The Firefly team is thrilled to welcome Keenan Hand Dyed Yarns to our space for a special Spring trunk show! Keenan Hand Dyed Yarns will be here for the entire month of April, culminating in a Local Yarn Store Day celebration with Deidre Darr herself, dyer behind Keenan Hand Dyed Yarns! We would love to have you join us!

About Deidre & Keenan Hand Dyed Yarns:

Keenan Hand Dyed Yarn started as Fangirl Hand Dyed Yarn in May 2018. My original plan was to dye yarn for myself and maybe a few friends. However, after playing around and developing my first color, Early Morning, I was hooked. I started selling at a local farmer’s market on a folding table with eight colorways. 

Starting a business is pretty stressful and there’s a lot of stuff to learn. I didn’t have a lot of creativity left when I had to come up with yarn names. Color 1, Color 2, and so on seemed pretty boring. One day, while I was in the car - by myself - inspiration struck. I decided to name those first colors after songs by the band a-ha, best known for their 1985 hit “Take on Me”. Over the years, I've branched out and used names other than a-ha songs, but they still make it in there. 

In September 2022, Fangirl re-branded to Keenan Hand Dyed Yarn. Keenan is a family name, and in particular, the name of our stillborn daughter. The decision to re-brand was tough and can be risky. My mom suggested Keenan immediately, but I didn’t want to do it. For a week my family threw out different names, but nothing fit. After a week of not finding the right name, my husband said, “What about Keenan?” We had a family meeting with our boys and asked them if they thought it was okay. They loved the idea. And so, Fangirl changed to Keenan. 

My amazing niece, Maeve designed my adorable logo girl and named her Felice.

Join us in welcoming back a Firefly favorite, Asylum Fibers! Stephanie, the brilliant dyer behind Asylum Fibers, is back at our shop with beautiful range of hand-dyed yarns. Asylum Fibers is known for their bright tonals and multis inspired by life and fiction alike! Asylum Fibers is for the color lover in you!

About Stephanie:

I was born and raised in a small town in central Maine, where most of my family still resides.  My mother and best friend is a fabulous quilter (Oak Grove Quilter), and my father is a jack-of-all-trades who even built the home I grew up in.  

I was a classical music major and now play in two bands (Girlz in Treble & Floydian Trip).  I work in HR & Compliance by day and dye yarn on weekends.  I feel that my varied life experiences led me right to where I am now, running a small business that is my pride and joy.

xoxo ~Stephanie

Mark your calendars and prepare to be enchanted as welcome back the magnificent hand-dyed yarns of Stephanie Buford, the creative genius behind Deep Dyed Yarns! With an extensive range of exquisite fibers and vibrant hues, Deep Dyed Yarns offers a kaleidoscope of possibilities for all your knitting and crochet adventures.

Deep Dyed specializes in fully-saturated spinning fibers and yarns, in a wide range of breeds. Deep Dyed has been a shop favorite for years, and we are always excited to welcome their beautiful fibers into our space to share with our community.

About Stephanie:

Stephanie’s obsession with fiber started way back in 1997 while sitting next to a delightful woman on a British Airways flight from London Heathrow to NYC who was knitting a baby blanket. She asked a few questions, came home, bought yarn, and taught herself to knit through many, many trials and tribulations! 

After many years and quite a few terrible finished objects, the needles and yarn finally clicked. Which spurred an interest in how yarn is made;  a drop spindle was bought and then a wheel;  a plethora of yarns were made.  Such a plethora there was no way little old Stephanie could knit them all!  Yarns were stacking up in the corners and had to find new homes where they would be loved, used, and cherished. They were listed online and to her delight...  ALL SOLD! 

Stephanie bought more fiber, taught herself to dye it, spun it up, and thought maybe, just maybe people might like to buy fiber too.  This got her to thinking: perhaps she should try to dye and sell mill spun yarn? From that, she has snow-balled and is so grateful for everyone who has supported her throughout the years. 

Come in the month of January and find some inspiration in the beautiful samples and patterns sent to us from Woolfolk Yarns celebrating what has been for years our most popular yarn: Woolfok Får.

Woolfok Får is unbelievably soft and luxurious-feeling. The chainette construction of Far gives structure, definition, and warmth to this luxuriously soft fiber. A classic worsted weight, Far is just right for gorgeous sweaters, blankets and cold weather accessories!

Woolfolk’s pattern collections are wearable, clean and minimal; their focus is on design that is both timeless and modern. The quietly sophisticated color palette is inspired by the same sense of purpose; the curated range is on point with runway fashion while staying true to clean design.

Stop on in to see this collection of handmade samples and maybe even walk away with a new project!

Stop in this Holiday season to see the beautiful yarns featured in this month’s trunk show from Dye Mad Yarns!

Dye Mad Yarns started in a kitchen in May of 2020 and has grown to a storefront with a team of four! We're combining a love of history, politics, quirks, camp, and absurd Americana with a keen sense of color and dye yarns that highlight the fun, whimsy, and weirdness in our inspirational subject: Ohio and the Midwest. Whether its landmarks, food, culture, politics, experiences, or cryptids, Dye Mad is a love letter to the Midwest and its eccentricities.

We are thrilled to host Distortion Fibers for our November Trunk Show!

Immerse yourself in the tactile wonderland of Distortion Fibers, where vibrant colors blend harmoniously with pop culture! Dyed locally in Chicagoland, Emily’s yarn features wearable and nuanced color combinations.

Whether you seek a statement accessory to showcase your unique style or a conversation-starter for your home decor, Distortion Fibers offers an unrivaled selection of hand-dyed yarns to suit your desires. Stop on by!

Firefly is thrilled to welcome back local Chicago dyers RMR Yarn Co for a month-long trunk show!

About RMR Yarn Co:

“We are three sisters from the Chicago Metro Area who love yarn and all things creative. Our varying creative abilities complement each other, allowing us to create a wide range of hand-dyed yarn and accessories.  We strive to provide top quality, ethically sourced yarns that are hand dyed in small batches.

RMR Yarn Co. is a small family business named after our mother, the finest example we’ve had of what can be achieved through hard work and determination. Her initials, RMR, serve to remind us of the strength, love, and endurance all women possess.”

Follow RMR Yarn Co on Instagram @rmryarnco

We are excited to welcome back Misfit Yarns for the 2023 Chicago Yarn Crawl!

Misfit Yarns is a small batch indie dyer based in the Midwest. Misfit Yarns features vibrant and fun hand dyed yarns. Michelle specializes in variegated, speckled and semi-solid colorways with bright and unique color combos. She strives to create colorways that are worthy of your yarn stash and yarn projects. We hope you can make it to see the special yarns Michelle is dying up for us for this year’s Chicago Yarn Crawl!

Follow Misfit Yarns on Instagram @misfityarns

We are pleased to welcome Kelcey and her beautiful naturally-dyed yarns for a Knitting Niqabi Trunk Show during this year’s Chicago Yarn Crawl.

About Kelcey & Knitting Niqabi:

“Since I first stepped foot into the realm of fiber arts back in 2017 my love has grown and expanded leading me to where I am today. Being born and raised in the backwoods of Michigan I was always outside as a child which sparked my interest and pure enjoyment with nature. While in university I went through a spiritual transition where I converted to the religion of Islam. This newfound connection with the creation of God furthered my pure fascination with the natural world. 

Needless to say, when I made the decision to start my own hand dyed yarn business in 2020 it felt only natural to specialize in sustainable non-superwash yarns that are naturally dyed. 

All my natural dyes are produced using food scraps, foraged supplies and natural extracts. My inspirations stem from my childish love of nature, and the rich deep history that comes with wool and natural dyes. Working with natural dyes brings me a sense of closeness with God and the beauties He created for us to find.”

Follow Kelcey on Instagram @knittingniqabi

We are excited to be welcoming back Deep Dyed Yarns for our annual February trunk show in our brand new space! Stop in to see Stephanie’s rich colors and deliciously soft yarns.

To learn more about Deep Dyed Yarns, visit their website at www.deepdyedyarns.com or follow Stephanie on Instagram at @deepdyedyarns

We’re ringing in 2023 with a month-long trunk show from Woolerton Estate Yarns!

Woolerton Estate Yarns is inspired by Victorian aged fantasy, with a pinch of modern day culture. The Woolerton Family represents the importance of chosen family, and hopes to inspire newer generations of crafters.

You can find more information about Woolerton Estate Yarns by visiting their website at www.woolertonyarns.com or following them on Instagram @woolertonestateyarns

We are introducing a new “Local Artisan Made” section to our shop, and we are kicking it off with a Holiday Mini Market!

Stop in this holiday season to buy some original hand-made gifts made by local Chicago artists! We are hosting work from several local Chicago makers, with items including jewelry, mugs, candles, trinket dishes and more.

We’ll be selling some of our older samples as well to help clear out some space for fresh things in the new year.

Come on by and support some small businesses this Holiday season! Every purchase supports a neighbor.

Shop our Mini-Market online by clicking the button below!

For the month of November, we will be hosting a trunk show featuring a variety of yarn bases dyed by Emma Coates of Coates & Co. In 2019, Coates & Co. opened as a dye and design studio in Cincinnati, OH. With a focus on sustainability, Coates & Co. sources yarns and fibers from regional fiber mills before dyeing each unique colorway by hand in small batches.

Come on in and shop these unique and limited time offerings!

We’re so excited to have Kat back with us for the last weekend in October! Come meet and visit with Kat starting Oct 28 (psst, that also our Halloween night!) and get a look at all her beautiful yarns! She’ll be in all weekend to help you pick out the best yarn for your projects!

We’re excited to be hosting I Feel Like Dying trunk show! Coming from Indianapolis, these bright and colorful skeins are dyed by Tiana, an avid knitter and spinner. “There is so much to the world of fiber and I want in on ALL of it! Any and every opportunity I get to play in fiber, I take it!”.