Let your customer know if they donate to mention your yarn store in the comment (or you could collect donations and make a daily deposit in your store’s name…whatever is easiest and works best for you). Every dollar adds up and I know I can’t do this without your help.
Click Here for Printable Store Flyer
There are reward incentives for each donation level as well. More information about our GoFundMe campaign can be found at this link: http://gofundme.com/
Please call or reply with questions. The campaign is live and if you can help spread the word please do so as soon as you can! The clock on my 14 days is quickly ticking down. Thank you so very much for your time!
Sincerely,
Cyndi Minister
Crazy Yarn Lady behind The Twisted Purl
Cyndi (at) The Twisted Purl (dot) com
501.339.8832
Indie Fiber Artist Launches Campaign to make Mobile Yarn Studio Reality
Please help make this crazy yarn lady’s dream come true!
My name is Cyndi and I’m a yarnaholic. I’ve been on a mission to fill the world with fun textures and yummy yarn goodness since the start of The Twisted Purl in 2007. It’s time to take the Purl Portable.
We’ve accomplished a few amazing feats together including beating out some of the largest brands in our state and securing the handmade win in the Battle of the Brands competition.
Through my Facebook Page, Instagram, and website I share the entire handmade yarn process. Through photographs you see how the yarn is made from fluff to string. You take part in the yarn’s handmade journey by turning it into something beautiful to be shared for generations to come.
THE DREAM:
This Fundraiser will enable our Handmade Journey to come directly to you by securing the funds needed to purchase and custom a vintage camper trailer like the 1973 Boler. My dream is to open the doors of our mobile yarn shop and you can come on in to see the yarn, feel the textures, and help to create a special handspun yarn for each and every show we do. Seriously now, how cool would it be to have a mobile yarn shop that can come to your town for you to experience?
The Portable Purl will travel to shows nationwide bringing handmade yarn and fiber creations directly to you. Also, with the help of fantastic local yarn shops, I’d love to set up in their parking lots to have the ultimate handmade yarn trunk show.
Inside the Portable Purl there will be a dedicated area where you can experience the entire handmade process from fluff to string. You will have the option to pick out your very own fluffy fibers and watch as it is turned into yarn through my spinning wheel and leave the shop with your personally created handmade yarn.
My ultimate dream is to purchase THIS ACTUAL TRAILER in the photograph, but there are a few variables that are beyond our control. Once I have the funds to make the offer we hope it will be accepted. BUT if it is not, there are a wide variety of optional vintage campers available in my budgeted price range. The money raised will all go directly into the Portable Purl and make this dream a reality.
The entire process of purchasing and customizing the inside of the shop will be shared through our website and on Facebook.
YOU CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!
Handmade is a story that must be told and this mobile trailer will help tell that story while creating new chapters at every stop we make. With your generous donation you become a part of our handmade story too. Your name will be entwined in a commemorative piece that will proudly be displayed inside the mobile shop for all to see.
GOODIES FOR YOU:
By donating you get mad props, hugs, eternal gratitude, and the awesome knowledge YOU have helped make this portable handmade yarnmobile come true. Each donation gets you a social media shout out and your name will become a part of our history. The more you donate, you will be rewarded with some of the most popular handmade fiber creations we have, like our Felted Soaps and Wool Felted Dryer Balls and of course yarn. At the $100 level you will get a specially made yarn created to match our new mobile shop.
If you want 100% assurance the new Portable Purl will come to your hometown, donate at the Yarnusmaximus Level. I’ll come to your town, do a mobile yarn show anywhere in the US you like! Let you pick out all the fibers for your very own basket of fluff and turn it into yarn while you chill out on the couch in the new mobile shop. *Continental US only, it’d be pretty hard to get this thing overseas….at first 
If you are a Local Yarn Shop making a donation, please let me know where you are so we can put you on our future Trunk Show Yarn Shop Tour. I can’t wait to meet you!!!
I dream big dreams. I reach for the impossible. This is yet another impossible that CAN BE reached, but not without your help! Let’s make this a reality so I can share the passion and love of fiber arts nationwide.
To learn more about this campaign and make a small donation please go to: http://GoFundMe.com/TheTwistedPurl
Press Release is available here
Ashford Country Spinner
Our New Spinning Wheel came in today. In parts! First thing I noticed was how big the bobbin is compared to my older bobbins.
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Handspun Yarn Available Today
These 7 Handspun Yarns will be available today directly through The Twisted Purl Handmade Yarn Facebook Page. The upload will start May 16, 2013 at 1:00 PM CST.
All Yarn will be posted with yardage, price, and fiber content.
Sometimes Yarns sell fast, so if you have your eye on one, make sure you are Registered on our app: https://shop.soldsie.com/shop/thetwistedpurl (no worries, this app will never post to your Facebook Feed without your permission…I HATE apps that do that!)
For Detailed Instructions on How to Shop directly through our Facebook Page please click here: http://a.pgtb.me/xcG8s2
For Detailed Instructions on How to Shop directly through our Facebook Page please click here: http://a.pgtb.me/xcG8s2
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Handmade is a Story that must be Told
Looking back over the Battle of the Brands competition, I learned a tremendous amount about myself and a lot about my company. If you would like to read my concluding thoughts on winning the statewide competition, Arkansas Sourcelink has it posted here.
I realized just why my little handmade yarn company and other handmade companies around the world mean so much to me.
When you hold a handmade item in your hand, you hold the heart of the Artisan. The creation took thought, love, and passion to come to life. It gives you a glimpse into the creator’s mind. Yes, Handmade may cost more than a $5 skein of yarn, a $20 blanket, or a pair of earrings at the dollar store…but there is a story behind the creation. A story you take part in just by owning the item. A story you can share with generations to come. There is a real person and real thought behind each handmade item.
I for one need more handmade and less mass-produced items. I have tons of commercially produced items all over. But I can tell you, the items I treasure the most are all handmade. Pictured above are a few of my favorite things. A goofy set of Sheep Salt & Pepper Shakers created especially for me by Chris Massingill. A Yarn Knitting Bowl created by The Punk-n-Patch. A hand wrapped and sewn bowl made by my ever so crafty step mom, Debbie Ayres. My American Vintage Pillow, a splendid design by Jeanetta Darley. Jeanetta also drew to life The Twisted Purl’s adored yarn wrapped sheep logo. These are but a few handmade goodies you can find around my house.
Above is a picture of a quilt made by my grandmother, Eva Ayres. “Meadow Lily” created in 2000. For a long time, I just kept the quilt in a special pillow case so it would not get messed up. Then I realized, I was missing out on the joy of owning this handmade treasure. It now goes back and forth from my bed to the couch. It’s my favorite blanket to snuggle up with on a cold winter’s day. My grandmother’s hands cut the cloth, made the design, and stitched this masterpiece together. It will undoubtedly be treasured for generations.
This is a blanket my grandmother, Thelma Cox crocheted. She is no longer with us and this blanket is the only one I have made by her lovely hands. My grandmother passed when I was a wild and rebellious teenager, before I even realized my passion for yarn. I know in my heart she was the one that planted the yarn seed. There was rarely a time she wasn’t sitting in her chair crocheting beautiful pieces for everyone she loved. This handmade baby blanket I treasure the very most. Her fingers ran along every stitch. Her hook wove back and forth between countless loops creating the pattern. I wish I could give her a skein of my yarn and watch what she could do with it. I’ll be content holding her blanket and knowing she is smiling down watching my creations.
My handmade story starts with fiber. I dye the colors I’d like to see. Blend the fibers together through a drum carder to get the various textures. Take the carded batt from the drum carder and spin it into yarn on my spinning wheel. I leave my finger prints on every inch of string I create. But my part is only the beginning of the yarn’s handmade journey. You take it and give it life by turning it into your own handmade creation. You complete the handmade story.
I take fluff and turn it into string so you can make clothes and other pretty things.
Handmade is heart, passion, and treasured for generations.
Handmade is a story that must be told.
What is your handmade story?
I’d love to hear about your handmade story, please join us on Facebook and share your journey and join in ours. ♥
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The Day 1,392 Bars of Soap Arrived
We have been selling a lot of Felted Soap to many Retail Stores worldwide. Recently, my online source for soaps ran out. Oh no! I had to figure out a place to get my soaps and fast. I knew one place I had to order from in very large quantities, spending a very large amount of cash at a time, and having to wire transfer money to the company for payment. Seriously, in this day and age…who doesn’t take credit cards? I went ahead and put in the large order.
Now, I always think things are going to take longer than they actually do. I guessed it’d be a couple of weeks before I’d see the soapy boxes and figured I had all the time in the world to clean out space in my cluttered garage.
The rumble of the HUGE Big Rig stopping in front of my house this afternoon told me otherwise. Now, today was a felting day (so I was pretty messy) but I made a mad dash for shoes and ran outside to greet a very burly bearded gentleman. I would not have been surprised if he told me he was kin to the Duck Dynasty crew. Huge guy, but a real sweetheart.
He was given the wrong address and of course was expecting a business address, not a residential. Really? Who gets 1,392 bars of soap delivered to their door? Maybe doomsday preparers, Kate plus 8, and just me!
I ran out and squeaked “You have soap for me?”
He replied in a gruff, manly voice “I don’t know what I got but are YOU The Twisted Purl???”
I giggled and said “Yes sir!!!”
Guess he had already called the company and they told him to return the soap. So thankful I had run out right when I did! I explained I didn’t think he was coming for a week or so and apologized for not having the help for him to unload. He said it was just a little pallet, so no biggie.
I watched him hop in the lift of his truck and open it up. In the very back of the huge truck sat my pallet. It definitely looked small compared to the massive inside of his truck and the size of the man unloading. He pushed the pallet up my driveway and set it down next to the garage. I thanked him kindly and he said he was just happy to not have to take it back and still had time for lunch.
Once the pallet was in front of my garage and almost the same size as the front of my Tahoe I knew this wasn’t a “Small Pallet”. I quickly made space in the garage for the pallet and up-wrapped the plastic. Wow! 29 boxes, each weighing about 15 pounds was some heavy lifting. I had to move all the boxes off the pallet, move the pallet into the garage, then move all the boxes back onto the pallet.
Weight training for the day done! My boys arrived home shortly after all the heavy lifting was done. They hopped up on the boxes and demanding photos be taken of them with all the soap.
They are just super lucky the nice delivery man didn’t come an hour later. I’d have put them to work! Before today, the most soaps I had ever ordered at one time was close to 200 bars.
Now the real work begins! Time to start felting 1,392 bars of soap. Whew!
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The Twisted Purl won Arkansas Battle of the Brands
Yes it’s true, our small, one woman run, Handmade Fiber Company has WON the Battle of the Brands competition hosted by Arkansas Sourcelink.
We made it past Round One (StraightRight Boxing & Fitness), Round Two (Diamond Bear Brewery), Round Three (Daisy Outdoor Products), Round 4 (Mountain Valley Spring Water), & Round 5 (Guillermo’s Gourmet Grounds), & Round 6 beat the delicious Whole Hog Cafe to win the title of Emperor of Entrepreneurship!! Thank you for your help!
I am but only one crafty business gal, on a mission
to spread the love & passion of handmade fiber arts.
My voice is small, but when joined with yours
we shout loud & the world hears
“Handmade all the way!”
Thank you!!!
Thank you to our terrific Fans, Fiber Friends, Family, and Supporters for helping this Handmade Business of one take the win. Special thanks to our competitors for a fun filled battle. Of course lots of thanks also to Arkansas Sourcelink for putting together such an inspiring competition.
The last few days have been a blur but I would like to quickly congratulate Mandi Yelland for winning our Whole line Giveaway Sharing contest! Thank you so much!!! I’ll be contacting you shortly to see which prize you would like.
Now everything can get back to normal…well my sort of crazy normal.
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Arkansas Battle of the Brands The Twisted Purl: Spread the Word to Win
Battle of the Brands Celebration
Final Round: The Twisted Purl vs Whole Hog Cafe
Help us win this!!!
What a fun ride this has been! In case you haven’t already seen me squealing everywhere I can about this competition, Arkansas Sourcelink hosted an epic Battle of the Brands for our entire state. The Twisted Purl has been the underdog from the start and has surprisingly landed in the final round. Everyone loves handmade! If you would like to learn more about our journey please check out this previous blog post.
We’re in one last head to head battle versus the oh so yummy Whole Hog Cafe. Voting is still live until April 12 at 4pm CST and I really could use a quick 2 second vote. Click here to help take handmade yarn all the way and vote for The Twisted Purl.
HELP US WIN BY SPREADING THE WORD!
If you do any of the following you’ll be entered to win your choice of a skein of Handspun Yarn, a bar of Felted Soap, or a set of our Felted Dryer Balls. Winner Randomly selected after voting for this final round of Battle of the Brands is over on April 13, 2013 at 4:00 pm CST. You can enter as many times as you like! You can do one of these things, or do them all! Each counts as an entry to the giveaway.
TWEET IT! Tweet about The Twisted Purl in the Battle of the Brands and be sure to include @TheTwistedPurl so I see you. OR you can simply Re-Tweet this:
I just helped @TheTwistedPurl in the #BattleoftheBrands with a quick vote: arksourcelink.com/brands and you can too. Handmade for the win!
PIN IT! Pin any photo from this page and be sure to include @The Twisted Purl in your comment. (make sure you follow me on Pinterest so I see the tag)
INSTAGRAM IT! Share a picture from our page and tag us @TheTwistedPurl use the hashtag #TheTwistedPurl or make your own funny Meme about Why Yarn is better than BBQ…or say something on Notepad….or…well you get the picture. I just want to see it!
COMMENT ON IT! Leave a comment on this blog post and let us know you voted. Share the voting link: arksourcelink.com/brands and have people vote for The Twisted Purl. In a comment below let us know where you shared it and that’s another entry for the Giveaway.
