giveaway: my friend london

Oh happy Monday. Meet this week's maker: My Friend London. Great name, eh? Think of her as your go-getter friend who does it all. Not only does she spin her own yarn, but she dyes, knits, and sells it too. London lives in the East Metro with her husband, daughter, and a few furry friends. Never too late for St. Patty's Day, let's give it up for her great green giveaway:

"One lucky reader will receive this 94-yard skein of soft and lofty handspun in shades of green and blue (below). It's a chunky-weight yarn measuring about 8 wraps per inch. It would make a darling small project like a hat, baby item or wrist warmers. It's very soft and cozy, 100% wool hand dyed in my kitchen and spun in the company of my family and pets. I wash, dry and store the yarns away from the critters. Hand wash and dry flat."
Even if you weren't blessed with the knitting gene, leave a comment & win this for someone who was! Here's how you can win and get this skein in your hands and needles:

1. {Comment to enter} Tell about your current needlework project or what you might knit up if you were to win this green goodness.

or

2. {Link back} to this post &/or London's shop with fb, twitter, or your blog and post a comment here to show us where to find it.

or

3. Do both and double up your odds.

However you choose to enter, do it before Wed 3/24 at 11:59pm CST. The randomly selected lucky lady (or lad!?) will be announced first thing Thursday a.m.
Now on to the Q's & A's with our friend London...

How did you get your start & find your niche?
Honestly, I think I was born crafty. Both my mom and grandmother are excellent at sewing and needle crafts so I'm sure I was influenced by them to a great degree. But the fiber arts are definitely my favorite. I learned to knit from a Norwegian foreign exchange student my family hosted my senior year of high school. She cranked out those fantastic fair isle sweaters in the round and I knew I had to try.

What possessed inspired you to take up spinning?
I happened upon some lovely hand dyed roving at the Shepherd's Harvest festival a few years ago and decided I'd learn to use a drop spindle. It was so gratifying to actually MAKE YARN. And I just wanted to make more and more, so I knew a spinning wheel was in my future. I use a Louet S15 double treadle. It's parked in front of my favorite chair and I try to spin every day. My husband and daughter put up with me spinning while we watch Mystery Science Theater, Mythbusters and Hitchcock movies.

What's your favorite part of the process?
It's super fun to dye the fiber and see the yarn create itself before my eyes. I love plying the strands together the best because I really never know what two colors will combine at any given time, it's magical to see the skeins develop.

What was your biggest craft-tastrophe?
I started out making crafty concoctions in the kitchen... one when I was nine years old involved a bottle of green food coloring splashing out onto my mom's new (awesome 1970s plaid) kitchen wallpaper and curtains. I got in some pretty serious hot water, but it definitely didn't stop me...

What advice do you have for aspiring handmade mavens?
For anyone interested in taking their crafting to the next level and selling online, Don't be shy about promoting yourself. Even if you haven't made one sale, get yourself business cards (I like those cute little ones from moo.com) and hand them out to everyone. Go to events in your community where you can make connections and hand out those cards. Post regularly on sites like ravelry, twitter, facebook, myspace, etc. Read everything available to sellers on Etsy. There is a ton of useful advice there. If you are doing what you love and posting new items all the time, people will notice.

Where can we find more of you?
At myfriendlondon.com, or on my flickr. I will also be participating in Craftstravaganza, an annual indie craft show in St. Paul, MN on May 1. Please swing by my booth to say hi. I'll be selling handspun yarn, hand dyed yarn, roving and other spinning supplies and 100% natural soy wax votive candles.

Photography by Leslie Plesser