About Me
Hi! I'm Tatiana, head dyer and chief pot scrubber of Tumalo Fiber.
Tumalo (pronounced, TUM-ə-loh) is a small enclave just north of Bend, Oregon that you might have passed through on your way into "town." We don't have a lot in Tumalo, but what we do have is worth a stop.
As for me, I've been a knitter since childhood which evolved into handspinning, dyeing, and dabbling in weaving and crochet. My journey into dyeing started through handspinning and with the purchase of my first vintage circular sock machine....gotta have fun sock yarn if you're crankin' out socks. ;-)
In 2018, after just barely mastering how to spin a single I decided to take a sheep to shawl class series at Windrush Farm which is an idyllic place located in Petaluma, CA. Here we learned how to pick a fleece, wash, dye, card, spin, and finally turn the wool into a garment. After this class I was hooked on all things fiber.
Working with wool and fiber has always been therapeutic for me. As a Master's educated Registered Nurse who previously worked with very sick cancer patients coming home after a long, often gut wrenching, day to spin, knit, or play in the dye pots was rejuvenating. I enjoy working with dye because it's not only an artistic expression but also allows an outlet for my nerdy sciencey self.
As a bi-racial person I deeply understand racism and prejudice so here at Tumalo Fiber diversity, equality, and inclusion are the guiding values. ALL are welcome regardless of race, sexual orientation, gender identity, body size, etc. We are all beautiful and should be appreciated and accepted for who we are without judgement.