Meet The Indie Dyer: Yvonne Ellsworth of Lavender Sheep Yarn

September 11, 2025

Keeley Richardson

Founder and Chief Fiber Officer

Yvonne Ellsworth of Lavender Sheep Yarn relocated to the Puget Sound Region from Oregon six years ago bringing her beautiful hand dyes with her. Luckily for us local fiber enthusiasts they are now available in Duvall and online. Yvonne took some time out of her busy schedule to tell The Woolpack about her fiber journey and inspiration.

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

I learned to dye yarn while I was in college at University of Oregon studying for a degree in Fiber Arts. After I graduated I saw there were a few Indie Dyers starting up and I thought I could do that too. So, I started LavenderSheep in 2006. I did shows and festivals for about 10 years and even started my own festival. When my kids were toddlers it was too much to juggle, so I switched to doing primarily wholesale for my local yarn shop, Knot Another Hat, in Hood River, Oregon. Who continues to be my biggest supporter. Since half of my Fiber Arts degree is in dyeing and the other half is in weaving, I started teach rigid heddle weaving classes as well. This would have been around 2015. Then in 2019 my husband’s job moved us up to Duvall. We had just unpacked the last box when Covid shut everything down. I had my Etsy shop for online sales, but everything was really slow at first and no one knew what was going to happen. I happened to see a call for submissions from Handwoven Magazine, so I submitted a design to them and it was accepted. I have since become a regular contributor to Handwoven, Little Looms, and Weft magazines as a weaving designer. Then this year I met Liz Ligon, who owns Clear Creek Farm, just 5 minutes from my house and she has converted a barn into a studio space. We were talking about fiber arts and she asked to hire me as their Creative Director working one day a week to help organize and promote classes.

So currently, I dye yarn for LavenderSheep as well as running all aspects of the business from bookkeeping to marketing. I’m a weaving designer for many magazines. I do social media for the Seaview Guild out in Edmonds. I’m the Creative Director for Clear Creek Farm. I’m also a tech editor for the Handweaving Academy. So, many hats!

What kind of fibers do you enjoy dyeing and why?

I love blends and yarns that have a good story going for them. I have started dyeing Shaniko yarns, because I love Jeanne Carver’s focus on sustainable wool grown right here in the US. I love blends like yak/merino/silk or merino/silk/sea silk, because I can dye them the same way and they will each take the dye a little differently.

I also just started ice dyeing cotton. It’s a wildly different dye process than dyeing on wool, but it’s just so fun to experiment and see what happens. I’m slowly fine tuning it into something that is easy to repeat.

What is it that you love about your craft?

I love two things about the fiber arts. First I love the people. I love that I can meet people from all different walks of life and backgrounds that have this same common interest in yarn and fiber. I love getting together with people and geeking out about fibers and process, while also hearing their stories. The second part, is I love the science. I love trying new things and learning new techniques, then thinking about how those techniques can make new things. It’s so fun to try new things. I’ve loved yarn since my grandmother bought me my first toy loom at 7, and I haven’t run out of things to try with it yet.

Where do you find your color inspiration?

I find my color inspiration from all sorts of things. I like a lot of things from nature, like the Columbia River, sunsets, and mountains. My garden gives me a lot of inspiration for color names. I also love to just try out a new dye color and see what happens and if I like it then name it afterwards. It’s all a lot of fun

What advice do you have for someone thinking about dyeing their own yarn?

I teach dye workshops and I love introducing people to the world of dyeing. I would say first of all to have fun. Don’t stress if it isn’t perfect and be prepared to experiment and see what happens. I also put a lot of emphasis on safety. Second hand stores have lots of inexpensive items that can be used solely for dyeing. If you don’t have the space or want to make the investment, then come take a class with me where you can have all the fun without having to worry about the storage space

Where can we find your yarns and will you be holding any trunk shows in the near future?

Currently you can find both links to my yarn and to my event schedule at: www.lavendersheep.com and my Etsy Shop is lavendersheep.etsy.com

My yarn can be found at Knot Another Hat – knotanotherhat.com and at Cotton Clouds – cottonclouds.com Locally, my yarn can be found at Clear Creek Farm in Duvall, WA.

You can also find my designs in Handwoven, Little Looms, and Weft magazines. The first two are available online through our local library systems.

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