How did your personal fiber journey begin?
My personal fiber journey began at a very young age. I was 9 years old and asked my very talented Grandma Georgia if she would teach me to sew. She and my Mom were really nervous about me using the sewing machine at such a young age. Grandma decided the first thing I could learn was how to sew a button on. So I went through her cigar boxes of buttons and chose the perfect ones and sewed them all over a piece of fabric in the shape of the initials G & J for my Grandparents Georgia and Joe and then we stuffed it and turned it into a little pillow. Next was hand sewing, then embroidery, sewing machine, all taught to me by my Grandma Georgia. Then when I was 14 I handed her a doily (she has them all over her house) and I asked her if she could teach me how to make something like that. I didn't know if it was crochet or knit. I just wanted to learn more. Since Grandma Georgia told me she never had the patience to learn how to crochet or knit, she told me she would find a way I could learn. A couple weeks later on a Monday morning Grandma Georgia and I headed to the public library, where it was advertised there was a crochet group that meets every Monday morning. Grandma sent me to the group with a old metal hook and a spool of doily thread. She read the paper as I spent the time getting to know the ladies. Within minutes they gave me a size H hook and a skein of Red Heart yarn and off I went. I had the chain stitch and single crochet stitch down that day and by the time we met the next Monday... Three cotton dishcloths done. Then I learned the double Crochet stitch and before you knew it, I was crocheting afghans and scarves for gifts while watching the NASCAR races with my Dad on Sunday afternoons. The faster the cars went the faster my stitches were! I took to crochet so naturally, it's all I wanted to do! My family got me skeins and skeins of yarns and I was stitching thru them as fast as I got them. I was 16 and didn't have the internet, and I don't even know if Ravelry was a thing back then. Maybe it was but I didn't learn about it for another 7 years lol. I used patterns from books but mostly just made up my own. Everyone we knew got a scarf as a gift that Christmas! For the next 6 years I crocheted Almost every day. It was and always will be dear to my heart because it was my first true fiber craft. I started watching the Yarn Junkie Podcast and when she started learning to knit and make socks and use fancy yarns... I wanted to too! Amber really inspired me and convinced me to start knitting and join this incredible Instagram community of Knitters and here I am! I fell in love with knitting right away and have been knitting every day since! I taught myself with YouTube and I've enjoyed it so much. Definitely more of a Knitter than anything else now, but still have so many other crafts I enjoy too
Do you knit, crochet, spin, weave as well as dye yarn?Yes. I knit, crochet, sew, embroider, cross stitch and quilt.
Where do you get your inspiration?
I get my inspiration from everywhere, but mostly childhood memories and nature :)
What kind of fiber or special techniques do you use?
I use mostly Superwash Merino blends. I create tonals, Speckled, and variegated colorways
What is your favorite colorway you have dyed so far?
My favorite colorway so far is Sandcastles. I've always had soft spots for my first two colorways "Dad's Worn Denim" and "Mama's Coffee" which were created in honor of my amazing parents. I have alot of pastel colorways since they are my very favorite colors
What fiber projects are you working on this moment?
I have four designs in mind that I am working on at the moment. So many designs are just waiting in my mind and I can't wait to knit them out!
Do you have any special events going on in the upcoming months?
I will be vending again next Spring at the Greencastle Fiber Event in Greencastle IN. I hope to be able to vend at another local event or two this year
Where can people find out all about you?
You can find my hand dyed yarns and project bags in my Etsy shop MollyKleinDesign.etsy.com. My knitwear patterns can be found on Ravelry by MollyKleinDesign. You can find my daily shenanigans on Instagram @mollykleindesign
Bonus Question! Do you pick the pattern or the yarn first?
Usually the yarn inspires me! Especially when I dye a yarn and see it drying outside in the fresh breeze. So many ideas come to me!
Molly has generously offered you a coupon code KNOTTY for 10% off in her shop until the end of June!