this is the third instalment in a 3-part series about how sunflower knit got to where it is now. part 1 can be read here and part 2 can be read here.

the past couple of years have seen some major shifts for sunflower knit as a business and for me as a human. in late summer 2017, i bought my first house and moved in, massively increasing the workspace for the business and creating actual living and entertaining space for me. i also left my full-time administrative job for a part-time administrative job and was able to devote more time and energy to the business and slowly began to have a social life again. i went to iceland to shoot my second book and then released it that fall, and that experience also ignited the light that became from field to skin.

taking time home in k'jipuktuk back in july 2018.

within less than a year, i had launched from field to skin and drastically changed the way i myself was engaging with textiles as a result of all the new things i was learning. i had begun to really start making the majority of my wardrobe, and had also finally found the relationships i needed to shift all my naturally dyed yarns to canadian sourced and milled bases. having more time also meant i was able to devote more energy to working with plants, resulting in the start of the herbal remedies line of the business. i had also quit my part-time job, and as of july 1, 2018, sunflower knit became my sole source of income. it was terrifying and so full of potential, and also something that i knew i needed to do. a personal tragedy within weeks of that shift ultimately reaffirmed that i had made the right decision, because my audience fully supported me as i took the time and space i needed to grieve. i had solidified a base of caring, empathic individuals who looked at me not only as a business owner, but as a multi-faceted human, and that continues to be at the heart of how i run my business. willow joined me in fall of that year, and the rest, as they say, is history.

so, here we are, at the start of 2020 and a new decade. where does sunflower knit sit now and what’s coming up next?

things that you can definitely expect more of:

more projects with samson learn, my dear friend and photographer of all my books. our third book together will be out this fall after we shoot the second half of it in early summer;
more designs with farm yarns, and a shift towards designing more with my own yarns. you’ll see a fairly dramatic shift in 2021 to that extent;
the growth of from field to skin. this year i’m hosting the first ever sea-to-sea-to-sea make-a-long for it, which will hopefully bring more people to the project and also fill the gap between interviews as i secure more funding for future episodes. it will continue to provide networking and educational resources for fibreshed producers and the general public alike;
the development of more fleece and farm-specific yarns with the help of my friends at some of canada’s best mills (according to my very biased opinion);
an expansion into more herbal activities and the literal growth of a dye plant and medicinal garden so that even more of my offerings are traceable right back to my home. hey, if the apocalypse hits, i want to be prepared, and i want to have your back too;
a refresh for my online shawl design course, the creative coven;
more adventures with animals, in particular the resident coven pooch willow and her little sister, yarrow. hopefully with an increased number of road trips, but we’re working on willow’s car manners before we commit to that too much.

thanks so much for following along with these adventures. i look forward to seeing what we create together!

xo ash

origin story pt. 3