Saga Hill specializes in unique silk and silk-blend fibers, hand-painted silk and silk-blend yarns, and hand-painted silk wraps that coordinate with the hand-painted fibers. Saga Hill is also the home of Minnesota Series Dyes™.


Notes from the founder of Saga Hill,
Wendy J. Johnson…
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ECO-FRIENDLY DYES!
For the adventurous fiber person, my line of hand-whipped Minnesota Series Dyes™ are available through this site. These protein fiber dyes have been created in small batches to achieve the finest blending of dye particles. I am using an eco-friendly, "minimal impact" chemical dye base as the source of my colors.

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At market sites (see "On the Road" below), I offer silk and silk-blend fiber, scarves, and yarn that I've hand-painted in my Minnesota Series™ Dye colorways. Each piece is unique and a labor of love.

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SPINNERS – ARE YOU LOOKING FOR UNIQUE FIBERS?
My focus is on the elegant and unique. Silks, silk-blends, and interesting new fibers. Also note a new venture in the works: SpinCSA (see below right column for more information and to sign up as an interested participant).

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SAGA HILL ON THE ROAD–visit me at...

YarnOver – (Minnesota Knitters' Guild annual conference) April 30, 2011; Shepherd's Harvest – (annual fiber festival in Lake Elmo, Minnesota) Mother's Day weekend, May 7 & 8, 2011; Mill City Farmer's Market – (Minneapolis) May 28, June 25, & August 6, 2011; The Knitter's Guild of America (TKGA) Annual Conference – (Hyatt Regency, Minneapolis), July 29-31, 2011; Celebrate the Harvest –Annual Fiber Arts Fair, (Gale Woods Farm, Minnetrista, MN) October 8 & 9, 2011; Upper Midwest Alpaca Fiber Fest – (annual fiber fair at Eisenhower Community Center, Hopkins, MN) November 5, 2011; and MN Weavers' Guild Fiber Fair (MN Textile Center) November 11–13, 2011. Find more information about these "road dates" on the Contact Us page.

2011 is an exciting year of special fiber events and teaching opportunities (see below). Life is NEVER boring! So please keep in touch. Thanks to everyone for feeding my love of color. I am grateful.

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PUBLICATIONS & PATTERNS…
At the end of 2009, I was invited to author a book on spinning, dyeing and knitting your own yarn. The long process of writing and production is nearly done! Yarn Works: How to spin, dye, and knit your own yarn is being published by Voyageur Press and is expected to be released in early 2012. See Publications & Kits page for more info.

Look for the new book: Knitting Socks From Around the World (2012, Voyageur Press) and my pattern for the "Midsommar Blommor Sock" — a Swedish heritage sock using the twined knitting technique. The book is available at booksellers, my vendor locations (see above and Contact page), and on the Saga Hill Patterns & Kits page. I'm also offering a yarn kit that contains all the yarn you will need to make the "Midsommar Blommor Sock", including yarn that I hand-dyed with the special "Falun Red" found in the flower pattern. See the Patterns & Kits page to order.

Another book to look for from Voyageur Press is Knitting Scarves from Around the World. This is a companion book to the sock book and contains a scarf I designed with inspiration from a traditional Swedish Lovikka mitten design. The book is being released in September 2011 and will be available from Saga Hill and booksellers.

I was deeply involved with coordinating the Bohus Stickning exhibit at the American Swedish Institute (Minneapolis) in 2009. Bohus Stickning (Bohus Knitting) was a Swedish knitting design organization (1939-1969) that continues today in the hearts of many knitters and through knitting kits being created by Solveig Gustafsson (www.solsilke.se). I was honored to be the photographer, an author, and design artist for the 52-page exhibit booklet "Bohus Stickning-Radiant Knits: An Enchanting Obsession" (very few copies remaining) and a set of 6 art cards that were created just for the exhibit. (Go to the Publications & Kits page for more information about this exhibit and to order the booklet and art cards.)


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I hope you enjoy your online shopping experience at Saga Hill. If you are in the area, say hello at one of my upcoming booths or consider attending one of my classes this year.

Count among your blessings all the colors, beauties and splendors of a living earth. Life is full of good things. May you find what sparks your soul!

–Wendy J. Johnson, Saga Hill Designs

SCHEDULED CLASSES – 2011/2012

Gale Woods Farm:
(Gale Woods is an educational, working farm in the Minnesota Twin Cities Three Rivers Park District – click here to visit the Gale Woods website and register for one of the GW classes).
Fingerless Mitts (knit with the Swedish Twined Knitting technique) – January 15
Beginning Spinning – January 29
Hand-painted Elfin Slippers (knit with a modular knitting technique) – February 26 & March 19
Learn to Spin With a Drop Spindle – March 26
Creative Spinning – April 9
Learn to Spin With a Drop Spindle – September 24
Beginning Wheel Spinning – October 22
Fingerless Mitts (knit with the Swedish Twined Knitting technique) – January 21, 2012
Learn to Spin With a Drop Spindle – March 24, 2012

More classes may be scheduled. Check back later!

AVAILABLE NOW!
QUANTITIES AND SIZES ARE LIMITED...

Stainless Steel Gazing Globes
as seen in my site installation "1 IN 10,000"
(Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, May 23 – October 12, 2008)
Due to numerous requests and for a limited time, Saga Hill is producing new gazing globes just like those seen in the exhibit "1 in 10,000". Contact Wendy at Saga Hill (or call 800-586-9054) if you would like to place an order. They are available in 4, 6, and 8 inch sizes and are welded on stainless steel rods that extend 15 inches into the ground. Order minimum: 5 globes. Allow 2-3 weeks for production.

"1 in 10,000" refers to the statistical fact that only 1 out of 10,000 acorns survives to become a tree. Using 100 gazing globes resting under a majestic oak, this exhibit reflects on the incredible odds of this tree's existence and encourages the viewer to see themselves as present in the life of the tree.
Artist: Wendy J. Johnson, Saga Hill Designs