No sooner had Kersti hit the shelves then we were bombarded with questions from all of you! To clear the air, we've decided to dig in deeper and give you not only a first hand interview with Taiu- creator of Kersti (both the yarn and the young woman), but also give you a chance to try it out for free with a giveaway!
Here's what Taiu had to say about Kersti:
JBW: Tell us about Kersti -your daughter and the yarn!
Taiu: Kersti the Yarn is a wonderful DK weight merino yarn, soft to work with and wear. The yarn is perfect for babies for its cushiony soft feel. It is also a wonderful 3 season sweater weight yarn. We introduced Kersti to the market in 2003, as consumers were demanding a Koigu hand painted Merino Yarn. It has really been a little sister yarn to KPM /KPPPM (Kersti was just a perfect name for the yarn at the time)!
Kersti the Daughter has grown up right in the middle of the Koigu business. She was born in 1998. My mother and I were still dying in our old farm house at the time, doing retail/wholesale. Kersti was 3 months old when we took her along to our last retail show Stitches East. In early 2000 we had a play area near us for Kersti while my mother and I dyed yarn. As our Wool Shed grew she got a play room. Riding a tricycle or scooter from one end to the other of the wool shed was a daily routine.
JBW: What's your favorite project you've made with the Kersti yarn?
Taiu: My favourite project in the Kersti is The Cubes Block and Squares blanket in Koigu Magazine 1 - firstly it is really fun to make, and secondly the blanket is so cozy on the couch watching TV -while and after you have made it.
I also love wearing Kersti Yarn Pullover, a cowl type sweater for the winter. As you can see, it is as much fun to make and design a garment or item as it is to enjoy the finished product!
JBW: Does Kersti also work with you? If so, what does she do there?
Taiu: Modeling for many of our Koigu ads. Many of our customers love to see our next ad to see how Kersti has grown up!!
Taiu: Kersti is a very busy 13 year old. With dance , piano and other school activities. Yes she has “hobby” interests into the dying and designing --The fashion forward teenager!!
Kersti also has had her own hand dyed silk scarf business. At the age of 8! I am waiting for the next idea. In the last year Kersti has taken to crochet – we might see some designing by her soon. As to the farm, well there is no choice there, we have a motto, and that is team work, we all need to pitch in. Kersti enjoys the sheep and is very eager to show in 4H next year.
As Kersti gets older the knitting world will see her more at shows helping out – like Vogue Knitting Live NY. Kersti Helped out Soho in a pinched and was a fill-in model for their fashion Shows. Now at VK live LA she will be back stage help while I am teaching.
Thank you so much to Taiu and Kersti! The soft squishiness of this yarn is unbelievable! Don't believe us? Then try to win some!! We will be giving away 2 hanks of this yummy yarn to 5 readers of our blog! In order to enter, leave a comment here telling us what job you would want to do most on a sheep farm by Monday, October 3rd at midnight PST! (Only one entry per person please!) We will select and post the winners on Tuesday, Oct. 4th post.
Thank you and good luck! Bethany
P.S. You won't want to miss our next couple of Newsletters, as we have some really exciting top secret stuff that should be revealed there soon! Our Newsletters come out twice monthly, are free, secure and just down right fun!
I'd love to be involved in the birthing process and takign care of the lambs and ewes after birth. I almost went to vet school, and have fond memories of working at the vet clinic durign high school and helping the vet to deliver not only puppies and kittens, but also calves and foals. I never had the chance to deliver lambs - that would be very cool.
ReplyDeleteI think I would like to feed the sheep and pet them while they eat, or help skirt fleeces.
ReplyDeleteLinda S-I would like to help with the birthing as I am an NP-then help with anything needed-especially taking home lots of the finished product!
ReplyDeleteI'd like to be a sheep whisperer... if there is such a thing. Otherwise, taking care of food and feedings seems like a good gig.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to help with the feeding I think. While I oggle over the beautiful fleeces!
ReplyDeleteLike several others here, I think that I'd enjoy helping in the birthing process.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to shear the sheep then follow the process all the way through to spinning the yarn.
ReplyDeleteI really want to own shame sheep one day so the whole process seems to be fun - well, maybe not some of the health issues ... and they tend to have dirty butts! :)
ReplyDeleteI would like to help take care of the new lambs. Hand feeding maybe? I'd also like to be the official photographer! Debbie H
ReplyDeleteNothing cuter than a lamb! However, I'd like to learn how to shear the sheep and learn the process of how it becomes yarn!
ReplyDeleteDying the yarn. Grew up with sheep they are so sweet (mostly)
ReplyDeleteI think the only job I could handle on a sheep farm would be the wealthy owner who pops in now and then to see her investment- I'm NOT good with farming of any kind- even flowers in my little yard! But say, professional yarn tester? I could handle that!
ReplyDeleteI would love to take care of the babies, but even more, I would like to be the "sheep photographer" and take cute pictures of all of them.
ReplyDeleteWould love to feed and care for them. I would also love to photograph the interaction of the babies and their moms it is so special to see.
ReplyDeleteI don't know much about sheep farming, but think I would enjoy feeding them and doing thier daily care. I would like to own a couple on my little 1acre parcel, someday.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be the one who takes the flock out to pasture with the help of my trusty border collie!
ReplyDeleteIs there such a job as sheep petter? How about sheep hugger? I would totally be willing to do those things... ;-) ok, ok, I'd really like to feed the sheep, or build up my upper body strength by shearing them.
ReplyDeleteWorking with the sheep dogs and feeding the baby lambs would be good ... and not stepping in sheep poo ;-)
ReplyDeleteThe job I would most enjoy handling on a sheep farm would be taking care of the newborns.
ReplyDeleteI am so excited about this new yarn!! I became a newbie knitter and found Koigu this summer....can't wait to try it!!
ReplyDeleteI would like to do anything where I can actually interact with the sheep and I'd be happy!
ReplyDeleteI want to be a sheep shearer!
ReplyDeleteI think vet work would be the most intriguing. Caring for the animals is much nicer than cleaning up after them.
ReplyDeleteIt would please me to feed them and walk with them.
ReplyDeleteI think I would most enjoy feeding them as a job.
ReplyDeleteI would love to shear the sheep. There's nothing like taking a fleece and turning it into yarn. The only part I haven't had the pleasure of doing in that process is the actual shearing! :-)
ReplyDeletePreferably something that involves the front ends of the little lambs or chief yarn sampler.
ReplyDeleteI would do something totally boring but necessary, like bookkeeping or IT. I know...totally boring but at least I'll be good at it!
ReplyDeleteirene (prymnumber on Ravelry)
I would love to feed the sheep and train the sheep dogs (if there are any)!
ReplyDeleteI would love to feed the sheep and watch them walk around in a group. There's something about groups of sheep that is so awesome!
ReplyDeleteFeeding & sheering! Fun stuff.
ReplyDeleteI think I would be best at just visiting with the sheep. Chatting, petting and sneaking a treat or two. And possibly bottle feeding the lambs when necessary.
ReplyDeleteI would like to feed and care for the sheep, but I would also like to learn to shear them too. And I would like to learn to spin. I guess I think living on a farm would be heavenly!
ReplyDeleteI would want to be a sheep herder, work with the sheep dogs and get to explore the beautiful countryside while taking the sheep to pasture. I bet more exercise, access to fresh air and water help sheep produce the softest wool!
ReplyDeleteThat one is easy - counting the sheep jumping over the fence as I drift off to sleep to dream of all their yarnie goodness!
ReplyDeleteNothing cuter than a baby lamb! I would love to help with the feedings and care of sheep. I hear it is exhausting work. I probably couldn't cut it. Maybe I could sing lullabies to the lambs ~ or maybe not. Probably not ~ if you've ever heard me sing.
ReplyDeleteI would like to be the wool gatherer. The one who walks around the fields and picks up the pieces of yarn that catch on branches and fences and gets pulled off. Then we could have much more wool.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite job on a sheep farm would be feeding and caring for the sheep farmers!
ReplyDeleteI would just enjoy hanging out with the sheep and watching them do what sheep do!
ReplyDeleteI think I would like the shearing. I've watched the shearers in action and would enjoy following the process through to actually getting to knit the yarn I had sheared.
ReplyDeleteI would want to be the one to bottle feed the lambs that need it. Definitely!!
ReplyDeleteSince I'm a maternity nurse I would want to help with birthing the lambs.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be the dog trainer. Those dogs are amazing. I love watching them compete each year at the Montpelier Fiber Festival in VA.
ReplyDeleteI would love to work with the babies, and work with the herding dogs as well.
ReplyDeleteKristinfitzgerald on ravelry
My uncle actually raised sheep when I was a kid. I think I would like helping out with the birthing process.
ReplyDeletePatty at welcra@comcast.net
It's so hard to choose just one job! But, I think I'd like to be the sheep shearer - not the easiest thing to do, but I'd enjoy having some control over the quality of the shorn fleece.
ReplyDeleteI would like to go back in time to watch and help my grandfather herd and shear his sheep.
ReplyDeleteI would LOVE to shear the sheep!
ReplyDeletesupergena2000@yahoo.com
I think I'd like to do something with the wool after it has been taken from the sheep. Getting it to the roving stage I suppose.
ReplyDeleteI would like to cuddle all the lambs! And maybe bleat with them.
ReplyDeleteI would like to watch them play in the fields and then my dog Olivia and I could herd them in at night to sleep.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely shepherdess - being out in the open air, getting the sheep to and from pasture with the help of my trusty dogs would be so satisfying to the soul!
ReplyDeleteMisKnitz on Ravelry - ssgilby@meltdown.net
Oops, the above should be ssgilby@meltdown.net
ReplyDeleteOh the baby lambs, most definitely! I remember feeding and playing with them on my grandparent's farm in Kansas when we would visit once a year. They are such sweeties (not at all like the chickens when it came time to gather eggs!)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to be a sheep babysitter :) I guess they would call that a shepherdess!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd also like to teach them to jump fences... :) Sleep is good- especially under a handknit blanket! I'm not mich of a farm girl, but I could probably handle a shepherd type of role too :)
ReplyDeleteI'll leave the birthing to more experienced hands. I will be keeping water troughs full, mucking out the barn in my old boots, while the tasty dinner I fixed earlier simmers in the slow cooker....( yes, I am clearly sucking up! ) Did I mention that I can drive a tractor, too?
ReplyDeleteI would like to be their counselor!
ReplyDeleteBirthing definitely (I'm a Labor & Delivery nurse)...Mostly I would enjoy "working the farm" --- I grew up on a farm, and I thoroughly enjoyed the feeding, herding, cleaning and the other daily chores. That would be pure bliss (well not exactly pure bliss, but I miss the farm experience --- that was a much simpler time). Thank you for the interview & the opportunity to win!
ReplyDeleteActually, I'm very interested in all the bits of a sheep farm, I hope to become a hobby farmer sometime in the near future and own both sheep as well as alpaca (hey, I dream big!). I think as far as enjoyment goes, I'd most like spending time with the animals in their care feeding, etc.- I'm really an animal-lovin' kind of gal.
ReplyDeleteI'd love to feed them and bring my little dog to help herd the sheep. He would be perfect for that job!
ReplyDeleteSo sad on the "dying".....!
ReplyDeleteI would love to be the person rings the bell for meals. LOL. Or the person who gets to play with all the different color combinations.
ReplyDeleteI would be the designated sheep petter.
ReplyDeleteHmm...is there a job for those who just sit on the porch and knit while the sheepies graze? I think I'd be good at that one.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite job would be to sleep among the sheep on the hills and in the valleys. We would all lay in the grass and dream of colors and sweaters and yarns and what warmth we want to share with the world.
ReplyDeleteI would love to do the research that goes into the breeding process. Always amazed how breeders improve the quality of their animals and products. I think I would most love to foster lambs whose mothers reject them.
ReplyDeleteI would count the sheep on the sheep farm. :-)
ReplyDeleteI would love to sit in the shade and watch the lambs play!
ReplyDeleteI would love to learn to shear the sheep.
ReplyDeleteHi,
ReplyDeleteI would like to be the owner and farmer of a sheep farm. I would love to see the process of the wool from birth to product! I'm obsessed with wool.!
Regards,
Ria
I would love to be a lamb carer. They are so sweet.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about taking care of sheep...
ReplyDeleteMaybe I could just pet them and feed them?
Thanks!
I think shearing would be fun!
ReplyDeleteI think I'd like to be the lambysitter, if there is such a thing ;)
ReplyDeleteI would of course want to be the one to catch the fleece when the sheep is sheared. Thanks for the chance to win!
ReplyDeleteI'd love to learn how to shear sheep. Of course be a shepherd would be cool also.
ReplyDeleteI would be the crazy person who tries to dye the wool while it's still on the sheep.
ReplyDeleteI think I would love to know about all the aspects of the farm workings, so would start out at the bottom -would this be mucking stalls?- :-) - and work my way up... I would love to run a she farm, or even just have a sheep or two, so want to know, experience it all! :-) -That yarn looks simply scrumptious!
ReplyDeleteI would like to take care of the lambs who lost their mothers or whose mothers won't feed them. My mother grew up on a farm and they used to being the lambs in the kitchen nerxt to the stove.
ReplyDeleteI already have a "sort of" job on a sheep farm in NJ (believe it or not): my son works on his grandfather's sheep farm in Morganville approx. 1/2 hour from our house and I am his transport. We LOVE Jacob sheep and frankly I think the kid learns as much (or more) on the farm than in a classroom - and I'm a teacher!
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of work on a sheep farm but priceless rewards as well. I hope everyone who comments gets a chance to experience a real working sheep farm.
One of my favorite memories as a kid was spending the summer at my aunts farm. I loved holding out my hands which were full of feed and getting tickled as all the little lambs nibbled all the food, so that is a job I wouldn't mind doing again (as well as being final product quality control :)
ReplyDelete