This is the birthplace of The Twisted Purl. Nestled off the main road in Stowe, Vermont, lies a yarn shop where my vision of The Twisted Purl began.

This is Stowe Fabric & Yarn. The shop is located in this house with a lovely porch. Once inside the shop you will have the option of going right to the yarn or left to the fabric.

Do you notice the hanks of hand painted yarn hanging from the hooks? This is Cherry Tree Hill Boucle and amazingly enough, they still had a few skeins of the same colorway that enticed me on my fiber painting journey.

Back in 2006, after attending my favorite restaurant, The Shed, and having sampled some of their brewed beer, served in a “Ski” :

At this time, I was already fully immersed in my yarn addiction…I noticed a yarn shop. So, what better way to end a trip to Stowe then to go drool over some fiber. Once inside the shop my eyes landed on this wall of yarn:

I was instantly in awe and admiration of the company who made this yarn. Then I found out it was handmade. Hand Painted….what did that mean? I wondered. I went straight back to my moms and started my research. Being the yarn-a-holic I was, no yarn was enough and no color combination satisfied my urge to have it all. So, naturally, painting yarn had to be my next step. I bought a ton of natural wool fiber off of ebay. Through trail and many errors, I learned the difference between good wools and the itchy old school wools. I also learned 50 yards, although sounding like a lot, was really not much at all. I bought dye and then let it all sit in the top of my closet for a month before I built up the courage to dye my own yarn.

Once I mixed the dye and dabbed my first brush on the wool, my love affair began. The rest is history. History that must be credited to a lovely little yarn shop called Stowe Fabric & Yarn and an awe inspiring handmade yarn company called Cherry Tree Hill. ♥