Garage Dyeworks: The Art and Alchemy of Hand-Dyed Yarn

There’s a moment at every festival when the sun hits just right, when the air hums with music and laughter, and a wash of color catches your eye. Skeins of yarn hang in the light like stained glass, glowing with hues of forest moss, sea spray, and desert sunrise. This is the world of Garage Dyeworks, where every strand tells a story and every color carries a spark of adventure.

Meet the Driver: Sharon’s Journey Through Color

“Barbie’s Been Bad”

“Hey there, Roadster.”
That’s how Sharon, the artist behind Garage Dyeworks, welcomes visitors to her creative road trip through hand-dyed yarn. Based in Hillsboro, Oregon, Sharon’s story begins long before the dye pots, back in childhood, when crayons were her first tools of transformation. She remembers the smell of wax and paper, the way a bright red-orange crayon could fill a blank page with life.

Years later, her grandmother’s patience introduced her to the rhythm of knitting needles and the soft click of yarn between her fingers. And then came the moment of rediscovery; stepping into a small, independent yarn shop and finding herself captivated by the richness of hand-dyed color. It was like holding a memory in her hands, the same magic she felt as a child coloring outside the lines.

From Rock ‘n’ Roll to Road Trips

Before launching Garage Dyeworks, Sharon rocked the fiber world as Stitch Jones, a hard-rock-themed brand filled with bold hues and electric energy. That fearless creativity never left, it simply evolved. Garage Dyeworks became her next chapter, rooted in authenticity, travel, and community.

Her colorways are inspired by the landscapes she’s explored with her husband, winding coastal roads, forested highways, and small-town sunsets that blur into watercolor skies. “So if you like to travel,” she says, “you’re going to find a lot to like in my color names and colorways.”

Even after seventeen years of dyeing, she still delights in the unexpected. When the outcome veers from the plan, she embraces it:

“When I get something a little different,” she says, “I name it something else and put on the label—one of a kind.”

Each skein becomes a celebration of creativity, spontaneity, and discovery. “Once you get into the yarn,” she explains, “and find out how much there is to it, you want to include it all.” Her goal is simple but ambitious: “I want to have every color they make.”

The Art and Ethics of Hand-Dyeing

“Smuggler’s Cove”

The beauty of Garage Dyeworks lies in its craftsmanship and conscience. From her Hillsboro home studio, Sharon hand-dyes each skein in small batches, blending intuition with intention. She sources her fibers responsibly and works sustainably, ensuring that the joy of her process leaves a light footprint.

Every yarn carries her touch, the subtle shifts of hue, the depth of tone, the unpredictable harmony that can only come from handcrafted work. No two skeins are ever identical, which is exactly what makes them special.

Community at the Heart

For Sharon, artistry and community are inseparable. “Community is very important in what I do,” she explains. “When you’re building a brand, you want a following—and you have to come up with ways to include people.”

That sense of inclusion shines through whether she’s chatting with festivalgoers or setting up shop at the Artisan Market in Corvallis, one of the one-to-two markets she participates in each month. Just last weekend, she was invited to speak at the Tigard Knitting Guild, where she shared stories from her dyeing journey and hosted a pop-up shop featuring her newest colorways. Everywhere she goes, she brings a sense of warmth, conversation, and belonging.

Why Fiber Lovers Flock to Her Booth

“Oregon Wine Country”

At festivals, you’ll spot Sharon’s booth long before you reach it. Strands of yarn shimmer in the daylight like a patchwork of journeys, each colorway with a name that evokes a place, a feeling, or a memory: Imbolc Fields, Cannon Beach Adventures, Oregon Wine Country.

But what draws people in isn’t just the color, it’s the connection. Visitors linger to share stories of their own travels, to touch the yarn, to find that perfect skein that feels like them. Sharon listens, laughs, and beams when someone picks up a label marked “One of a Kind.” “That’s the joy of it,” she says. “It’s like finding your own little piece of the rainbow.”

Where Creativity Meets Tradition

Sharon’s dye pots bridge old-world craft and modern expression. Inspired by master dyers like Tina Newton of Blue Moon Fiber Arts, she honors traditional methods while continuing to experiment, blending the predictable with the possible. Her artistry is both disciplined and daring, a reminder that the best creations happen somewhere between planning and play.

A Symbol of Craft and Connection

At its heart, Garage Dyeworks is about more than yarn, it’s about story, color, and community. It’s about the hands that dye, the hands that knit, and the threads that connect them all.

Each skein tells a tale of curiosity and courage, of a lifelong love affair with color, of a woman who never stopped seeing the world through the eyes of a child with a crayon.

Because for Sharon, every dye bath is a new destination, and every maker who picks up her yarn continues the journey, one stitch at a time.

“Asparagus”