Meet The Indie Dyer: Deborah Lynch of Grey Drizzle Fibers.

How long have you been dyeing yarn and can you tell us about your journey?

I started dyeing in 2010, mostly for fun and because I was looking for certain colors that I didn’t see often. My favorite color is green and it was especially hard to find the greens I wanted. I enjoyed the process so much that I kept dyeing and put up some yarn on Etsy and it started selling right away. That was the beginning of GDF. I started working with botanical dyes around 2018 because one of my favorite hobbies is gardening and it is a fun combination of two loves, fiber arts and plants.

What kind of fibers do you enjoy dyeing and where can we find them?

I love working with 100% wool fibers and the occasional silk blend. I have a full range of weights in superwash Merino and a growing collection of untreated, breed specific yarn and spinning fibers. I’m really enjoying working with the different types of wool and learning about the history and origins of each breed. You can find my yarn and fiber on my website greydrizzlefibers.com and at local markets and trunks shows.

What is it that you love about your craft?

I really enjoy the creativity and experimenting with different techniques. It’s fun to layer on colors until you get just what you are looking for. I like that there is always more to learn. For botanical dyeing, I love the science and the fact that it is never completely certain what the end result will be. It’s fun to be surprised by the differences between batches. I also love discovering a plant I was previously annoyed by will make a beautiful color (looking at you hawthorn tree that scratches me when I mow and you sheep sorrel that won’t stop growing in my garden paths!).