All A Verb for Keeping Warm yarn, fiber, fabric, and threads are dyed using plants and cochineal. At A Verb for Keeping Warm, our dream is to see the ethics and production of textiles in a fair, non-exploitative, and ecologically sensitive manner considered as equally important as it has in the organic and local food movement. We strive to support local farmers and to carry goods where each person who is part of the production, from the farmer to the weaver, are known, part of the beauty of the completed project, and treated fairly.
The following products are examples of how we've partnered with farms and used locally grown materials: in 2013, Kristine and Adrienne released their first line of yarn made from California raised wool. Called Horizon, this yarn is composed of 100% organic Merino grown by organic cotton breeder, Sally Fox. Since the release of Horizon, we have created numerous, additional yarns made of US wool and milled in the US.
At the root of A Verb for Keeping Warm is our natural dyeing studio. On a research trip to India, Kristine learned about natural dyeing and her life was forever changed. In awe of being able to create color from nature, she began practicing natural dyeing in her kitchen and created a small line of naturally-dyed yarn. Soon after, Adrienne joined Kristine running the Verb dye studio. Currently, our dye studio produces 200-300 pounds of naturally dyed yarn, fabric, and fiber a month.
Committed to creating more locally available natural dyes, A Verb for Keeping Warm has its own natural dye garden. In Summer 2015, Kristine and Adrienne utilized lessons learned from the garden, to guide Verb's first foray into farming: a nine hundred-foot row of dye plants planted at Sally Fox's Capay Valley farm. We have also worked with local dyer and Fibershed founder, Rebecca Burgess, on cultivating and supporting a local indigo farming and dyeing initiatives. And, in Summer 2018, we collaborated with Lora Kinkade to grow 2500 pounds of organic indigo.
Kristine published her first book, The Modern Natural Dyer in 2015. Adrienne, Sarah (Verb's lead dyer), and Kristine published Journeys in Natural Dyeing in 2020. Both books are excellent resources to learn how to use natural dyes. To learn more about our process of designing and dyeing yarn, you can follow our Instagram account and subscribe to our newsletter.