News

That's a Real Gem!

As most of our readers know, Created by Elsie B is headquartered in the midwest, right in the heart of Utah. What people may not know is that this is majestic country. We have numerous national and state parks and a whole lot of beauty right out our front door. Around here, fall is a favorite, and the crisp, cozy, captivating atmosphere is really inspiring us! The palettes we're digging are channeling rich fall landscapes and jewel tones, so we pulled together a colorway roundup to reflect that. Jewel tones offer both depth and warmth to your projects and are just perfect for autumnal knits!

Posted on October 25, 2020

LeAndra Baker

Customer Spotlight- Casey Hudson

Has this year been rough or what?! We don't know about you, but we have to say that crafting, color and creativity have really been a life line for us over the last six months. (Along with being hermits a bit - not going to lie!) When the world gets heavy, it's important to make tangible connections to life, love and hope. One of the most valuable aspects of the work we do here at Created by Elsie B is the opportunity to build community, and we just wouldn't be half what we are without all of you. Today we're thrilled to showcase the lovely and talented Casey Hudson. She's a regular contributor to our Facebook group, lighting up the world with her friendly face and stunning work. She makes the world a better place, and we're so glad to share in that just a little bit.

Posted on August 16, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Hello Again, Old Friend!

While it's a given that the new and novel tends to catch attention, there is also something to be said for the tried and true. We love developing new colorways here at Created by Elsie B, but our bread and butter is the fact that we make so many different options that are repeatable. With so many bases to choose from, that's good news for our loyal customers! Whether you underestimate your project needs or just want to try old favorites on every base we offer, restocks are always exciting. If you missed it, we restocked quite the handful of beauties this month, and we wanted to make sure that you didn't miss out on picking any of these up. I think the heat has us channeling fall vibes because there are a lot of jewel tones and autumnal shades in this batch!

Posted on July 15, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Care, Empower, Promote!

It's been a while, no? Summer is in full swing at Created by Elsie B headquarters, and we hope you are all doing well and finding plenty of time to spin, knit and create. We've had a lot going on behind the scenes, including our continued focus on diversity education. In our search for resources in this area, we came across one that we just love and wanted to share it with all of you. BIPOC in Fiber is a centralized resource that offers easy access to a wide variety of black and indigenous artists around the world. While there are dozens of ways you can reach out to and promote black voices in the fiber arts, purchasing from diverse makers is one of the very best ways to magnify their reach and appreciate their work. We've found so much to love about this website, and we think you will, too!

Posted on July 09, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Diversity in Fiber

You may have noticed that it's been quiet around here. We've spent the last few weeks following what's happening on the public stage, listening and learning about the experiences of the Black community. Created by Elsie B strives to be an inclusive company, and that has always been a part of our values. However, we haven't always been involved and aware of the issue of diversity in fiber. In fact, it really only came on to our radar within the last year. But, we want our customers and readers to know that we're focusing our energy in this area and are sorry that we haven't been more involved. The issue of the lack of diversity in our space has hit us hard, and our eyes are open. We have committed to doing better and being part of the solution. We will miss the mark. We will make mistakes. And, we will listen and learn and take accountability when that happens. If you follow Created by Elsie B on Instagram, that has been our main platform over the last few weeks to highlight the various resources that we have found invaluable to our education. If you are struggling with where to start, we have book lists, educational resources and blog posts there that we have found helpful. In addition, today's blog highlights a very personal and actionable step that any fiber artist can take to encourage, support and promote Black voices in fiber.

Posted on June 15, 2020

Created by Elsie B

Coming In For a (Semi) Solid Win!

There is no doubt that we love color. (It's kind of our thing here at Created by Elsie B!) LeAndra spends a lot of time pairing and planning for the beauties that we send out the door every day, not to mention the actual process of mixing and applying the vibrant colors of our Elsie B fibers. And, while there's little doubt that our variegated colorways steal the proverbial show, we like to think that our semi solids are the hidden gems of the spinning world. They are stunning in their own right, but tonals really shine paired with our more colorful options for perfect plying and blending. There is so much you can do with semi solids, and adding them to your fiber repertoire will really kick it up a notch, so to speak. Today we're highlighting just a few of these beauties. While we often develop tonals to match a specific paired colorway, we release them independently as well, and also have several (such as Linen shown here) that have several matching colorways. However you use them, the creative possibilities are truly endless!

Posted on May 29, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

2 comments

Customer Spotlight: Kathleen McConnell

It's no secret that we love our customers! It really brings us a lot of joy and fulfillment to see our fibers going into the wild and being used, loved and coming to new life with your creativity. We are crazy excited today to give you inside look into our Created by Elsie B community and learn more about one of our much-loved customers, Kathleen McConnell, shown here exploring a stunning park in Maine last September. Kathleen has been an active participant in our Elsie B Facebook group for some time, and she is so encouraging, wise and creative! We have thoroughly enjoyed learning more about Kathleen's spinning journey, and we hope you find it as inspiring and interesting as we have.

Posted on May 21, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Get Your Sezzle On!

One of the most common misconceptions that we hear from people that don't craft (or new DIYers) is that we make things with our hands "to save money." While we definitely think that getting crafty is an excellent value, the hundreds to thousands of dollars in our respective craft stashes indicate that we've shelled out big bucks for the pretties that we create with. We are willing to bet that you get that in a big way as well! Still, budgeting matters, and it's not always possible to pick up every Elsie B fiber that catches your eye at any moment. It can also be difficult to add higher ticket supplies to your repertoire, even when they increase speed and productivity dramatically. (I'm looking at you, spinning wheels!) The good news is that Created by Elsie B offers a good dozen payment methods. One of our more budget-savvy options is Sezzle. Sezzle allows you to make Elsie B purchases using four easy installments. Here's how it works!

Posted on May 07, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

I Can Knit a Rainbow

"Red and yellow and pink and green, purple and orange and blue..." Now, if you aren't singing that in your head at this point, you must be way outside the culture we grew up in. (Is this a universal song of youth? We really have no idea.) We're deep into spring here at Created by Elsie B headquarters in Utah, so rainbows are on our mind. It's in the high 70s today, and we had snow just a few short weeks ago. It's all par for the course around here, but the warm weather is certainly very welcome! Flowers are popping up. We're starting to think about gardens, and we are just dying to wrap everything in color and brightness! Today's roundup is rainbow inspired, and we've chosen a variety of hues to share with you. (P.S. Fairy Dreams and its coordinating semi solid Peach Blush shown here are a beautiful burst of pink, purple and orange tones.)

Posted on April 30, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

We're Going on a Fluff Hunt

One of our primary focuses for the last few years at Created by Elsie B has been building a sustainable infrastructure for the business. It takes a lot of pieces to create the lovely fibers that you all love, and most of those things carry on quietly behind the scenes. The most significant change for you, however, has probably been launching our very own Created by Elsie B shopping platform. We spent a lot of blood, sweat and fluffy love building it, and we want to make sure that you're getting the most out of our website every time you visit us. It's packed full of features and super easy to navigate. There are several ways to search our catalog, plus a few hidden gems that you may have missed during casual browsing.

Posted on April 24, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Helping Hands, Happy Hearts

This has been a strange and challenging couple of months! While we are blessed here at Created by Elsie B to still be able to operate our small business, we're also distinctly aware that the world is a bit upside down. I'm sure that most of you have heard this quote attributed to Mr. Rogers many times, but it is such a good reminder for all of us. "When I was a boy, and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, "Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping." We have been amazed in our area at how we've seen this play out. People are reaching out, stepping up and giving back, and it is downright inspiring. Maybe we're biased, but it really seems that creative people are showing up to the table in a big way, and it makes our hearts swell. Today, we'd like to highlight a few hands-on ways that you can contribute to your local communities in a very immediate and actionable way. Reach out! We can all make a difference in the world!

Posted on April 17, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

Ready, Set, Spin!

Playing with fiber is what we do here at Created by Elsie B. From picking palettes to dyeing to braiding and packaging, it's kind of our thing. And, while LeAndra definitely does her fair share of spinning and creating finished projects, we don't always get to see all our colorways in their full glory, so to speak. A few months ago, we did a colorway roundup and, on a whim, I searched in our Facebook group to see if anyone had spun up some of our featured braids. (They had!) Suffice it to say that I was blown away. While we linked to the group and encouraged you to all go take a look, it didn't work to actually include the spun yarns in the post. (Boo!) So, today, we're going to rectify that. We put out a call in our Facebook group for spun yarns from Elsie B fibers and were, frankly, a bit overwhelmed by the enthusiastic response. You guys are ridiculously talented! I wish I could include everyone's beautiful work, but there just isn't enough room. I've tried to select a broad variety and include as many people as I can in this feature. Settle in and enjoy - you're sure to be inspired by these stunning transformations!

Posted on April 11, 2020

Rosa Zerkle

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