Wool of Bat founder Maggi Fritzsche’s love of yarn is very obvious – her enthusiasm is palpable! At the moment Wool of Bat is a side hustle to her day job, but Maggi is hoping to expand and make “playing with string” her full time job. Wool of Bat sells yarn and stitch markers locally at ImagiKnit Yarn Shop or through her website. Maggi is hoping to do some fiber festivals next year. As Halloween is Wool of Bat’s favorite holiday, we took the opportunity to ask some questions and get to know more!
Q: Why “Wool of Bat?”
There are two reasons. First, my Dad is a Shakespeare buff and the name of my shop refers to a line from MacBeth’s Act IV, Scene 1. Second, Halloween is my favorite holiday. I wanted my brand to be a little eccentric and a little bit spooky. There is a lot about knitting I find magical and have combined all these things into Wool of Bat.
What have you learned about dyeing yarn?
It’s a lot of fun, but a messy process. “My hands are never a normal hand color!” There was also a learning curve to reproduce colors with consistency. “I have lots of yarn that didn’t turn out the way I wanted them to. Not quite sure yet what to do with those, but I have some ideas!”
One of Maggi’s business goals is to expand to selling roving. “I took a spinning wheel class at ImagiKnit Yarn Shop and loved it. I love to spin and would love to spin my own yarns from roving. I’m hoping to be able to expand my shop to include selling roving.”
2023 Halloween Collection
As mentioned previously, Halloween is Maggi’s favorite holiday. It is the biggest time for Wool of Bat given the spooky feel to what they produce. This is the first year she’s done a specific inspiration focused theme. This year’s inspiration is taken from the Haunted Mansion ride at Disneyland. The special colorway – which you can see in person at IYS – is a light gray with teal/purple/green. (Pictured above).There will be a special mini-skein set packaged in a crystal ball that includes the Halloween exclusive color and stitch markers. The big special is the first annual “Mystery Cauldron Kit.” (Only available at ImagiKnit Yarn Shop this year!) The kit contains a pattern designed by Maggi, all yarn needed for the project and some other bits and bobs. All you need is a needle! The fun part is that the yarn and pattern are all divided into individual days. For each of the 13 days you just open the specific yarn packet and unfold the next step of the pattern. Karla has a finished sample of the pictorial colorwork cowl so stop in and check it out!
Speaking of Colorwork…
Colorwork is one of Maggi’s favorite things about knitting and she wants to encourage everyone to learn. Maggi’s love of colorwork also influences her dyework. “I create tonal solid colors specifically because I want them to be used in colorwork. Lots of folks are intimidated by colorwork but shouldn’t be. It just takes practice and patience. Colorwork creates pictures in a way other mediums don’t let you.” Maggi recommends the colorwork pattern Sea Glass Hat (see a knitted sample at IYS) as an easy way to start out.
Stop by ImagiKnit Yarn Shop anytime to see Wool of Bat Yarn, but if you come this October there are some extra treats in store!