Welcome to Greenstone Yarn!

Thank you for visiting my blog, I'm so happy you're here!

My name is Stephanie, AKA Steph, Stephi, Stepherooni. I currently work in healthcare, majored in psychology as an undergrad, and am married to a wonderful guy who is the best cat dad ever to our two Maine Coon kitties (Olga and Buck). I love reading, napping, and Depeche Mode. That last one always surprises people :). Probably because I love the color pink and maybe don't fit the typical Depeche Mode "Devotee" profile. Which just goes to show, you can't judge a book by its cover!

Just a bit about my crafting journey . . . I was kind of going through my version of a mid-life crisis and I needed a creative outlet - can anyone relate? I started knitting several years ago and instantly fell in love. It's an amazing stress-relieving, anxiety-releasing, mind-settling hobby.

As I became obsessed (in a good way) with knitting, I grew equally obsessed with yarn. I KNOW many of you can relate to that! My husband got me a beginner's yarn dyeing kit a few Christmases ago, and I was a goner. Our basement was quickly taken over by yarn, yarn dye, pots and pans and the like. It's now my yarn cave . . .

Greenstone Yarn was born out of my love for knitting and yarn, as well as for the beauty of the state of Michigan (where we live). The greenstone is the state gem of Michigan, found in the Upper Peninsula (UP) of the state. The UP is such a beautiful area, and is extra special to me as my husband and I were married in the Keeweenaw Peninsula.

I dye yarn because I believe in the soothing/healing power of crafting, and using hand dyed yarn in my projects adds an extra layer of beauty and accomplishment. Knowing that I am using someone's creativity, time, skills, and love in my knitting makes my crafting time even more special. I want to do that for you. My yarn is dyed with you in mind. You are special, and you deserve yarn that is created with love and hope. My goal is to have a short turnaround time for shipping. I want to get yarn into your hands as quickly as possible so you can create those yarn-y memories.

I Couldn't Do It Without You

Greenstone Yarn is a labor of love. Starting/running a business, small as it is, is a completely foreign task for me, and it is stretching all sorts of thinking muscles I never knew I had. Learning about website design, marketing, photography, shipping, writing blogs/newsletters, etc. has been super challenging, but it's a welcome challenge. The perfectionist in me shudders to say that mistakes have and will be made, but I'll handle them as they come up. Progress over perfection, am I right?!!!

Special thanks (in no particular order) to April Powell for creating my beautiful logo and branding materials, Katie Colormaiden for helping me to create my dream office space through her vision and color prowess, Natalie Napoleon for patiently teaching me about product photography (she's an awesome teacher!), Karri Brantley for making my photoshoot amazingly comfortable and fun (and taking great photos), and Alanna Wilcox for turning me into a yarn dyeing color alchemist. Huge thanks to EFT practitioner Heather Ambler for helping me heal, encouraging me to follow my dreams, and for being a rockstar business guru.

And of course, thanks to my husband Tim. Words cannot convey how much he has helped me over the years - from encouraging my love of naps, keeping me sane (mostly), doing whatever I need around the house/studio, and for keeping me supplied with stuffed alpacas (see the photo of April, Bodie, and Albie below - don't mind the cat hair) and so much more.

Thanks to all of you for reading my blog, visiting my website, and supporting Greenstone Yarn. I couldn't do it without you. Check out the links below - these amazing individuals have so much to offer!

• Heather Ambler, EFT Practitioner: https://www.heatherambler.com/

• Karri Brantley, Personal Branding & Headshot Photographer: https://www.karribphotography.com/

• Katie Colormaiden, Business & Home Designer: https://colormaiden.com/ and https://embodyart.com/

• Natalie Napoleon, Visual Brand Consultant: https://natalienapoleon.com

• April Powell, Branding Expert: https://www.aprilpowelldesign.com/

• Alanna Wilcox, Color Alchemist: https://www.alannawilcox.com/

Closing Thoughts

I look forward to going on this yarn dyeing Greenstone Yarn journey with you! Let me know in the comments what you would love to see from Greenstone Yarn - colorway and/or yarn base suggestions, yarn collection ideas, community, customer service requests - I would love to hear your thoughts so I can make GSY as welcoming a space as possible!

Greenstone Yarn will be live in 1st quarter 2025. In the meantime, check out the website and sign up for my newsletter to receive a 20% off coupon for your first Greenstone Yarn order!

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