The endangered Green yarns…

I'm concerned.

In my search for wool yarns to use in my collection, I'm hearing more often than I'd like that the green lines aren't doing so well, and that they may be discontinued in the near future.

Eco-friendly, green yarns bloomed as part of a trend, I fear. And it seems as though that trend is past it's peak. This makes me sad—really sad.

The processes that eco-friendly wool goes through take a little longer, and cost a little more, but they don't leave behind irreversible damage to the only Earth we'll ever have.

Organic wool means that the sheep were fed a healthy diet—one free of hormones, GMO's, antibiotics and other chemicals that promote disease and cancer. These sheep lived in a pesticide-free environment. They weren't dipped in insecticides, like many poor conventional sheep often are. They are kept on farms that do not exceed the natural capacity of the land on which the animals graze.



Over-all, the sheep that produce organic wool live a significantly happier and healthier life than the sheep producing conventional wool. But unfortunately, because organic wool yarns have a higher cost, many people are choosing the less-expensive conventional wool yarns rather than spending a little more for the organic. This is what makes me sad.

I no longer consider conventional wool an option. After learning all that I have about the processes and living conditions the sheep may go through, I've decided to stick to organic wools and to local farmers who I know treat their animals well, yet can't afford the organic certification. To me, it's not about the cost of the yarn. There's so much more to life than how many dollars we have.

Each time we buy something we support it—we are voting with our dollars to support the things we buy and supporting the processes they use to be created, packaged, shipped, etc… So, if I can't afford to buy organic wool then I won't buy wool until I can. It's not so important to me that I have wool that I'll put the lives of the animals who provide it at risk so I can have it.



When you're browsing online, or in the throws of pleasure in your local yarn store, in addition to the touch and smell sensations of the yarn, I invite you to also consider the origin of yarn before you buy it. Consider the process it has gone through to get into your hands. Who was involved? How far did it travel? How was it dyed? And what kind of impact all these things might have had upon our Earth? Then listen to your gut about whether or not it's important enough to have that yarn. Is it worth the happiness of the sheep so that you may knit or crochet this sweater in this particular yarn, for this cost?

There are many eco-friendly options available, and most yarn stores do have some eco-friendly yarns available. If they don't, please ask the stores to consider carrying some. It's important that we continue to encourage the production of earth friendly yarns. It's for our earth and our children.

TNNA and Business Cards

I've decided to go to TNNA this June, in Columnbus, OH. Searching online for eco-friendly yarns can only get one so far. I went to TNNA a few years ago, and collected a LOT of useful information and a bunch of sample yarns, many which I'm finding handy right now. Plus, getting to meet the people I've been talking with through e-mail is so fun. I love putting a face with the e-mail personality, it makes it seem much more real.

I'm beginning to search for Spring 2011 yarns, to try to get ahead. I feel that releasing the Fall collection in August is a little late, so I'm hoping to get a jump on Spring to release the following Spring collection in a more timely manner, perhaps around January? Wishful thinking?


I've ordered some business cards from Greenprinter.com. They use soy and vegetable based inks and FSC certified 100% recycled, 50% post-consumer paper waste paper. They should be in my hands within the next few weeks. I'm happy to have gotten that out of the way. One less thing to think about before TNNA.

Another Sneak Peek

Project 3 is about 75% complete, and project 4 has been started, frogged, then started again. I like the second round for project 4 a lot more than the first attempt. Here's a sneak peek at the second round of project 4.

Eco-Friendly Symbols

I've created cute little symbols for each of the eco-friendly categories.
What do you think?

vegan
animal friendly
dye free
dye friendly
organic
low carbon footprint
fair trade

I've also started creating the category and yarn pages. I've done a wee bit of sleuthing into a database, and it turns out that the web host I'm using offers phpMyAdmin. I have a book around here someplace on how to use that… I guess I should dig that out and start reading.

I'd much rather be knitting though!

Fall is coming along…

All the yarns for the Fall 2010 line have now been chosen and purchased. I await the delivery of the 2 final yarns for the 2 projects that I have yet to begin making. The 2 projects currently in-the-works are coming along well, and should be finished within the next 2 or 3 weeks.

In order to have the fall line debut in August, I'm planning on having a photoshoot in July. So far, things seem to be working out according to that timeline.

My biggest concern is getting a database set up for the patterns on the website. I'm clueless, and would rather not rely on my basic html and php knowledge to do this, which my happen for the first season. However, I hope to get the database set up before too much time goes by, and the website is filled with too much information to transfer it all easily. If you have any suggestions for how to do something like this easily, I'm all ears!

Sneak Peek

The designs for the Fall 2010 debut line are moving along well. 2.5 of the 6 projects are completed. Here is a sneak peek at one of them!

Why *Knits* is in the name…

I'm working on coming up with 6 or 7 new designs for Fall 2010—trying to keep it equal between knit and crochet. I enjoy them both equally, so it seems only natural to do both. I'm planning a photo shoot for July or August, and crossing my fingers that I'll be able to make all the projects before then…

So, I suppose you'll be wondering why something called *Caterpillar Knits* would be including crochet projects. Well, I'll tell you:

The name Caterpillar Knits *came* to me. It wasn't something I sat down and pondered about for days. This name has been with me for years, and it's been waiting for the right opportunity to present itself.

During a camping trip in the summer of 2007 there was a moment while I was doodling in my sketchbook—I remembered something I read in Ram Dass's book, "Be Here Now". What he wrote was: "You can't rip away caterpillarness". Meaning our lives have a path, and a destined speed at which that path is traveled. It's not possible to force a caterpillar to become a butterfly any faster than it's going to happen… just as it's not possible for us to force anything to happen in our lives any faster than it's meant to—thus, you cannot rip away caterpillarness.

On that day, while doodling in my sketchbook, what Ram Dass said was interpreted in my head as "You can't rip away caterpillar knits". Of course, at that time I thought it was funny, but the Freudian slip has stayed with me and morphed into something meaningful. It goes along with my previous posts about being true to myself and honest about what I do. Caterpillar Knits represents that… therefore, the name cannot change to be politically correct and include crochet. I've thought hard about this… thinking of changing it to Caterpillar Stitches, or Caterpillar Designs… but they just don't hold the same meaning to me, and that's what this venture is all about–being true.

So, I apologize if having the term *knits* in the name offends any crocheters out there. Believe me, that wasn't my intention. I love crochet equally, if not more than I love knitting, and I mean it no injustice by omitting it from the Caterpillar name.