Behind the scenes with Jonathan of MJ Yarns (part 1)

When we first received our beautiful skeins of MJ Yarns we asked Jonathan a few interview questions so that we might learn a bit more about the man behind the yarn.  Our next couple blog posts will feature his responses.  We thought we'd start our introduction to the man through his thoughts about his beautiful yarn.His thoughtful reply to our question about how he selected the bases for his yarns is one we knew we needed to share with you.

"As a knitter, I've learned a lot about the many types of yarns available. Each one really has a very specific use and it was important to me to have a variety of yarns to fill each of those uses.  Simple Sock(shown above) is a basic workhorse yarn with a surprising drape and hand. The superwash Corriedale (a stronger breed of sheep) means the wool will hold up over time and the nylon adds the strength needed for hard wearing socks or gloves. Despite all that, this yarn is surprisingly soft and lovely to handle.Rustic Fingering(shown above) is best for fingering weight lace projects. A two ply yarn will drape better than a three or four ply so 2 ply was chosen. This yarn is also loosely spun, adding to the hand made look that gives gifts (for others and one's self) something truly special. The yarn is composed completely of Blue Faced Leicester (BFL), one of my favorite breeds of sheep. BFL has a long fiber making loose spun yarns possible. It's soft and friendly nature just beg the knitter to dive their fingers in to it. Finally, BFL has a natural luster that makes the yarn look almost like it was blended with silk.
Opulent Fingering (shown above) exists because we all deserve a little pampering. Merino blended with cashmere make this yarn a pure delight to work with. It has an incredible drape. Projects made from this yarn will wrap themselves around the lucky wearer like heavens arms. To make sure this pampering goes on as long as possible, just a touch of nylon was added for strength."

We also put Jonathan on the spot and asked him what he thinks makes his yarn unique.

"A while back, I had an experience knitting with a hand dyed yarn that was incredible. Every inch of the yarn was a moment of discovery. The way the colors blended created a rich and inviting yarn. I wanted to recreate that for people. My yarns are made in a labor and time intensive process that layers between 3 and 7 colors to make each bit of yarn complex and interesting. In addition, the short color runs create an overall color feel that becomes ever more complex as the viewer steps closer to investigate.In addition to color, my yarns are usable and accessible to all knitters. There's no need to fight my yarns to force them to work for the final product. They're designed to be practical and oh so heavenly to touch."

We couldn't agree more.We have more fun details to share with you about Jonathan and his beautiful yarns.  Saturday's blog post will provide you with some more insights into Jonathan's creative process.  Julie has fun stories to share from his visits to the shop.  And we are knitting up a collection of samples knit from his skeins that we would love to show you.Please visit us when you can, and we'll be sure that you get to see for yourself how special each of these wonderful yarns are.