about me

Hello! I’m Lisa Westervelt, a Long Island-based flutist and knitting enthusiast. I began my YouTube channel, the Stop, Drop and Knit podcast, in November 2020 as a way to connect with the outside world during a time when we were all stuck at home waiting out the global pandemic of the Covid-19 virus. Between virtually teaching flute lessons to my college students and helping my son maneuver the remainder of kindergarten online, I was knitting more and more and was desperate for an outlet where I could talk endlessly about my knitting, spinning and natural dye projects to anyone who would listen.

My natural dye journey has been every bit as organic as the materials in my dye baths. My earliest forays into natural dyes were infrequent and mainly involved kitchen waste. I tried out dyeing with red cabbage and black beans and, although my dye experiences were successful, I wasn’t compelled to dye except on occasion. However, once the pandemic hit, I became desperate to keep my then 5-year-old entertained and engaged, and we spent time outdoors as often as possible. While my son was busy collecting rocks and discovering which sticks made the best swords, I became interested in the surrounding nature. Together, my son and I collected dandelions from our neighborhood walks in the spring, cleaned up fallen branches and leaves scattered across the yard from the aftermath of summer storms, and these materials all went into the dye bath. We began to connect with our surrounding environment in new ways, learning to identify trees and flowers and discovering what colors could be extracted from the various plants in our backyard. As stay-at-home mandates became less rigid, we ventured out into various parks and trails on Long Island, looking for new sources of dye materials, including mushrooms and lichens. I began to see the natural environment through new eyes, seeing the potential for natural dye colors in every tree and plant. These explorations in and of nature continue to be therapeutic, bringing much needed peace through building deeper connections with both nature and my son.

Through these endless experiments in the dye pots, I have amassed much more naturally dyed yarn than I could ever knit through myself, and I’m not planning to stop exploring nature or dyeing yarn anytime soon! My online shop is a place where I can share the tangible results of my natural dye experiments with crafters everywhere. Every skein of yarn has been colored with Long Island nature in combination with my own curiosity and love of the natural dyeing process.