About the Artist

Meet Rachael...

I can’t say, with any great accuracy, when I started in the fibre arts. Perhaps it was always there, in my peripheral, popping up in the spool knitting club in elementary school, or sewing class in middle school. There are photos of seven-year-old me, sitting on the couch in my Sunday best (a dress sewn by my Oma), working away on a long snake of spool knitting. And I can remember finger knitting with my sister for hours, although I couldn’t tell you who taught us.

In any case, I do remember one evening at my mom’s condo, in the years between starting university and starting a family, watching my mom crochet a blanket - it was hypnotic. When my mom put down her work to start dinner, I asked if I could try a few rows. Before leaving that night, I asked for a hook and some scrap yarn, and went home to practice.

And I’ve been creating with yarn ever since! I went through the progression of learning to read a pattern, picking up Tunisian crochet, recalling long-lost knitting skills from my husband's granny, and - most recently - delving into the world of hand-dyeing yarn. I have met so many fibre friends and have learned so much more about the art through the Instagram community.

It was meant to be that Marissa (@rockymountainyarnco) reached out and invited me to my first local knit night (shout out to Stacey @roseandpurl). We became fast friends over knitting and, together, we learned all we could about starting a business, and made our dream a reality. Shortly after launching West Coast Yarn Co., Marissa had to move away to Calgary, but we remain yarn besties. Many hours are spent on video chats, copious text messages, and of course there was the Hap-hap-happiest Christmas Advent Calendar of 2021!