April's artist is one near and dear to my heart. In 2019 I stumbled upon DeAnna's booth at the Santa Fe Indian Market. Hot, sweaty, and a belly full of frybread, my eye caught a young girl who was still putting up her artwork in her booth a few hours after the show had started. I immediately fell in love with not only Deanna's work, which had a sort of Japanese flair to it but also Deanna's sweet, fun and carefree attitude. When I ran into the friend I was traveling with we both excitedly told each other about Deanna's booth, running back to get the pieces we wanted. I picked out the work below, loving the easy breezy style giving off cool auntie vibes.

In 2021 when we went back to SWAIA, Deanna's booth was my first stop and I picked up the piece below, knowing it would be the perfect for our coffee bar at the shop. I chatted with Deanna several times that weekend, laughing and joking around about customer service, art, and our mutual love of Wu Tang.

Sadly a few months later the news came on November 13th 2021 that at 29 years old, Deanna was found murdered by her abusive boyfriend. Family, friends, fans and the art community of Taos were left devastated. In an article by Native News Online, Deanna's father said “I called DeAnna and her art the bubble of joy. She made people happy.” As someone who works closely with the MMIW movement, I was heartbroken. For this month's collective we are donating $800 to Taos domestic violence program, Community Against Violence. If you or someone you know is in an abusive relationship please consider calling the Domestic Violence Support Hotline at 800.799.SAFE (7233).

This month's yarn we wanted to embrace Deanna's bright and cheerful spirit. Taking on colors of pink, purple, peaches, blues, and yellows. It is on the Foxy Lady base which takes a watercolor dye technique really well. Foxy Lady is our favorite for tanks, tees, and shawls.

Slide 1: Paired with Castle Rock Slide 2: Paired with Fugitive Slide 3: Paired with Sapphire Empress Slide 4: Paired with Sunday Mimosa Slide 5: Paired with Theresa Slide 6: Paried with WTF: Where's the Frybread on Oh Dang!

With every month in the Indigenous Collective you can order more of the colorway in the listing below. Please know that additional yarn will be a preorder, the listing will be up until May 15th and will ship late May.

Please click on the photo to order additional skeins