Today on the Yarnthing Podcast with Marly Bird: Fiesta Yarns with Jeannie Randolph!
Fiesta Yarns began its rich history over 30 years ago, when the dyeing and packaging was done from the owner’s home located in the quaint Village of Corrales. For more than fifteen years, yarn could be seen hanging from the trees and clotheslines around the private residence. The company was first sold in 1999 and then again in 2001, when Jeannie Randolph became the owner. Jeannie Randolph and her husband were looking to move to New Mexico and were thinking about buying a card and gift shop. Through friends and connections, they learned that Fiesta was for sale and went to visit with the then owners. Jeannie felt a sweater that was on a table while they were there and she was hooked. Her and her husband have owned Fiesta Yarns since 2001. Coming from a business background (she has a Marketing and Journalism degree from Texas A&M) with a bit of crochet know-how, Jeannie approaches Fiesta first from a business point of view and then incorporates what will work in the yarn industry.
2013 was a busy, busy year for Jeannie and Fiesta Yarns. The biggest change for them was they moved their warehouse and business to a smaller and more manageable facility. The second big thing is Fiesta has launched their new website. The website is FiestaYarns.com and is really nice, you should check it out! This new website was built with the web-based Hopscotch Web, which makes building, maintaining, and changing the site really easy. If you sign-up for their newsletter, you get access to their weekly free pattern and yarn special associated with the pattern!
On the subject of yarn, Fiesta is doing a new thing this year, Limited Edition colorways! The way it works is that the colorway comes out on the first of the month and is available to order for the first 10 or so days. They do several yarns in the same colorway so everybody can (hopefully) have their favorite yarn. After all the orders come in, they dye and ship out the yarn! February’s colorway was called Love Triangle (and is unfortunately not able to be ordered anymore, check out your local shop to see if they get any!) and is shown at the left in Boomerang worsted wool.
Fiesta does tons of awesome colors in many types of yarn (a few shown below) and they are introducing a new yarn at Stitches West next week. Their new yarn is a 100% lace-weight silk called Kabuki. Kabuki comes in a 100g/870 yard skeins so you get a lot of bang for your buck. No pictures available right now but check out the yarn section of their website after Stitches: Yarn section of shop. Some of their other yarns include Baby Boom wool/nylon sock, Ballerina alpaca/tencel lace, La Luz silk light worsted, and Rayon Boule rayon light worsted. There are many more so check out their selection to see everything! Their colors are gorgeous!
Listen in below to hear all about Fiesta, Jeannie, their new website, Jeannie’s blog, new colorways and yarn, Stitches expos, books featuring Fiesta yarns, Halos of Hope and lots of other things!
And we can’t forget the Giveaway! Leave a comment below with Jeannie’s keyword for your chance to win the new book, Knitting in New Directions by Myra Wood from XRX Books!
Let’s give some love to our sponsors!
XRX Books, Knitter’s Magazine, STITCHES Expos
Craftsy.com/yarnthing
Indian Lake Artisans
Fiesta Yarns
Drew Emborsky
Bijou Basin Ranch
Buffalo Wool Co.
Green Mountain Spinnery
KnitCrate
Loved listening to Jeannie today. Looking forward to a knitting fiesta this weekend 😀
Let the knitting fiesta begin! Good luck with the new website.
I really enjoy the radioblog today. Very interesting facts about the history of Fiesta Yarns. I subscribe to their newsletter and love looking at their fiesta of yarns featured there.
Love the look of Fiesta yarns. I will have to have a fiesta for all of my knitting friends.
I would love to have a Fiesta of crochet with your Fiesta yarn, OLay!
No colorful fiesta can compare with the palette of Fiesta Yarns!
Love the podcast, it’s like a fiesta in my ears. So nice to hear Marly laugh and have a great time with her guests.
You sure would need a siesta after a good Fiesta! Thanks for the chance to learn how to knit in new directions.
Wow! Took a look at the Fiesta yarns and am totally sold on these yarns! Was loving the Baby Boom Meditation Series and the Boomerang Solids and then I saw the La Luz collection — so ultra vibrant and vivid with the light dancing off the skeins. These skeins do make me think of a fiesta with all the vibrant colors decorating the party! So, what better way to have a fiesta than to use these yarns and create something so unique and flattering with the Knit in New Directions book. Which colors to we start with first? I want to buy the shop!
Thanks to Jeannie and Marly for a great interview. My friends and I heated up some Mexican Hot Chocolate and quesadillas and made listening to your podcast a mini fiesta! We are loving the special colors Fiesta Yarns has available. Can’t wait to get my hands on some.
One can never have enough hand candy and some Fiesta yarn would definitely cheer any stash!
I was very happy to hear about all the wonderful Fiesta news! I recently finished knitting a poncho in Fiesta’s Rayon Boucle yarn, and it is so drapey and lovely – I can’t wait to make more projects with Jeannie’s yarns! And that new Love Triangle color? Wow! I’m sorry I missed it!
If is was to win this prize- I would throw a fiesta.
Loved learning about Fiesta yarn. Checking out their website now.
Fiesta yarn sounds great!
The colors of your yarn remind me of a big fiesta! Free pattern Thursday is wonderful. I love to see what you will choose each week.
I love getting the newsletter, a free pattern fiesta every Thursday. Such beautiful yarn. Great interview.
When I saw the beautiful colors of Fiesta yarn at Stitches East, I just couldn’t believe it. I wanted it all!
Thanks for the Fiesta podcast, Marly. Enjoy so much listening to them.
It’s fascinating to hear about all the work that goes into producing yarn for us crafters. Enjoy your Stitches fiesta, Marly!
I will have a fiesta, at least a mental one, if I win Myra’s book. Enjoyed the podcast.
Fiesta yarn is so gorgeous!! Awesome podcast!
I have not yet tried Fiesta yarns, but I will have to now! This podcast was so fun to listen to and sounded like Marly and Jeannie were having their own fiesta!!
I listen to your podcast at work on my iPod. This podcast was so hysterical that I laughed out loud many times throughout it and got strange looks from the person sitting next to me. Hmmm..you’d think he’d be use to me by now. Fiesta yarns! Ole!
Thanks for the Fiesta yarn podcast! On my way to browse their website…
The lovely yarn colours make me want to have a fiesta!
I loved hearing the story about how Jeannie purchased Fiesta yarns, it was so interesting! Thanks for another great show and I can’t wait to see some of their new colors.
I love Fiesta yarns and especially the free pattern Thursday. I look forward to it every week. Alos,love the new colors that are coming out.
Just received my prize from Fiesta Yarns. Beautiful! Thank you so much!