website - www.yarnsunlimitedpa.com

Yarns Unlimited stocks a full variety of knitting products. Yarn, knitting needles, patterns, books, knitting tools, and buttons overflow in this well stocked store. Need wool, cotton, alpaca, silk, cashmere, soy, bamboo, angora, buffalo, camel, paper, or a fancy blend? Hand wash, machine wash, dry clean fibers are all here. Needles of bamboo, metal, rosewood, ebony, birch, and plastic.

Open
Monday - Saturday: 10:00am - 4:00pm
Thursday til 6:00pm

Directions - google maps / mapquest

~[05,05,2009] this is fun

~[01,05,2009] wow cool stuff

website - www.articlepract.com

They carry unique and fine yarns and needles, handmade bags and knitting accessories. They have knitting classes, patterns, books galore, and is designed for the funky and creative knitter.

Open
Tuesday - Thursday: 11:00am - 7:00pm
Friday - Sunday: 11:00am - 6:00pm

Directions - google maps / mapquest

website - www.loopandleaf.com

Visit the shop to explore their handpicked collection for knitting, crochet and hand spinning, or sign up for one of their many classes to perfect a new technique. The exquisitely blended Foxfire loose-leaf teas and vibrant, modern tea ware are an impeccable addition to any fiber artist’s home.

Open
Tuesday - Thursday: 11:00am - 7:00pm
Friday and Saturday: 11:00am - 5:00pm

Directions - google maps / mapquest

website - www.purlsoho.com

They believe natural fibers are wonderful to work with,  supple, vibrant, and timeless. They carefully select the finest fibers for their yarn collection, from cotton, bamboo, silk and linen to warm alpaca, merino, and cashmere.

Open
Monday - Friday: 12:00pm - 7:00pm
Saturday and Sunday 12:00pm - 6:00pm

Directions - google maps / mapquest

Courtney hard at work!

Tanglewood Fiber Creations isn’t just Becky and Trish. There are many others that are able to stay home and do what they love best, spin. This allows a lot of people an income and the ability to stay home, for every spinner there is a story, and a dream.

Tanglewood Fiber Creations has been fortunate to be mentors through the PiPN program TNNA (The National Needle Arts of America Ass.) has developed. They have hosted College Students that have worked hard through the summer as part of a college course learning about our company and provided unique and valuable insight and help. It has been a pleasure having them. We are working with the local high school mentoring high school students, inspiring them to live their dream while being a valued member of our team.

Spinning Wheel

The number of people that spin for Tanglewood changes as life changes. There can be as many as 40 people spinning yarn at any one time. This number rises and falls as the river of life changes for us all. Becky and Trish do all of the plying melding the energies of different spinners into the most lovely yarn. Trish loves beads, so does all the beaded yarn, the most difficult but rewarding of labors. Becky wears the Production Manager hat, coordinating the pipeline of fiber to spinners, and spun singles into yarn.

Trish is in the “field” meeting with our patrons demonstrating Spinning and explaining how our yarn is created. Thus the old-ways are being recreated in the 21st century, during a time when everything is “right now” and “Outsourced,” Tanglewood Fiber Creations yarns harken back to days when things were made to last, made of quality materials but most importantly made with love by people living and working in the United States. Making luxury yarn is our dream and our mission. Come dream with us!

Becky and Trish (in Alaska)

Trish is all about color, loves all colors but all shades of purple are her favorite, therefore she is the one that dyes the fiber, and does the product development for all the new and different yarns that makes Tanglewood Fiber Creations distinctive and unique.

Becky is back bone of this dream, she has the production, organization, skills and the know how to “ply” these two talents together, overcoming many odds to make their dream come true.

They have literally re-invented a craft that had taken a 300 year break, hand-dyed, hand-spun yarn done the old fashion way, spun with love, made by hand and of the highest quality, making dream yarn for the most discriminating yarn patron.

Once Upon a Time

It started with dream… While under martial law during the Riots in Los Angeles (remember those), Trish decided enough was enough. She packed the truck, moved the family to Coos Bay Oregon, and onto a small farm in the country. The dream was about creating yarn for her Mother (an avid knitter since learning at the young age of 5 as part of her school curriculum), to raise Llama’s, and grow Kiwi fruit.

Trish learned to spin in 1992 and knew from the first time at the wheel that this was her calling. Becky learned to knit from her Grandmother Jean, at age 5. When Trish and Mike (her husband) decided to make Oregon their home they moved to a small town near the Portland Area. Enrolled the children in 4-H and bought two Llama’s. Becky learned how to spin and got a few sheep to keep the llama’s company. Goats and rabbits came and went during the formative years, while Trish perfected her craft and both she and Becky sheared, dyed and spun the wool and fiber she and Becky raised.

When Becky went off to College, Trish gave up the animals and focused on production spinning. When Becky graduated from Oregon State University in 2004 she “organized and formalized” the business of production spinning that Trish had started. Thus Tanglewood Fiber Creations was born. In January 2006 Tanglewood Fiber Creations went to their First National Needle-Arts of America wholesale show, which took Tanglewood Fiber Creations nationally and internationally available status.

Yarn close up

We love yarn and the people whom use our yarn to create heirloom items for themselves or loved ones. Trish had the dream to create lovely yarn for her Mother, Jean, to knit with.

When Becky graduated from College she turned that dream into a “reality”. Working together they have made it possible for others to be included in the dream of spinning luxury fibers into heavenly yarn.

Trish and Becky decided that to understand the unique hand and quality of Tanglewood Fiber Creation’s yarn the yarn had to be handled, knowing that the internet couldn’t provide this experience, they went to a few local yarn salons, and in weeks knew that it was the right decision. Ever since they only sell to the most discriminating yarn salons.