When it comes to promoting the fiber arts, it’s Heidi Dascher who knows just how to put the right spin on things.
As the owner and artist behind Port Gamble’s The Artful Ewe, Dascher has created a place that is more than just a location to buy knitting supplies.
“I’m more like a working studio,” said Dascher, who opened the business in 2007. “I’m not a yarn shop by any means, but rather a place for people to come and really learn about fibers and textures.”
Unlike other shops that mostly feature pre-spun skeins of yarn, The Artful Ewe offers patrons a chance to learn about knitting from the ground up.
The shop is filled with a wide variety of hand-dyed, unspun fibers ranging from basic wools and cottons to luxurious angoras and cashmeres. Plant-based products are also available, including cotton, flax and hemp.
“I’m all about the art of transformation and showing people how to make things — create things,” said Dascher. “I’m not here to sell you the yarn of your dreams. I’m here to help you make the yarn of your dreams.”
Priced by the ounce, nearly all of the fibers are dyed by Dascher, with a very small selection created by a few of her close friends. The dyes used are not only eco-friendly but colorfast and lightfast with each colorway almost never repeated.
It’s this attention to quality and detail that draws customers to The Artful Ewe, including Quilcene resident Timothy Mata. A spinner and weaver, Mata, 22, was impressed with what the shop had to offer.
“There is such a greater variety of hand-dyed fibers here than other stores I’ve been to,” Mata said. “It’s nice to have so many things to choose from, especially from someone local.”
But it’s not just experienced spinners and weavers like Mata Dascher caters to.
Instead, she offers free drop spindle and knitting lessons for those interested in learning each craft.
Though walk-in students are welcome as time allows, those in need of instruction outside of normal shop hours can schedule them at a cost of $10 an hour with a three-hour minimum.
“I believe in sharing what you know,” Dascher said. “My grandmother didn’t charge me when sharing her knitting knowledge, so why would I? There are no secrets here.”
Though her grandmother taught her to knit at age 7, it wasn’t until 2003 that Dascher, 49, discovered her true passion – spinning.
At the time, she was living in Texas and working in a facility that was next-door to a cotton transporter. After experimenting with a drop spindle and some cotton bits, she’d found her calling.
“Once I got rocking and rolling that’s all I wanted to do,” said Dascher. “I soon bought a spinning wheel, then another, and another. I was obsessed.”
Upon moving to Kingston in 2004, Dascher quickly immersed herself into the Kitsap Peninsula’s fiber community, joining the Kitsap Weavers and Spinners Guild. It was a decision that laid the foundation for what is now The Artful Ewe.
In mid-2007, Dascher was part of a collaboration between the KSWG and the Kitsap Quilters Guild. The groups provided demonstrations in their respective crafts one Saturday a month at the Walker-Ames building in Port Gamble.
Her spinning demonstrations proved to be so popular that Dascher was soon recruited to do demos each weekend in the Port Gamble Fire Hall.
“My best friends and I would set up and do these demos, and it was just a magical transformation,” said Dascher. “Eventually things evolved to where I realized I really could make this a real business.”
After spending a few months teaching and selling her wares from the spacious Fire Hall, The Artful Ewe eventually relocated to the Meat Market building at the end of 2008 – a building better suited to showcase her products. The cozy one-room building features high ceilings, a wood stove and plenty of nooks and crannies for displaying fibers and yarn.
According to Port Gamble manager Shana Smith, the decision to move The Artful Ewe was a good one.
“Heidi is such a good fit for Port Gamble,” said Smith. “She has such a passion for her craft and this ability to create the perfect space. Her ability to arrange colors and make any space cozy is really fantastic. You can really see how much people are drawn to her passion for spinning and knitting.”
So many people were drawn to Dascher’s teaching style and wares that she recently started a Wednesday-night group for fiber artists of all skill levels.
Amid the warmth of the wood stove and some cozy futons, people of all ages and skill levels convene for a night of knitting, spinning or most often just simple companionship.
For Wednesday night regular Carol Townsend, The Artful Ewe has become a safe haven of sorts.
“When I lost my husband I was lonely and needed a place like Heidi’s,” said Townsend. “I come here not just to knit but for the camaraderie. It’s my oasis.”
For Dascher, having her customers feel like they are in an oasis makes her business adventure worth it.
“When people cross the threshold of my shop I want them to say ‘wow,’ ” Dascher said. “Even if I don’t sell a single thing all day, but get a wow out of someone then I’m good. That’s what makes me happy.”
— Kristin Gumpert
