The Purveyor of Fine Yarns

The Purveyor loves yarn. Our goal is to share our love of yarn. We source high quality yarns with unique characteristics for fiber enthusiasts. Our primary goal is to work with small producers Here, in the Midwest, to bring their wool to market as one of those high quality yarns mentioned above! And while we always look first within our own fibershed, there are things that can not be produced locally. To source those unique yarns we look Away.

Wool from Here; sourced in the USA

Hand spinners know that not all wool is the same. Spinners learn that different breeds of sheep produce fleece with different qualities. Most knitters know that Merino creates one of the softest yarns. But did you know that Cormo is nearly as soft as Merino but also has a crispness and crimp that lends excellent stitch definition? Clun Forest is not as soft as Cormo, however, a pair of mittens knit from Clun Forest will not only keep your fingers warm, but you will have those mittens for many years. Clun Forest creates a yarn that is strong and wears well.

The Purveyor presents 100% breed specific yarns. We source the wool for those yarns from small producers who may not have a ready market for their wool. Over 90% of the wool is sourced in the Midwest. We know who produces that wool, we have driven county roads across Iowa and Wisconsin meeting small producers, looking at sheep, helping skirt at the shearing, loading the car with bags of grease wool. That grease wool is skirted and washed and spun into yarn at woolen mills in Wisconsin, Iowa and Minnesota.

Now you are asking where does the wool really come from? It comes from the family farm, north of Stevens Point, where the girls playing out front announced my arrival. And the college student raising sheep on the family farm, surrounded by corn fields, in Iowa. Purchasing these single breed yarns means supporting real people living their lives here in the fibershed.

From Away; Outlaw Yarn And Ferner Wolle

Outlaw Yarn has created a luscious luxury fiber with the Bohemia Sport, Worsted and Gothic lines. The blend of Polwarth wool, alpaca and possum creates a lush, warm fiber, perfect for a winter sweater or an intricate lace shawl. Outlaw Yarn is unique to the southern hemisphere but perfect for cold weather anywhere.

Ferner Wolle, in Austria, manufactures a fantastic self-striping sock yarn. SockenWolle (75% virgin wool, superwash/ 25% polymide) is a soft, durable sport weight sock yarn, in a generous 150g ball (425 meters). I love watching the stripes develop as I knit. My most favorite hiking socks are knit from SockenWolle!